After the dismissal of Domenico Tedesco, Belgium entrusted the bench to Rudi Garcia with the difficult mission of reviving a team in crisis, unable to win in the last six games. However, the arrival of the French coach was not welcomed with great enthusiasm: his reputation was tarnished by his last negative experience at Napoli, which ended prematurely. A former player of his from his time at Roma took the plunge in favor of GarciaRadja Nainggolan. Interviewed by Spousethe former Belgian national team midfielder wanted to reassure fans and critics, defending the coach from the negative labels that are often attributed to him.
“He is absolutely not a ‘troublemaker’, as I have read around. I know him well and I can say that he has always had excellent relationships with his players. He is one of the three best coaches I have had in my career,” said Nainggolan. “His teams are well organized defensively, but in attack he gives the players enough freedom to express themselves. This will be an advantage in a national team where we often have little time to work together.”
Nainggolan then added a personal anecdote that testifies to the human relationship established by Garcia with his players: “The day before a match he often came to my hotel room to talk to me. He explained to me what he expected from the team tactically, but above all he tried to motivate me. It was an important gesture to create a bond with us players.”