Vercauteren on Sterchele, Vanden Borre and keepers

Coach Vercauteren has returned from a deserved vacation and immediately gave his first interview of the season. The acquisition of Sterchele, the departure of Vanden Borre and the competition of the keepers were the main topics.


The interest in François Sterchele is not new, but now Vercauteren himself has confessed being eager to haul in the Germinal Beerschot striker. "He is very active in the box and could form a complementary duo with Frutos or Tchité. Sterchele would be a real addition to the squad," said the coach.

Besides an extra striker, the club is also looking for a so-called box-to-box player. According to Vercauteren, the idea was Anthony Vanden Borre should have filled in that position. "We were planning to play Vanden Borre out in midfield. He has the necessary qualities to become a box-to-box player. Because of several problems off the pitch he could not grow into that role."

The Anderlecht coach returned to the subject of the goalkeepers as well. With Zitka and Proto, Vercauteren has two worthy goalkeepers to pick from. A problem that did not pose itself last season due to the long-term injury of Proto. Vercauteren has admitted he will rotate between the keepers again like he did two season ago with mixed results.

"Zitka played well this season because we kept him alert, and not because he played every game. Before the cup game against Standard I wasn't sure about Zikta. Afterwards it became clear I should have played Proto. Proto is very eager to challenge Zitka. He is also impatient, which has its positive and negative sides."

Vercauteren has stressed repeatedly this season that he is looking to modernize the club and wants to implement 'modern' football. Arsène Wenger, Rafael Benitez and José Mourinho are the coaches he lists as examples. "From time to time I visit Wenger to talk about football," he confessed.