Domenico Tedesco has been named the new head coach of the Belgium national team. The 37-year-old coach replaces Roberto Martinez after the Spaniard spent six years at the helm with the Red Devils.

“It is a great honor to be the new head coach of Belgium,” said Tedesco. “I’m really looking forward to the task and I’m extremely motivated. I had a very good feeling right from the first conversation.”

Young coach brings respectable résumé to the table

Tedesco previously made a name for himself during spells with Schalke, Spartak Moscow, and RB Leipzig. The Italian-German coach took the German club up to second place in the Bundesliga in his first season in charge. Schalke would go on to be relegated from the top flight two seasons after Tedesco left for Russia.

During his time in Moscow, Tedesco was a popular figure. He finished seventh in the Russian Premier League after joining the club midseason. Spartak then qualified for the Champions League in his final campaign with the club. Tedesco was actually never fired from Spartak. Instead, he left because of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After a seven-month hiatus, Tedesco rejoined the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig. He took over the team during the 2021/22 campaign while they sat 11th in the table. Nevertheless, Tedesco was able to guide Leipzig up to fourth and qualify for the Champions League. Despite the successful season, he was quickly sacked in September after a heavy defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk.

Tedesco looks to help underachieving Belgium

Tedesco will now try to get more out of a immensely talented, yet underachieving Belgium team. The self-proclaimed “golden generation” has not exactly lived up to their hype in recent years. Belgium only reached the quarterfinals of the 2016 and 2020 EURO tournaments, while being bounced out of the 2022 World Cup in the group stage.

The young coach’s first game in charge with his new team will be a Euro 2024 qualifier against Sweden in March.

PHOTO: IMAGO / Eibner