“My reaction after the substitution was wrong”

INTERVIEWS Just four years ago, Adriano Bertaccini (25) was sleeping in a tent with amateur players. Today, he's Anderlecht's striker, carrying the club's goal-scoring hopes. In this candid interview, he reflects on his unusual journey, his emotional recovery from injury, and his growth as a professional footballer.

After his angry reaction when being substituted against KV Mechelen, Bertaccini drew criticism — even from former goalkeeper Frank Boeckx.
“He was right,” Bertaccini admits. “I was disappointed because I felt good and wanted to keep playing, but my reaction was out of line. I immediately apologized to my teammates afterward. It won't happen again.”

Seventeen-year-old Nathan De Cat even called him out on it. “That surprised me — at 17, I'd never have dared that. It shows his leadership qualities. He's already a real leader.”

“I'm all or nothing”
Coach Besnik Hasi said Bertaccini can't last the full ninety minutes yet.
“That's true,” he admits. “I don't know how to pace myself — I'm either on or off. When I'm on, I go full throttle until I drop.”

“We stand behind our coach”
The pressure on the coach was clear, but the dressing room remains united. “Hearing the boos before the match hurt. We're 100% behind him — you could see that in our response on the pitch.”
During a team meeting without the coach, Bertaccini kept quiet. “There are guys here who've played hundreds of games for Anderlecht. I know my place.”

“Shooting is instinct”
Pundit Marc Degryse once said good finishing is underrated.
“For me, it's pure instinct,” says Bertaccini. “I don't just shoot — I always know where I want to put the ball. That's not something you can really train.”

“Thorgan Hazard is the best I've ever played with”
His partnership with Thorgan Hazard and Mihajlo Cvetkovic clicked immediately. “Cvetkovic is a true number nine; I'm better playing off someone like him. And Thorgan is incredible. People may doubt him, but with the ball, he can do anything.”

“The injury hit me hard”
His knee injury was a heavy blow. “When they told me I'd be out for two months, my world collapsed. I felt like I'd let the club down after they'd invested so much in me. The first days, I was really on the edge of depression.”

From Austria to amateur football
After spells at Genk and Deinze, Bertaccini moved to Austria Lustenau in the second division. “I grew up fast there. In Belgium, play stops for every foul. In Austria, men in their thirties don't complain — they just play. It toughened me up.”

He returned for family reasons. “My wife and I missed home. So I joined Thes Sport in the amateur league. During preseason, we slept in tents, and the guys partied until 4 a.m. I don't drink, but it was fun — and with 39 goals in two seasons, I earned another shot.”

“I play for my family”
Next up is Club Brugge. “We know how strong they are, but we'll go at them from the first minute — that's how I play.”

After every goal, he points to the stands. “That's for my wife and parents. My mom worked part-time to be with me in Genk, and my dad drove across the country for my training sessions. They sacrificed so much.”

And that moonwalk celebration? “(laughs) That was just for fun. Looked good though, didn't it?”

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