Soon the end of the suspense?
Many Belgian media, including the daily newspapers Het Laatste Nieuws and La Dernier Heure, announced on Tuesday that the Belgian football federation (RBFA) and Domenico Tedesco had reached an agreement for the Italian-German coach to take up the post of coach. of the Red Devils until 2026.
A surprise candidate, the former coach of Schalke 04 (2017-2019), Spartak Moscow (2019-2021) and RB Leipzig, has been a favorite in recent days among the candidates selected by the working group of the Belgian Federation.
The Thierry Henry track was no longer relevant
Dutchman Peter Bosz, free since leaving Olympique Lyonnais last October, was the other candidate cited in local media in recent days while the tracks leading to Frenchman Thierry Henry, who had not applied, and the Dutchman Louis van Gaal had not been relevant for several weeks.
🚨🚨🚨🇧🇪 Domenico Tedesco will become the new coach of the Red Devils!
🗞️ The information has been confirmed by the Belgian general media.
(@sachatavolieri) pic.twitter.com/becDKQcY6d
- Red Devils - News 🇧🇪 (@DiablesActu) January 31, 2023
The new coach will succeed Roberto Martinez, who left to lead Portugal, after allowing Belgium to reach first place in the FIFA rankings for three years while obtaining their best result in a major tournament with third place in the 2018 World Cup.
The Spaniard had left the selection after the failure of Belgium at the 2022 World Cup. Despite the presence of Henry on the bench, Romelu Lukaku and his partners did not manage to extricate themselves from the group stage in Qatar.
In the process, the Belgian federation had sent out a job offer in order to find its new coach.
The appointment of Domenico Tedesco has still not been confirmed by the federation, held by the green light that its board of directors must give him in the coming days.
The 37-year-old coach still has to find an agreement to be released by his former club, RB Leipzig, who fired him in September 2022 but who are still paying his salary.
The Belgian Frank Vercauteren is tipped to become the new technical director of the federation, a function that Roberto Martinez, who left his post after the elimination of Belgium in the first round of the 2022 World Cup, combined with that of coach.
Belgium, eliminated in the first round of the 2022 World Cup, must play its first qualifying match for Euro-2024 on March 24 in Sweden, before a friendly match against Germany four days later.