Where are they now: Eric Viscaal

Eric Viscaal (40) played five times for Oranje. The striker was developed at PSV, where he had to compete with Wim Kieft, Romario and Hans Gillhaus. He played for De Graafschap and a long stint in Belgium at Mechelen and AA Gent. Today, he’s youth coach at Germinal Beerschot in Antwerp. He talks about past, present and future in this episode of: Where are they now?

“Anyone naming the selection of Oranje for the EC1992 in Sweden will most probably forget my name. But I was among Van Basten, Gullit, Bergkamp and coaches Michels and Advocaat. I only played ten minutes against GOS, but that EC was my best party ever. My five international games are my high point. Do you, I lost my hare (the silly thing debutants in Oranje get)… Do you know if I can buy one somewhere?”

Viscaal was a mercury-like striker/winger. Perfect for 4-4-2. Egotistical, brilliant but also inconsistent. And not always popular in the squad. A lad you’d expect to find in the selections of Ajax or Feyenoord. Naughty, but nice. Leather jacket, brilcream hair and a look in his eyes that say: what do you want?

TODAY

“I’m still a Dutchman and a fan of the Dutch School, but I live and work for more than 20 years in Belgium. I played for big clubs in Belgium, like AA Gent and KV Mechelen and worked as playing coach at Dilbeek Sport. A tough job, but I was happy.”

“I’m the under 16 coach at Beerschot and I coach the strikers all through the club. We try to play the Dutch style, dominant, on the side of the opponent.”

“We used to have a partnership with Ajax and that’s still in the genes here. We play the Ajax style of football and that suits me well. I’m ambitious enough to move up, who knows… But I can’t see myself working in Holland anymore. Or…maybe I can, I don’t know…”

LATER

“I’ll always follow Oranje, but at a distance. The friendlies and the qualification games are all broadcast by the commercial stations, so I can’t see those games. But when the actual EC and WC is on, I watch every minute. My heart is with Oranje and I adore players like Van Persie and Sneijder. The Belgium team…I can’t make heads nor tails of it. In Holland, football is structured. Belgium players aren’t that disciplined. Although, now we do have some players in the bigger competitions and I can see improvements. If Oranje qualifies, I do think they’ll be an outsider for the title. Since the title in 1988, Oranje has always been very close. Close or a total failure… This time around, I can see them make it. Or at least finish among the last four.”