Exactly what language does the Belgian team communicate in?
What you need to know:
- They may be called the ‘Red Devils’ but they sure are friendly.
- World Cup teams have English, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, Flemish spoken by players in the language of football.
Fifa’s mission is to promote the game of football, to protect its integrity and to bring the game to all. In its competitions, Fifa embraces diversity and non-discrimination in football, but no team has embraced diversity at the Fifa World Cup here more than Belgium.
The European Union has 24 official and working languages and Belgium, being the seat of the European Union, has reflected that diversity in its national football team competing at the World Cup.
French, German, Dutch, English and Spanish are widely spoken in Belgium. That, added to the fact that a good number of members of Belgium’s squad are born of immigrant parents, has made Belgium a team of players with the most diverse language background here.
Not all of Belgium’s players speak the same language, yet, under a Spanish coach, they understand the language of football. Whereas Chelsea’s 26-year-old goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois speaks French, English, Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch, Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaleen only speaks Flemish which is a derivative of Dutch.
In the mixed zone where journalists wait for players just as they leave the pitch for flash interviews, you could have captain Vincent Kompany speaking to journalists in English, defender Thomas Vermaleen speaking in Flemish (a derivative of Dutch) and China-based defender Axel Witsel speaking French.
Romelu Lukaku could be speaking English while coach Robereto Martinez could choose to speak in either Spanish or English, just to make himself clearer to journalists.
Coach Roberto Martinez acknowledged there is something special in his team before yesterday’s quarter-final match against Brazil in Kazan.
“There is something special in this squad, no doubt about it. The signs are positive and of a real desire to be on the football pitch. We can’t wait (to play Brazil).
“I feel we are as ready as we can be. Over the last two years we have been working towards this moment,” Martinez said.
Many of Belgium’s key players are of African origin. Captain Kompany, Dedryck Boyata, Michy Batshuayi and Romelu Lukaku have roots in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Marouane Fellaini and Nacer Chadli have roots in Morocco while Moussa Dembele has roots in Mali.
Kompany himself as gifted with brains as he is with his legs, having graduated with a Master of Business degree at Manchester Business School.
While some of their counterparts from other teams have displayed arrogance, even shoving away cameras and microphones from journalists requesting for interviews in the mixed zone, members of the Red Devils have been down to earth.
