You wouldn’t expect a man with such a record on a chilly Monday evening on a football field just below Terneuzen. “No, I get that,” says Staelens, who is now 57, now without a ring beard, who does his word in a friendly and calm manner.
“But it is becoming increasingly difficult to get a job in Belgian professional football. There are many foreign investors who, logically, bring their own trainers and staff,” he explains.
How did Staelens get to Hoek?
“I therefore took a normal job, from nine to five. I am a commercial representative of a construction company,” says the Belgian. “A PR function, you know. I often go to watch football with clients. So it is a football-related job, but without stress.”
Yet the blood creeps on a football animal where it cannot crawl. Staelens has been the man at Hoek since two duels, which were both won by the way. “Training three times in the evenings and playing on Saturdays is ideal for me.”
“And make no mistake, Hoek has always been a big name with us in West Flanders. My manager Eric Tetaert was also a trainer here and knew about the problems here, so that’s how the link was made.”
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