Karl Hofkins clearly enjoyed an afternoon among his teammates in Grimbergen, where the Raymond Goethals Prize was presented. “It was obviously difficult in the beginning,” he said. “You’re used to working a lot, always having something planned, and then all of a sudden it just goes away. But I’m still busy: a bit of sports, going away on weekends, going to the movies… things I didn’t have time for before.”
At the end of December, Hoefkens was ousted from the reigning national champion. He earned praise for the run in the Champions League, but disappointing results in his competition and a cup elimination against STVV cost him his job. “Today I don’t have a bad taste, but it went really fast. In a very strange way.”
“We finished fourth in the league, two points behind Antwerp and five behind Union. We also knew that Genk would drop stitches. After our success in the Champions League, we still wanted a chance to become champions and that was the case at the end of December.”
Interest from West Bromwich Albion
However, cooperation with Club Brugge ceased. Hoefkens didn’t seem too displeased. “I look back on my time at the club with a good feeling. I still have contact with the players.”
Hoefkens was briefly in the picture to start in the English Second Division, at West Bromwich Albion, the club where he was under contract as a player between 2007 and 2009. That deal eventually fell through.
“I’m still ambitious and I’m definitely open to a good team with a vision. I’ve had a negative experience now, but you can also learn a lot from a negative experience. My coaching career is definitely not over.”
