JAN VAN DEN BERGH LOOKS BACK AND AHEAD

Jan Van den Bergh. Twentyseven years old now and since 2016 an ever present in Beerschot's first team. Six seasons at the Olympic Stadium - with a one year interruption when he joined AA Gent and went on loan to OHL in 2019-2020 - makes him a real "Manneke". Last Sunday he joined "Beerschot's 150 Club", thus following in his team mate and good friend Tom Pietermaat' footsteps. High time to have a chat with "Jean", who looks back and ahead. Here we go.

Let's start with your personal Beerschot highlights?  

"Matches I'll never forget? That home game against KV Mechelen we won 1-0 and I scored the only goal for starters. And last season again against KV Mechelen, at their ground. A 2-3 victory in which I made one goal, scored one and Beerschot took first place in the table. An unforgettable Sunday. Of course I have to mention our 1-2 win at Racing Genk from last season as well when I scored that "world goal" with that worm celebration on top. A bit further back then: I have fond memories when we clinched the title as KFCO Beerschot Wilrijk in and against Dessel. It was the icing on the cake in a season where we took 80 points out of a possible 90."

What about the coaches you worked with?

"Marc Brys sticks out there as he was the man who shaped me as a professional footballer. Under Hernan Losada's guidance we had a marvelous first half of the season last term. I valued his approach. And I shouldn't forget mentioning Will Still, who took over from Hernan in difficult circumstances when he left for the States. As a young coach Will was tactically strong and created a pleasant group feeling."

And your team mates over the years?

"Blessing Eleke was by far the most special one. He wasn't a bad boy or anything but impossible to get on the same wavelength with. Unpredictable in every sense of the word. Denis Prychynenkis undoubtebly is the craziest of the bunch: "legend" is the title he claims and richly deserves. A brilliant guy on and off the pitch: great winning mentality, lots of character, a born leader. With a big heart for Beerschot. He is sadly missed in the dressing room these days. And last but not least there is Tom Pietermaat. Always in for a laugh but also dead serious on the training gound. You beter write down he's my favourite teammate. Otherwise he won't allow me to drive with him to and from training anymore." (laughs)

We also have to talk about this disastrous season, Jean

"The cliché that a second season at the top is always the most difficult  one, is confirmed right now. The good atmosphere from last season evaporated completely when we started the new one. Our pre season was a flop: we didn't perform well, lost quite a few of our friendlies in that period. The togetherness and mentality in the squad weren't there. And once the league season started it went from bad to worse. When Javier Torrente came in as coach we had a little revival but the language barrier and difficult communication meant he was unable to work out his ideas and tactical systems. Now Greg Vanderidt is the new boss. Together with his assistent Frank Magerman he immediately created better working conditions. He revived us. Everyone is very eager again, his tactical advice is crystal clear. Everyone knows what he has to do and shouldn't be doing. It showed last Sunday when we beat KV Kortrijk after a very satisfactory performance. We all hope the sequel on Saturday away to Cercle Brugge will be equally successful."

By Danny Geerts
Photo: Jan Mees