Aflevering 488: Interview Joeri Dequevy (korte versie)

·41 min·3 clips

Joeri Dequevy says Ivan Perisic was the best player he ever played with at Roeselare.

1. De Vierkante Paal hosts Dave and Dirk interview Joeri Dequevy, a 2017 Antwerp FC championship winner, in a career retrospective episode. 2. Dequevy grew up in Anderlecht and spent 17-18 years in that club's academy, training alongside Kums, Odoi, and Cagé before leaving without a professional debut. 3. His first professional club was Roeselare, where he was suspended twice for disciplinary reasons under Dirk Geerard before finding consistent playing time under Dennis van Wijk. 4. At Roeselare, Dequevy played alongside a teenage Ivan Perisic, who had been released by Sochaux and was picked up by coach Luc De Vroegh; Dequevy calls Perisic the best player he ever played with, citing his ability to operate on both flanks, take corners, and win headers. 5. Dequevy turned down Anderlecht to sign a four-year contract at Lierse for money he describes as life-changing for someone from his background, a decision he says he does not regret despite its consequences. 6. The Lierse years are characterised by Dequevy as professionally undermined by a lack of club guidance for young players managing sudden wealth — he describes arriving at morning training 'broken' and spending time with the wrong social circles. 7. After Lierse, Dequevy moved to Sint-Truiden, where he scored approximately 30 goals over three seasons under coaches Giel Brepols and Yannick Ferreira, with Brepols described as a human-centred manager and Ferrera as a data-focused tactician. 8. While at Sint-Truiden, Antwerp came to play and 5,000 supporters invaded the pitch after a defeat; that memory stayed with Dequevy and influenced his decision to sign for Antwerp. 9. The 2017 season began well but Antwerp lost their lead over weeks, finishing the regular season under pressure despite having what Dequevy calls the best squad in the division. 10. John Biko arrived as emergency coach mid-season during the crisis; Dequevy describes him as running elementary duel training, behaving strangely — throwing birthday cake out of the dressing room — and eventually walking into the stands, but credits the chaos with resetting the group's mentality. 11. Wim de Dekker replaced Biko and is praised by Dequevy for personally restoring trust with each player, running a simple system with a solid base, and taking roughly 60% of the credit for the title in Dequevy's estimation. 12. The decisive Lommel away match, with 10,000-12,000 Antwerp supporters present, gave Dequevy a certainty on the field that promotion was coming; he did not celebrate heavily that night because the title was not yet confirmed. 13. Dequevy argues Roeselare made a strategic error by drawing against Lierse in the run-in, forcing themselves to play Antwerp who were in an 'insane flow' when a loss would have kept Antwerp at bay. 14. The bus journey from the title match to Bosuil was chaotic — Dequevy lost his phone in the bus — but the scenes at Bosuil with the crowd on the roof are described as unlike anything possible at another Belgian club. 15. Dequevy highlights Ken Bastijn, a club employee crying on the bench, as the image that captured what the title meant for lifelong Antwerp people. 16. He moved with Antwerp into the first division, where an early 0-0 draw with Anderlecht was celebrated like a title; he describes the squad's adaptation to the top flight as initially joyful before deteriorating under coaching changes. 17. Dequevy was sent to De Beek after a period of poor training effort following his omission from the starting XI, which he retrospectively identifies as a mistake reflecting his characteristic response to being dropped. 18. After Antwerp, he played for OHL and then Oud-Heverlee Leuven, signing partly for financial reasons, before a stint at Oud-Heverlee that coincided with Leicester City's King Power era; he describes training facilities with drones and GPS as 'top top' but leaving when Nigel Pearson departed. 19. The episode ends with Dequevy reflecting on modern football's emphasis on data, running metrics, and defensive duties for wide players, contrasting it with the creative licence of his era and lamenting the reduced visibility of technically gifted players. 20. Best suited for long-term Antwerp FC supporters who followed the club's 2017 promotion season; also relevant for listeners interested in players who played alongside Ivan Perisic in his early career.

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