Yves Vanderhaeghe is the new coach of Cercle Brugge. The 51-year-old former player has signed a contract for an indefinite period with the Groen-Zwart. For an assistant coach, Vanderhaeghe has brought ex-player Thomas Buffel along.
Welcome Yves Vanderhaeghe!
As a player and as a trainer, Yves Vanderhaeghe is a well-known figure in Belgian football. As a former player, he also played one official match for the Groen-Zwart in that time, in 1987 against Standard, but afterwards Vanderhaeghe turned out for Mouscron, Eendracht Aalst and RSC Anderlecht. Vanderhaeghe was also a fixture in the Belgian national team: as an international he played every game of Euro 2000, and also at the 2002 World Cup, where Vanderhaeghe was a regular as a defensive midfielder. Ultimately he would play for Belgium on 48 occasions. In 2008 Yves Vanderhaeghe hung up his boots and became assistant coach under Hein Vanhaezebrouck at KV Kortrijk. When Vanhaezebrouck moved to Ghent in 2014, Vanderhaeghe became head coach with the Kerels. A promising coach, Vanderhaeghe moved to KV Oostende in 2015, followed by a spell at KAA Gent, before going to KV Kortrijk in 2018. Now he has signed an indefinite contract with Cercle.
In addition to Vanderhaeghe, another Cercle legend has returned to Bruges: 39-year-old Thomas Buffel has become assistant coach. After a rich playing career at Feyenoord and with Rangers in Scotland, Buffel played 35 times for Cercle during the 2008-2009 season. As a Belgian international, with 35 caps, he also played for the national team together with Yves Vanderhaeghe. In 2009 Buffel went from Cercle to Racing Genk where he became an absolute star. His playing career ended at Zulte Waregem.
On Wednesday evening, the pair will watch the Croky Cup match against OH Leuven from the stands. Thursday afternoon our new coach and assistant coach will be officially presented to the press.
Welcome back, Yves & Thomas!
