Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at 10:34 am• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 10:37

In Belgium, opinions are divided about the arrival of Alfred Schreuder as the new head coach of Club Brugge. The trainer signed a contract with the Belgian champion on Monday, where he serves as the successor of Philippe Clement who left for AS Monaco. Schreuder will thus be able to stand on his own two feet again, after he worked with Ronald Koeman at Barcelona. Youri Mulder, among others, sees a heavy task for the former assistant of Ajax.

“Club Brugge is not an easy club, because expectations are high,” Mulder says in conversation with sporza. “That is also one of the only pitfalls I see, that Schreuder has little experience as head coach. So it is also a bit of an exciting choice for Club.” Mulder is charmed by Schreuder’s empathy. “He insists on discipline and can be strict. Yet the players are always full of praise for him, also at Barcelona. Schreuder is tactically very skilled and he manages to hone his playing style in a disciplined yet playful way. players always enjoyed coming to training.”

Marc Degryse, former international and former PSV striker, is less charmed by Schreuder’s appointment at Bruges. “I’m not convinced this is the man Club needs,” he told The last news. “The club wants to take a step forward, but then you need someone with charisma. Is Schreuder such a person? I don’t know. The first months will make a lot clear. Of course we have to give him a chance. It is now important that he gets the dressing room behind him. And that he is immediately at the appointment. In the league, but certainly also in the cup. Cup winning is a big goal for Club.”

The newspapaer has turned to Onur Kaya for a review about Schreuder, who currently plays at KV Mechelen and played with Schreuder at Vitesse in the 2008/09 season. “When he was still playing football, you could already see that he had charisma,” says Kaya. “He thought along with the coach. An intelligent person and not a typical Dutchman, by which I mean that he doesn’t have a big mouth as we say. He explains everything calmly. I just didn’t expect him at Bruges, because he was often an assistant in the past. But I’m happy for him. A Dutchman is always a good choice, I think. He brings attacking football and will opt for the attack here in Belgium. I think Club Brugge needs that.”