Aflevering 487: Interview Edwin Mariën (korte versie)

·41 min·3 clips

After Antwerp's 1993 Wembley loss, the coach signed with Ghent but lied at a press conference.

1. De Vierkante Paal hosts Thomas Lembroek, Victor Smets, and Duncan interview Edwin Mariën, an Antwerp FC correspondent from 1985 through the 1990s. 2. Edwin was 17 when he applied to Nieuwsblad, scoring first among 600 candidates with 100% on the entry test; colleagues who also passed that intake include Koen Meulenaar and Bart Sturtewagen, later chief editor of De Standaard. 3. Edwin joined the Antwerp beat in 1985 after covering Beerschot, brought in by François Collin when René Morre left to join Beerschot's management. 4. He worked simultaneously as a credit bank employee, keeping that dual role mostly secret, and describes the tension between the two jobs as manageable except when Roger Wouters discovered it. 5. In the 1980s-90s, clubs distributed printed lists of player names, phone numbers, and home addresses to journalists, allowing reporters to call players directly for comment at any time. 6. Edwin contrasts this with the current system where all media access goes through club press officers, resulting in two newspapers publishing identical interviews every weekend — a development he describes as 'a serious disgrace' for journalism and supporters. 7. He describes writing match reviews for the regional section based on information from a colleague, covering matches he did not attend — a practice Antwerp coach Mees confronted him about at a journalists' evening. 8. European campaigns in the early 1990s were multi-day trips: teams left on Monday, held press conferences Tuesday, played Wednesday, departed Thursday, giving correspondents time to experience the city as tourists. 9. The Moscow trip for the 1993 European semi-final included three nights of the same meat served daily 'just with a different sauce,' and a Bolshoi Theatre ticket scheme where a scalper sold tickets for roubles worth considerably less than the price paid. 10. After the Moscow match, the press delegation was held at the airport overnight because, Edwin was told, the pilot had died and could not be replaced; the group was eventually rerouted to Eindhoven the next morning. 11. The Bucharest trip involved supporters throwing dirty snowballs from the team bus on the return journey, and Edwin describes the stadium atmosphere as frightening — the first tier tribune was surrounded by Romanian fans on all sides. 12. The 1993 Wembley final trip lasted a full week, including attending an Arsenal B-team match and an Elton John concert before the main event; Edwin was unimpressed by Wembley's old press stand but moved by the sea of red and white in London streets. 13. The post-Wembley crisis unfolded at Deurne airport: Wouters organised a press conference two kilometres from the stadium and publicly pushed contract papers at coach Meus — while Meus had secretly already agreed to join Ghent. 14. Edwin describes Meus denying the Ghent agreement in all press appearances, noting that signing while contracted elsewhere was prohibited, and calls the airport scene one of the moments that ended Antwerp's euphoria from the Wembley run. 15. A critical transfer story Edwin published accurately led Wouters to call him and reference his bank job — Edwin paraphrases: 'I know where you are at the bank, huh?' — which Edwin calls a 'Don Corleone' or 'mafia practice.' 16. Two days after the call, the transfer story was confirmed, but the pressure on his newspaper and bank employer eventually led to Edwin losing his bank position. 17. Edwin describes the evolution of journalism as a loss of independence: today's journalists depend on club goodwill for access and tend to 'scratch each other's backs' rather than hold clubs to account. 18. He notes that press conference conditions at Antwerp still include a restriction on individual trainer interviews that has survived multiple coaching changes, suggesting it originates with the club rather than with any specific manager. 19. A lighter anecdote closes the section: Stallone Limbombe passing his phone to a friend during a phone interview, which contributed to clubs ending the phone-list system entirely. 20. Best suited for long-term Antwerp FC supporters and Belgian football history enthusiasts; particularly relevant for listeners interested in sports journalism practice and the access politics of Belgian football in the Wouters era.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from De Vierkante Paal