Anderlecht confirmed they appointed former Brentford assistant coach Brian Riemer as their new manager on Friday.
The Jupiler Pro League side parted ways with Felice Mazzu in October and plan to appoint the 44-year-old as his permanent successor.
Riemer joined Brentford in October 2018 and although he had a contract until 2025, he left the Premier League side for this role.
Friday’s edition of Het Nieuwsblad explains Riemer was Thomas Frank’s ‘loyal assistant’ at Brentford, and he is set to meet his new players at a training camp in Crete.
The Bees manager had earlier praised his compatriot, while also admitting the two will not continue their association forever. T
It’s claimed Anderlecht’s new sporting director Jesper Fredberg is behind the club’s decision to bring in Reimer from Brentford.
This view is shared by former Gent forward Steve De Ridder, who was coached by Reimer at FC Copenhagen, where the latter worked as Stale Solbakken’s assistant.
“He was Stale Solbakken’s assistant at the time. He [Solbakken] was an authoritarian coach. Brian was more of the friendly assistant who chatted and joked with everyone,” De Ridder said.
“He never really shared his ideas about football with us because Solbakken had complete control over that. We played in a flat 4-4-2 because that was tradition at Copenhagen and Solbakken was behind it. Riemer led the training.
“Seven years ago, I didn’t immediately see him as a head coach. He has no experience in that area either.
“That’s why I’m surprised that he’s going to work at Anderlecht, but of course I can’t say anything about the evolution he went through in recent years at Brentford, among others.”
