World Cup Special: The amazing transformation of Belgium

When we talk about the super powers of European football, countries like Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Netherlands comes to the mind. But in recent times there has been a revival of sorts for one particular country, a country that was ranked at a lowly 71st position in the FIFA rankings as recently as in 2008. Well that country is none other than the neutrals’ new favourite football team, Belgium. Not only the football fans but even the bookmakers have not been able to ignore the “Red Devils” and according to some of the major betting sites, Belgium are currently the fifth favourites to lift the World Cup next summer. So the question is how did this amazing turnaround happen?

Having qualified for the European Championships just once since 1984, (as co-host in 2000) and failing to reach the last two World Cups, the drought appears to be over for the country more famous as the home of Tintin. Under the tutelage of current manager Marc Wilmots, Belgium have become a major force to reckon with. But all this has become possible because of the brainchild of Michel Sablon, the technical football director of the Football Association of Belgium.

After their debacle in the 2000 Euro Cup, Michel Sablon laid out an effective strategy that would lay the groundwork to build a competent side. A 10-year plan was put in motion that provided a rule book to the Belgian clubs on how to develop the players. A system was implemented whereby at every level starting right from the school level, a fixed system was employed in terms of formation. Teams were encouraged to employ the 4-3-3 system that allowed more ball retention and greater flexibility between players. By introducing the system at the grass roots level it ensured a solid foundation could be built amongst the players.

In 2007, in European U-17 championships, the Belgian team reached the semi-finals. In Beijing Olympics next year, Belgium finished fourth. These were the success that went a long way in motivating the players and instilling confidence in the players. The current players of the Belgian team have been playing together from their youth days and this has bred camaraderie and good understanding among the players.

But even a great plan would not work without the presence of talent and Belgium seems to be a reservoir having unearthed talent after talent, with the likes of Eden Hazard, Axel Witsel, Thibaut Courtois and Vincent Kompany among the most prominent. They have an embarrassment of riches of talented footballers with a minimum of two good players for each position right from the goalkeeper to the striker.

A new footballing superpower has surely arrived, and it is time the world took notice. There is no doubt that the current crop of Belgium footballers are a ‘golden generation’ but their ultimate undoing could be their lack of experience at the highest level, which could potentially lead to them falling short of the astronomically high expectations that have been built up around the team and it remains to be seen whether they can hold their own with traditional superpowers in football like Spain, Brazil, Argentina or Germany. But if they can keep their feet on the ground, nobody would not be surprised to see their name etched on the World Cup in the not too distant future.