De Roeck: "Coucke and youth training saved Anderlecht"

INTERVIEWS Sunday Jonas De Roeck returns to Lotto Park as coach of season revelation Westerlo. De Roeck worked for purple and white between 2018 and 2021. He still bears his former club's warm heart. "I still love Anderlecht," he said today in Het Laatste Nieuws.


De Roeck left Anderlecht because he wanted more responsibility. "Even though Wouter Vandenhaute and Peter Verbeke wanted me to stay," he says. Eventually, De Roeck's contract was dissolved by mutual agreement and he became head coach at Westerlo. With the Kemphans, he immediately played champion in 1B and now he is fighting plenty more for Play-Off 2.

A victory Sunday at Lotto Park would help Westerlo immensely to take that step. Although De Roeck will then have to put his feelings aside for a while. "I still love Anderlecht. I experienced three fantastic years here," he looks back. De Roeck calls Anderlecht an enormously warm club.

The Westerlo coach also experienced the difficult years under president Marc Coucke. "But without Coucke, Anderlecht no longer existed," he echoes categorically. "The club was dead, quasi bankrupt. The academy saved Anderlecht then." What De Roeck experienced then has given him enormous experience, he says. "If I ever encounter a crisis, I will be well prepared," he said.

"I already spoke with several youth players of Anderlecht."

With Westerlo, De Roeck is currently booking very nice results. His ambition is to one day coach a top club, he says. Anderlecht is an obvious choice, but he also likes Club Brugge, Genk or Antwerp.

Anyway, he still knows the Anderlecht household very well. Thus, his door is always open to youth products of purple and white. "I have already talked to several," he admits. "If the opportunity presents itself, I won't hesitate to give them a chance here," De Roeck said. We already remember Ebenezer Agyei, who signed with Westerlo in February after leaving Anderlecht in December.