Belgium boss Domenico Tedesco has been praised for finding the right balance with Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne, after Roberto Martinez basically ignored him.
Sporza cover comments from Hein Vanhaezebrouck and Peter Vandenbempt on the midfielder today as he gears up to be the key player once more for Belgium at Euro 2024.
While De Bruyne has enjoyed a trophy-laden club career with Manchester City, success on the international stage has been harder to come by for him.
The midfielder is an undisputed icon for his nation but has never been able to push them to where many believe they should have been, with the Red Devils often flattering to deceive at major tournaments.
That was the case for their so-called Golden Generation of the last ten years, with their last tournament, the World Cup in Qatar, seeing them fall at the group stage.
The Manchester City star has looked a far happier player under Martinez’s replacement Domenico Tedesco, and Vanhaezebrouck and Vandenbempt believe he deserves praise for that.
“That was different at the end of the Martinez era,” said Vandenbempt.
“De Bruyne saw very early that things were going in the wrong direction with the national team. He then had the feeling: this national coach is not capable of dragging us through difficult periods. Despite the short period of cooperation, the interaction with Tedesco is better anyway.
“I had De Bruyne at Genk for another six months and there I saw that deep down he is just a boy who wants to play. And despite all those prizes and titles, that has not changed,” added Vanhaezebrouck.
“You have to do your best to take away his enjoyment of the game, but in Qatar I saw that happen. Too many things that he tried to raise several times were not taken into account by the coach.
“Tedesco has now made him important again and clearly listens to his playmaker. You can also see that he wants to enjoy himself again and will take the team in tow, you certainly saw that happen in the practice matches.”
