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I WORKED ON MY LONG THROW IN STRENGTHS WHEN I PLAYED FOR AA GENT

After lsong the opening match of the new season against Cercle Brugge Beerschot now travel to the Ghelamco Arena where they face AA Gent on Sunday night. Jan Van den Bergh is looking forward to that game, as two seasons ago he signed a contract in Gent but was unable to fulfill his dream there.

"Not the happiest time of my life and football career", he recalls. "A serious head injury set me back for eight to nine months and after that I waited for playing opportunities. In vain however. So when I had the opportunity to join OHL on loan... and later return to Beerschot I wAs ready to come back here. One of the best decisions I have made so far."  

Jan Van den Bergh is no longer a reliable central defender in Beerschot's first team but now features in midfield.

"A matter of circumstances. When both Sanusi and Coulibaly got injured coach Peter Maes came up with that idea and I was happy to oblige. It gives me the opportunity to play football in a more offensive way. I am allowed to get into the box more often and threaten. I know I will never play a leading role there, like Rapha Holzhauser. I know what my limits are. But with my running ability, my vision and my heading power I think I'm quite good jn that new role. Although I should have scored with a header from Holzhauser's inch perfect cross in our opening game against Cercle Brugge. There is still room for improvement."
 

Your long throw ins are another bonus, Jan.

"Yes, that's true. We now have a couple of tall players in our squad who know how to head a ball. Defenders like Fré Frans and Stipe Radic love going forward. This is new because a couple of seasons ago, with KFCO Beerschot Wilrijk and coach Marc Brys, we didn't have those kind of players. Hernan Losada and Mo Messoudi were rather small and also Jaric Schaessens didn't like headers. Striker Simon Vermeiren was our only tall guy in the team... but he preferred receiving low balls instead of balls in the air. It is actually at AA Gent they optimised my long throw in abilities. They had a special "throw in coach" at the time, who taught me." 

Beerschot face AA Gent on Sunday night, Tarik Tissoudali's new team.

"That will prove to be an interesting match in the match. Tarik is not just an exceptional good player, he is a great guy as well and hugely respected by everyone at the club. It is such a pity he not longer plays for Beerschot. We miss him in every sense of the word. With his technical abilities he could break open a game, his understanding with Rapha Holzhauser was exceptional, both on and off the field."    

Text: Danny Geerts

Jupiler Pro League

1 K. Beerschot V.A. 50 pts
2 SK Lommel 48 pts
3 K.M.S.K Deinze 46 pts
4 F.C.V. Dender E.H 45 pts
5 Patro Eisden Maasmechelen 43 pts