INTERVIEWS Anderlecht secured a place in the Europa League league phase on Thursday evening without any trouble. After their 0-3 win in Kazakhstan, Kairat Almaty were also beaten 3-0 at Lotto Park. Coach Vitor Bruno was particularly impressed by the young talents from Neerpede. Seventeen-year-old Joshua Nga Kana was handed a start, while Noah Kajoni and Noa Ojea also got minutes.
Of the 22-man squad, no fewer than nine players came through Anderlecht's academy. Bruno gives the credit firmly to the youth coaches. “I only got these boys later on. The credit goes to the academy coaches. There is an enormous amount of quality in this academy. When a player is ready to play, he will get his chance.”
The Portuguese even drew a striking comparison with his former club FC Porto. “I don't see much difference between the academies of Porto and Anderlecht.” With the combination of domestic football and Europe, Bruno will need his entire squad. “We will need everyone. If we want to be a big team, we have to be able to play three times a week.” At the same time, the coach knows the level shown against Kairat will not be achievable every week. “We are only at the beginning. There will be good moments and less good ones. But I also saw phases in which we played football of a very high standard.”
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