If there ever was a yearly award for an object that makes the Dutch feel good about themselves, it would have been repeatedly won by Belgium during this last decade, writes Diederik Perk on The Holland Bureau.

The Bruxelles’ political process is even messier and more intractable than what transpires in the Hague, and, more importantly, the declining results of the Belgian national football team have been helpful in contrasting with the marked success of the Dutchmen.
The Belgian Red Devils have been absent from any final tournament since the Euro Championships in the summer of 2000, where it co-hosted the event with Holland, but even then they failed to qualify for the knock-out round.
A 58th place in the FIFA World Rankings denotes the decline of the once Olympic gold-medal winners and competitive cup fighters, whereas the Dutch, after their unfortunate studded loss in the most recent World Cup final, appear as runners-up behind the Spanish champions. Now it seems, however, that the tables may get turned in this sibling rivalry in Belgium’s favour.
Having been degraded to midget status, the Belgians have resorted to a common-practice tactic in football: sacking the coach, while vying for a more expensive one. Irony dictated that this would be a Dutchman, Dick Advocaat, who led several national squads and club teams to considerable success. He was the man who would bring back bravado and strict discipline to lead the team to the European Championship and beyond.
That is, until after only nine months the Russian Federation came knocking with a big bag of Rubles, enticing Advocaat to take his chances, leaving the Belgian football federation startled and dismayed. Besides demanding reimbursement of contractual obligations, the Belgians needed to find a new head coach. Opting for a tried and experienced manager, the choice was made for George Leekens, but a refreshing and spirited road was left uncharted.
The promising, alternative target would have been Michel Preud’homme, the new man in charge at FC Twente, in the Netherlands.
After his great career as a goalie, ultimately earning him the honourable award of World’s Best Goalkeeper in 1994, Preud’homme became responsible for technical management at Benfica in Portugal. In this position he was the one that launched Mourinho’s career, who would move on to become the most successful club trainer so far this century.
Meanwhile, Preud’homme turned to coaching, and under his supervision Standard Liège took its first Belgian Championship in 25 years. Surprisingly, he then moved to take the coaching position at humble AA Gent, only to snatch the Belgian Cup and qualify for the Champions League. Following that, in a move that can be described as daring, he took up the position Steve McLaren vacated at FC Twente, defending their first-ever Eredivisie championship title while coping with the loss of as many as five key players.
The first test came at the beginning of the season when, traditionally, the champions play the cup holder for the Johan Cruyff Shield. Playing Ajax in their arena at Amsterdam, Preud’homme’s new equipe presented itself well, taking the first prize of the season back to Enschede.
During this season it has become clear that Twente is once again a serious contender for retaking the championship title. What’s more, in the Champions League the team managed to draw at home against last year’s winner, Internationale, and win away at Werder Bremen. With strikingly offensive tactics,
Twente plays in a way that in its origins is representative of the Dutch football school. A young winger named Nacer Chadli is in many ways symbolic of their recent successes. Having never played in the highest-level league before, the twenty-one year old has made it seem easy to fit into the team and act decisively. With three goals in six Champions League matches the Belgian-Moroccan attacker was at the centre of a recent tug-of-war between the two nations to get him into their national squad.
After playing a friendly for the North African team, he ultimately decided to choose for Belgium where he made his debut against Finland this year. This is good news for his club team, since it’s generally believed that the African Cup during the winter may be a strain on the players’ ability to perform at his best during the final months of the club season. Chadli referred to advice from Preud’homme that this will be the best for his career in European football.
Although he denies it, this may not have been Preud’homme speaking as a clubman only. Preud’homme is, as long as his winning streak continues, most likely not going to be overlooked next time Belgian football needs saving. Preud’homme has the résumé and abilities to lift Belgian football to unprecedented levels.
Not insignificantly the Wallonian-born speaks, next to French, Portuguese and English, a very gentile and perceptive Dutch, or Flemish if you will. He isn’t afraid to speak out against alleged injustice with venom, and holds up his own standard of professionalism towards his players, while expecting the same in return. His attractive style of offensive tactics would do much for the stature of the Red Devils, especially vis-à-vis the Dutch neighbour.
The skillful mix of several young talents and more experienced players will make it inevitable that Belgium will start to compete in major tournaments again. In the short-run, however, prospects still are distressing. In their Euro 2012 qualification group, Belgium is currently behind Germany, Austria and Turkey on points. Perhaps Preud’homme – which translates to ‘honest man’- will consider making another risky move, as he’s never prone to take the easy way out. In either case, as a coach and a player, he has shown to have what it takes to bring pride to the Belgian nation.
Meanwhile, the good old days…..