Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen has defended his former national manager Marc Wilmots following their disappointment at Euro 2016.
Wilmots stepped down as coach after the tournament, and VoetbalNieuws report the Tottenham star disagrees with how Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has made criticism of tactics during Euro 2016, and has put him ‘in his place’.
VoetbalNieuws have reported on comments Vertonghen made to SportZumer 2016 when asked about the criticism Wilmots came in for this summer from the likes of Courtois. Tottenham star Vertonghen said it’s always easy to point the finger at the manager when things don’t go to plan, and believes if there were issues then before the games would have been the time to say something.
The Tottenham defender thinks there was a lack of communication between the players and the coaching staff, and this should have been addressed.
“It’s always easy to say afterwards that the coach did not do well tactically. But if you have problems, then you should go to the coach in advance to talk about it. If you have something to say, you do it in advance,” said Vertonghen when asked about the Chelsea stars comments.
Belgium went into this summer’s Euros as one of the favourites to win the competition, but were eliminated at the quarter final stage by Wales.
The current Belgian side has been labelled the ‘Golden Generation’, with several of their players based in England including Tottenham stars Mousa Dembele, Toby Alderweireld, and Vertonghen, and Chelsea’s Eden Hazard and Courtois.
However, the Red Devils again failed to deliver on the big stage, with several of their star players not performing.
