Carl Hoefkens will become the new head coach of Club Brugge. The former player and current assistant coach takes over from Alfred Schreuder who is leaving for AFC Ajax.
Hoefkens (43) has a long history at Blauw-Zwart. The former Stoke City and West Brom player played at Club from 2009 to 2013 as well as being captain there. In 2018, Hoefkens returned to Jan Breydel as an assistant coach with the U18 and U21 after which he advanced to Talent Coach. In that role, he guided the likes of Charles De Ketelaere, Ignace Van der Brempt and Cisse Sandra to the A core. In the past three seasons, Hoefkens was assistant with the A-team and laid the foundation for three national titles in a row. So now he takes the position of T1 with the support of Rik De Mil and Paul Okon. Hoefkens, De Mil and Okon signed an open-ended contract.
Rik De Mil (40) put in handsome performances as the promises coach of Club NXT and has been seen on the Bruges bench in recent weeks. The advancement of both De Mil and Hoefkens fits perfectly into Club's philosophy of giving coaches the opportunity to develop alongside players.
Paul Okon (50) also joins the Bruges coaching staff. The ex-Golden Shoe wore our shirt from 1991 to 1996 after which he had a great career abroad with Lazio Roma, Middlesbrough FC and Fiorentina, among others. Together with De Mil, Okon will assist Hoefkens in the quest for a fourth national title.
Carl Hoefkens: "I am enormously looking forward to this new role. I think I am not lying if I can call myself a man of the house. Just like as a player, talent coach and assistant, I also want to give my all as a trainer to contribute to the further development and successes of Club Brugge. Together with the existing staff and new faces we feel armed to take on this challenge. "
CEO Vincent Mannaert: "As far as we are concerned, Carl Hoefkens is the right man at the right time. Carl knows the Club like no other and he has experience working within our structure. He is a passionate winner who has proven to make players, and not only young ones, better."