[quote author=Squiggles link=topic=42453.msg1207402#msg1207402 date=1288272260]
[quote author=Akakabooto link=topic=42453.msg1207351#msg1207351 date=1288269344]
[quote author=peterhague link=topic=42453.msg1207340#msg1207340 date=1288268184]
how come belgium are suddenly producing all these quality players?
we should go for all 3 of them, hazard, lukaku and defour - all of them would plug holes in our squad. it'd be a big investment, obv, but they all look dead certs to be top players, so minimal risk, and spread over a decade.
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I believe they started investing heavily on youth development after their national team went into decline. It is surely paying dividends now as their national team is full of young talent and even the biggest stars are mostly in their mid twenties. They'll have a really strong team in five years or so.
Hazard, Lukaku and Defour would be excellent piece of business. Also if it wouldn't work out for any one of them we could recoup most of the fee by selling him on so there's almost no risk at all. 8)
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They won't at all. This is a team full of prima-donna's who are already under performing by not even making it to international tournaments. Like England, they're just not as good as they think they are, and none of them give a damn about the national team.
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Reaching major tournaments is very hard from pot 4 where they have been recently. Especially with such a young team. They also had a very tough group in world cup qualifiers with Spain, Turkey and Bosnia and now they have Germany and Turkey. They do need a good manager to fulfill their potential though.
Are you sure about not giving a damn about the national team? I've always been under the impression that national team is a very big thing for Belgian footballers and fans alike. It has also always been one of the unifying things between the French and Dutch speaking parts so can't see a problem from that part either.
