Broos sacked: a thorough analysis

Anderlecht is the first club to sack Hugo Broos. Broos already trained RWDM, Club Brugge and Mouscron, but kept the honour for himself there. Broos obtained one national title with Anderlecht, but was always under fire.


Why did he get fired?
Hugo Broos was blamed for being too lax with the fickle Anderlecht stars. Some claim he just didn't fit in the club. He never dared to put any risks in the way of play. Therefore he wasn't loved by the Anderlecht following. Finally he didn't succeed anymore in motivating the players.

All sportive goals from this season seem lost for the proud Brussels team. The Champions League campaigned ended dramatically with zero point. Besides that, the Mauves are already eliminated in the Belgian Cup and they are now 14 points behind Brugge in the league. Anderlecht have played two games less, though.

Besides that, Broos wasn't able to keep his players under control. It started with Aruna disappearing, followed by the blunders of the keepers. Recently, Wilhelmsson, Zetterberg and Jestrovic complained in the press.

In the end, Broos didn't seem to care any more. He felt like it was impossible to build on a decent team-spirit. Also the press bothered him ceaselessly. Slowly, the media brought Hugo's position inside the club in danger. It is likely that the pressure of the media had a role in his exemption. Broos' contract ended on June 30 of 2006.

The role of the management and the players
The board repeatedly announced its supporting Hugo Broos. That changed in December of last year. The trainer was instructed to win all remaining games before the winter break, in which he succeeded. That way, he managed to save himself.

During the winter, the malaise continued. The friendly games were lost and the internal atmosphere was bad. Several players uttered their displeasure, but the management proclaimed that the team still supported the trainer.

A first disappointment in the new year came when the Mauves lost two valuable points in STVV. But again the board hestitated.
Last Sunday, a lifeless Anderlecht obtained a scoreless draw in Gent. Today it was decided to lay off Broos. But it's yet doubtful that this will turn around the crisis situation.

What were Hugo Broos' prestations in Anderlecht?
In June 2002, Broos succeeded Aimé Anthuenis. A heavy duty, since Anthuenis had lead Anderlecht to a second round in the Champions League.

Broos won a Belgian title with the club in his second year as coach. This allowed him to win the trophee of "Trainer of the Year". But we now know how hard it was for him to repeat this achievement in 2004-2005.

His carreer
Born: April 10, 1952 in Humbeek
Carreer as a player: 1963-1970: FC Humbeek, 1970-1983: Anderlecht (3 titles, 4 cups, 2 European Cup winners Cups, 1 UEFA Cup), 1983-1998: Club Brugge (1 title and 1 cup)
Carreer as a trainer: 1988-1991: RWDM, 1991-1997: Club Brugge (2 titles and 2 cups), 1997-2002: Mouscron, 2002-January 2005: Anderlecht (1 title)
Trophees and caps: 3 times Trainer of the Year (92, 96, 04) + 24 A-caps (4th on the World Cup of 1986 in Mexico)