Hein Vanhaezebrouck is no stranger to making history in London as manager of KAA Gent, and he is aiming to do so for a second time when his side face West Ham United in a UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) quarter-final second leg.
It was 23 February 2017 when Vanhaezebrouck led De Buffalo’s into Wembley Stadium to face Tottenham Hotspur in a UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg in front of over 80,000 fans.
His Gent side kicked-off with a 1-0 lead from the first leg, but that was wiped out inside ten minutes. However, a Harry Kane own-goal put them back in front on aggregate. Dele Alli was then sent-off, but Maurico Pochettino’s Spurs dominated, leveled the tie through Victor Wanyama and looked destined to defeat their Belgian opponents until substitute Jérémy Perbet struck with the visitors’ only shot on-target eight minutes from full-time.
Gent were knocked out by compatriots Genk in the next round, and Vanhaezebrouck departed for RSC Anderlecht, who Thursday’s winners could face in the UECL semi-finals, that September.
However, the 59-year-old returned in December 2020 and led Gent to Belgian Cup glory last season. De Buffalo’s are yet to reach a major European semi-final, but their popular and genial manager is dreaming of making more history at London Stadium on Thursday evening.
“We won in 2017, but even then I was not happy because our return game in London was not good!” he smiled. “We got out of it with a lot of luck, because even against ten after Dele Alli was sent-off Tottenham overran us and the only thing they forgot to do was score.
“Then, I was not the most happy coach. You can be very happy if you qualify, but I like better football also, so I want to see both. I hope tomorrow we will be better when it comes to resisting the pressure we are put under in the game and, even if nobody except my assistant coach Danijel Milićević, who played as a striker that night, is here any more, I hope they learn because we spoke about that game and we can use it on Thursday.
“The challenge is there, the goals are there and the dreams are there for everyone. I don’t have any problem with anybody dreaming big, as it’s part of life and part of football also, but you need to show it because with dreams alone you don’t get anywhere.”
Both clubs are dreaming, of course – West Ham of winning a first major trophy since the 1980 FA Cup and a first in continental competition since beating Gent on the way to lifting the 1965 European Cup Winners’ Cup, and Gent of reaching their first major European semi-final and the first by any Belgian club since Royal Antwerp reached the 1993 Cup Winners’ Cup final.
“For West Ham, I know it’s an ideal opportunity to take a European prize again,” said Vanhaezebrouck, somewhat ironically. “It’s been a long time since they took any prize, I would say, so they’re going to take this one in a difficult season in the Premier League to give their season a little bit more positive things to talk about.
“For us, it would be exceptional. Gent never played a semi-final. Last time a Belgian team played in a semi-final was 30 years ago, I think, and for me also, I am there for the club with the players to get the best results for my club, and Vincent Kompany already showed that Belgian coaches are not so bad as everybody thinks!”
Vanhaezebrouck’s current Gent team produced a fine performance in the first leg in Belgium last week, playing attacking football, creating chances and could feel unfortunate to only be travelling to London on level terms.
In Hugo Cuypers and Gift Orban, De Buffalo’s have a potent strike pairing, while the visitors’ midfield looks strong on the ball and eager to press their opponents. But while the Gent manager is confident in his own side’s ability to win the tie, he is wary of what West Ham can do in front of a big home crowd following Sunday’s morale-boosting 2-2 Premier League draw with leaders Arsenal.
“I think it’s going to be a little bit different from the first leg and I think it could go any way,” he observed. “They took some positive elements out of the game with Arsenal. When you come from 0-2 behind and you can fight back and take a point, I think that was unexpected for everyone except the West Ham fans, or maybe even also for the West Ham fans!
“It’s going to give them some confidence, so I expect a confident West Ham that’s going to try to push us, to make a difference, and it’s up to us to be ready for that. So, I don’t expect the same game because West Ham is playing at home in front of their crowd and it can be really supportive, so we’re going to have to manage mentally the difficult situations. If we can and if we succeed in playing our game by moments, then there is a chance. If we can’t, then it’s going to be difficult.”
