OH Leuven has missed its start again this season and that cost Marc Brys his job as trainer about two weeks ago. Since then, the club has taken its time to find a successor, but one now seems to be on its way. And it would be a surprising name.
In the last three matches, promises coach Eddy Vanhemel was on the bench as head coach. Under his leadership, the OHL results looked spectacular: a 4-0 win against STVV, a 5-1 defeat over Anderlecht and on Wednesday a smooth 5-0 in the cup against third national team Elene-Grotenberge.
OHL signs Garcia as new coach
Vanhemel may be relieved next weekend, because according to… L’Equipe OHL is about to appoint Oscar Garcia as its new head coach. The 50-year-old Spaniard brings a lot of experience to Leuven. He was active as a player at FC Barcelona and Valencia and his CV as a trainer also looks impressive.
Since the start of his coaching career in 2010, Garcia has successively coached the U19s of Barça, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Brighton, Maccabi Tel Aviv again, Watford, RB Salzburg, Saint-Etienne, Olympiakos, Celta Vigo and Stade Reims. His list of achievements includes two titles and two cups in Austria and a title in Israel.
OHL trumps Shakhtar
OHL also managed to trump heavy competition for the arrival of Garcia, because he was also approached in recent weeks by Shakhtar Donetsk, champion of Ukraine and opponent of Antwerp in the Champions League. However, because of the war he did not like that adventure.
But OHL was able to convince Garcia. He is about to get back to work after just over a year without a job. After all, he was fired from Stade Reims in October 2022, where he was succeeded by our compatriot Will Still.
