Shortest-serving coach ever, Herbert Neumann, is born

FLASHBACK Who still remembers Herbert Neumann? For many fans, the name might still ring a bell, but probably for the wrong reasons. Neumann was, in fact, the head coach with the shortest tenure at Anderlecht.

His birthdate, November 14, 1953, gives us the perfect opportunity to briefly outline his brief spell at Anderlecht.

So ... Herbert Neumann was born in Cologne on November 14, 1953. As a player, he represented reputable teams such as FC Köln, Udinese, Bologna, Olympiakos, and Chiasso. He played as a midfielder and earned exactly one cap for West Germany, in 1978 against England. The Germans won the friendly match in Munich 2-1, with Neumann on the pitch for 73 minutes. After his active playing career, he stayed on at his last club, Chiasso, but as a coach.

Through Zurich and Vitesse, he eventually arrived at Anderlecht in the summer of 1995, succeeding the successful coach Johan Boskamp. Boskamp had won trophies every year, but with his departure, Marc Degryse also left the club. Neumann was tasked with maintaining that level of success and could count on a few newcomers and, above all, a strong squad featuring players like Versavel, Emmers, Boffin, Bosman, Rutjes, De Wilde, Crasson, Walem, Zetterberg, Weber (although he was sidelined with an injury), and Grün. Yet, things quickly went wrong. Neumann lost the first two league matches immediately: the first against Aalst 3-1, and then 0-2 against Charleroi. In between, Ferencváros came to visit in the Champions League qualifying round. Neumann didn't think it necessary to scout the “insignificant” Ferencváros and lost at home on August 9, 1995, 0-1 due to a goal by Kuntics. Earlier, De Bilde had missed the best chance of the match from a Preko assist. Three consecutive losses? That was unprecedented in the 1990s, and after just 42 days, Neumann was already packing his bags. He was dismissed on August 12. This made him the shortest-serving head coach ever (excluding interim coaches). Initially, Neumann felt he hadn't been given a fair chance, but later admitted he never really felt at home at Anderlecht or comfortable with the pressure that came with the job.

With his dismissal, the board hoped to still turn things around in Europe. They quickly appointed interim coach Raymond Goethals, who had won the Champions League with Marseille. The return leg in Hungary was played on August 23 but ended in a disappointing 1-1 draw. Kopunovics opened the scoring after halftime, and De Bilde equalized, but for the first time, Anderlecht would fail to reach the Champions League group stage. There was no safety net, so the European season was already over.
Ferencváros would go on to collect five points in the group stage, including a draw against Real Madrid and four out of six points against Grasshoppers. Ajax proved too strong twice.

Goethals was soon replaced as well, and Boskamp returned. He guided Anderlecht to second place, well behind champions Brugge. The misstep with Neumann contributed to Anderlecht not winning the league again until 2000.

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