Barely Jill: Are these Red Devils too few real winners? How do you solve that? | Red Devils

Was it realistic or lack of ambition?

The striking statement made by Kevin De Bruyne after the defeat to Italy divided public opinion later.

Admittedly, race winner Cristiano Ronaldo would never speak of Portugal (10 million), nor of the ruthless Michael Jordan during his tenure in the humble Washington Wizards jersey.

Even the self-confident Dutch mocked the KDB’s underestimating statement. De Telegraaf writes that “the city’s star’s words show exactly why the Belgian golden generation is increasingly being rebranded as a generation not only”.

“So far, they have been very kind to big opponents and to each other. In Belgium everything seems to be permissible, not at all necessary. They should get rid of their angelic image.”

Hello Jane Marie Dedecker?

The former Belgian judo champion breeder has often criticized the lack of ambition in our country in the past.

Even after the Olympics, the topic always comes back when we compare the medal harvest to those of our neighboring countries.

“We always feel a little calimero,” Dedecker sighs. “Even Kevin De Bruyne, the absolute world champion, tends to make such statements. And that’s where the problem begins. You must be at the beginning of an athletic competition with an American…”

It is often part of the Belgian mentality. Dedecker also had to fight it in his early years. “We flirt with our clothes when we encounter a Japanese – even if they only have arms and two legs. And when we went to France, we had to kill the opponent, so to speak. We don’t have that chauvinism.”

Like the Red Devils, the Red Blacks also dragged along the label only for a long time. To the frustration of Thomas Brills, captain of the national hockey team for many years.

“If we win against a big country, our fans and our media will say: Come on, the little Belgians won. I found it annoying. We did the opposite of the Dutch, who were always arrogant. That’s how we always started. 1-0 down.”

Brills saw how the Hockey Association was even struggling with an inferiority complex: “In the early years they thought we could kiss our hands that someone wanted to take care of us. (Laughs) When it should have been the other way around.”

But how do you change this inherent content?

Success on a global scale is simply the exception rather than the rule in our sporting history.

Also among young people. Roberto Martinez indicated during his press conference after the match against Italy after not achieving great successes at the levels among the Red Devils. So far, only the U-17 team has won a medal at the 2015 World Cup.

“We have to win an international European championship or the World Cup with the youth,” the national coach realized. “And qualifying for those tournaments should in fact become the norm.”

Brills also knows that early success makes a difference when it comes to marble.

“The old generation of blacks had always received pimping from countries like Holland and Germany among the young. But then a younger generation arrived that never lost to these opponents. They provided that extra amount of faith that was necessary to win the big countries… to knock.”

“We have to teach our athletes to be winners,” Dedecker adds. “It often depends on the small details, but you have to learn to go through fire to get to the highest level.”

So young learn from old.

In addition, there are other aspects that can guarantee a decisive winning click.

“It all starts with the coach,” Dedecker said, without blinking an eye. “If he plays for Calimero himself … the coach has to learn this assertiveness and create a real team. I have the impression that Martinez often chooses the soft way. For example, he likes to shine with the statistics of first place in the World Cup.” The arrangement, but no Some of that is important.”

The Red Lion can talk about that. Only after their world title in 2018, did they truly occupy a place in the world’s sporting history. “They also called us Generation not just for so long after losing a few finals. We couldn’t win the championship, so to speak, we were too mentally weak…”

Going “all the way” once, Brills says, everything changes. “From that moment on, a lot of doubts disappeared. It gives a huge boost of confidence to go to the next tournament. You really learn to win the finals. The year after our world title, we beat Spain 5-0 in the European Championship final.

Finally, Dedecker has a final suggestion: “Patriotism is motivating. Perhaps the Red Devils should learn the Hakka, like New Zealand. This is only a way to intimidate your opponent.”