“This is not a great support” – Foot11.com
Radja Nainggolan delivered his 4 truths about the Belgian public during an interview with Sport / Foot Magazine. For the former 33-year-old international midfielder, Red Devils fans would benefit from being a little more elated … More
The Belgium team is coming out of a disappointing new year. Despite his first place in the FIFA rankings, the formation of Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku or Thibaut Courtois once again missed out on a title. This is starting to do a lot for the “golden generation”, which left the quarter-finals of the Euro by Italy (1-2) and defeated in the semifinals of the League of Nations by the France team (2- 3). What if one of Belgium’s main problems came from its audience? This was suggested by Radja Nainggolan, the Belgian international midfielder kept out of the selection, during an interview with Sport / Foot Magazine.
Nainggolan is not a fan of the Belgian public
The former Roma and Inter midfielder, who plays today at Royal Antwerp (Belgium), deplored the lack of support from Belgian fans for their national team.
” Frankly, when you’re at the Roi-Baudouin stadium… The public, you don’t feel it. They are too far away. Besides, they don’t live for their national team. It’s not a lot of support, you know. No opponent comes to play in Belgium and says to himself: ” Oh, here we are against the Belgian national team, the atmosphere is hot. It’s not Bosnia, what. This is the Belgian mentality.”
Radja Nainggolan at Sport / Foot Magazine
In Belgium, “people always want everything to be beautiful”
An audience that is too bland… but also too demanding. Because according to Nainggolan, fans of the Red Devils are excessively inclined towards expectations in terms of the game. And this is perhaps what has managed to win titles at the international level.
” It’s a great generation, but ultimately something is missing. People always want everything to be beautiful: beautiful games, magnificent corn … But sometimes you have to win games without being beautiful.”
Radja Nainggolan at Sport / Foot Magazine
“The Ninja” would like to show his partners how to do it, but coach Roberto Martinez has kept him away from the selection since March 2018. At 33, Nainggolan should see his counter remain blocked at 30 selections.
