For the first time in a decade, Belgium are going into a major international tournament without the pressure of being among the favourites.<\/p>\n
Football is cyclical, and the Red Devils have reached the end of theirs. It is a painstaking process for any country to rebuild after their \u2018Golden Generation\u2019 breaks up, you just need to look at Spain\u2019s group stage exit at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil after winning three titles in succession, or Italy consistently failing on the big stage after their 2006 triumph, albeit with their win at the last Euros slapped in the middle of their inconsistent run over the last few years.<\/p>\n
The Qatar World Cup was Belgium\u2019s seminal moment; the time where everyone reluctantly accepted it was time for a shift in focus. They exited at the group stage and Roberto Martinez departed from his coaching duties to take over at Portugal. Not even two years on and the core of that team, which had been together for around eight years, is no longer there. There is no Toby Alderweireld, Eden Hazard has since retired from football all together, and Thibaut Courtois, who has battled injuries this season, has been left out despite returning for Real Madrid. Even those who remain from that team, Kevin De Bruyne, Axel Witsel, Jan Vertonghen and even Romelu Lukaku, are over 30 and probably approaching their last dance.<\/p>\n
Domenico Tedasco, one of the youngest coach at Euro 2024 at just 38 years of age, is attempting to navigate the tricky waters between eras. There is a lack of top players in their prime in the Belgian side, but they do have a lot of emerging talent, particularly in attack. Jeremy Doku has proven himself in his first year at Manchester City, and he will be joined in carrying the burden of replacing Hazard by one if the players expected to be a breakout star from the tournament.<\/p>\n
Johan Bakayoko is certainly a player to watch after he starred for PSV Eindhoven last season, helping them win the Eredivisie title with 21 goal involvements in 33 games. The 20-year-old has drawn a lot of comparisons to Doku for his close control, pace and dribbling, but he plays on the other wing and is more physically imposing. He will likely use this tournament as a springboard; expect his value to skyrocket come mid to late July.<\/p>\n
In an interview with The Athletic, Bakayoko praised his PSV boss Peter Boaz, and drew comparisons with Tedasco, who gave him his international debut in March last year.
\n\u201cTedesco\u2019s the same as my club trainer \u2014 they operate in the same way, they treat people like humans, they talk to players. Whether it\u2019s good or bad, they try to help you and give you the freedom to play. They\u2019re quite similar.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have less time with Tedesco so I don\u2019t know him as well as Peter. Peter is tactical. That comes from 25 years of experience. He really knows a lot about football. He always tries something different if something isn\u2019t working.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bakayoko knows how good he can be, and has set his sights on proving it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the next five years, I want to be close to winning the Ballon d\u2019Or,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll do my best and see where it can end, but I don\u2019t want to give myself limits. I don\u2019t want to say, \u2018I remember when I won the Ballon d\u2019Or\u2019, or something like this. I want to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is a tough time for Belgium, their quality doesn\u2019t run as deep anymore. But neither does the expectation; this a team that may surprise a few people, especially with their quality in attacking wide areas. Everyone should watch out, Johan Bakayoko is about to explode into the scene.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For the first time in a decade, Belgium are going into a major international tournament without the pressure of being among the favourites. Football is cyclical, and the Red Devils have reached the end of theirs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":54847,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[643],"tags":[272],"class_list":["post-56507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport","tag-featurehome"],"yoast_head":"\n