“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Jong Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Position 14, 13 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jong Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
0‑1 to RWDM, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Yannick Alderweireld left the room before anybody could ask which.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Jong Genk will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
“Nobody outside is coming to save us.” It was short, it was not comfortable, and by all accounts the Jong Genk squad were quieter afterwards than they had been all season.
Yumeki Yoshinaga, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.62
A mark of 7.62 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Victory Beniangba was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Jong Genk are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
A mark of 7.80, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Jong Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Manu Mocsnik is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Saïdou Touré, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.86
A mark of 7.86 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Successful dribbles: 21. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Jong Genk are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Victory Beniangba and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Yannick Alderweireld after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Jong Genk told Alpha Barry something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Emile Doucouré’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Jong Genk needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
0‑4 against Waasland-Beveren, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Victory Beniangba and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom23 Nov 2026
Nobody left the Jong Genk dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑4 Yannick Alderweireld left the room before anybody could ask which.
Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 1 saves does not settle it either way.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jong Genk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jong Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Manu Mocsnik falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Saïdou Touré is 19, and for one weekend he was the best of everybody his age in the division. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Waasland-Beveren in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Victory Beniangba trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Two goals and a mark of 9.52 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Kenan Haroun did not need any: 7.92, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Saïdou Touré. 3‑2 against Lierse, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Victory Beniangba was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑2, Yannick Alderweireld could afford to be generous.
At 19 he is being measured against the rest of the division's kids and coming out in front. The senior version of this award is where the club would like this to lead.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jong Genk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Victory Beniangba had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Club NXT were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
Two goals and a mark of 8.77 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 2‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Ayman Rabhi and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Saïdou Touré is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Jong Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Manu Mocsnik is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Saïdou Touré scored in the 86th minute, Patro Eisden had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Jong Genk took the lot.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Saïdou Touré did not need any: 8.51, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Victory Beniangba has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jong Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Yannick Alderweireld on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Christian Akpan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Christian Akpan and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Jong Genk are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Manu Mocsnik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 2‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Successful dribbles: 11. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Yumeki Yoshinaga did not need any: 7.75, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Jong Genk can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Minute 87, against Jong Gent, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jong Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Yannick Alderweireld chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Ali Camara, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 7.75
A mark of 7.75 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
At 18 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Manu Mocsnik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Ali Camara, 18, is the weekend’s best young player
Measured against every other kid in the division and first among them. The senior award is where Jong Genk would like this to lead.
Successful dribbles: 12. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Jong Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Victory Beniangba and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Manu Mocsnik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
Victory Beniangba and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Yannick Alderweireld left the room before anybody could ask which.
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Jong Genk have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jong Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Jong Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Manu Mocsnik is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
In brief
Looking aheadJong Genk take on the side everybody is chasing
Christian Akpan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Yannick Alderweireld after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
There was one mistake and it ended in the net. Defenders are judged on the worst thing they did rather than on the eighty-nine minutes either side of it, which is unfair and is also the job.
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Nobody at Jong Genk is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
“If we are going to be beaten, let it not be because somebody in here could not be bothered.” He stood up and said it in front of everybody, which is a thing a squad remembers about a man for years.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Jong Genk know it.
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Yannick Alderweireld was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Jong Genk dressing room was either.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. KV Kortrijk defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
In brief
The dugoutKayden Pierre knocks on the manager’s door
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Emile Doucouré
The phone has started ringing about Olivier Vliegen again, and this time the name on the line is RFC Liege. Jong Genk are listening politely and promising nothing.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Jong Genk know it.
Christian Akpan and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Yannick Alderweireld after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Jong Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Manu Mocsnik is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Jong Genk, another week without a signature from Christian Akpan.