Belgium international Axel Witsel was enjoying a mid-season break with his Zenit St. Petersburg team-mates in Doha, Qatar when we sat for an exclusive chat for Bleacher Report this week.
BLEACHER REPORT: Axel, how do you reflect upon 2014?
AXEL WITSEL: Good, I feel good. It was a good year for Belgium with the World Cup. The World Cup was a good experience. We lost in the quarter-finals, didn’t do better, but overall it was good tournament, and we qualified well.
BR: Did Belgium achieve on their potential at the World Cup?
AW: No, we didn’t achieve the maximum. Belgium has a young team and it was the first World Cup for most players with the exception of Daniel Van Buyten I think. At Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup, the next tournaments, we should try to improve on this one. It was good, but in my understanding we can do better.
BR: Was the pulsating game against the USA Belgium’s best performance?
AW: That game was crazy. Both teams were going forward non-stop and the level of intensity was so high. That’s why I say it was one of our best games.
BR: What’s the future of Belgium’s golden generation?
AW: We first have to qualify for Euro 2016 and finish first in our qualifying group. We have to produce a good European campaign. For now, I can’t say that we should reach the final of the Euros. There are a lot of good teams, like Germany, Spain and Italy. It is going to be difficult. We have to train hard and we will see what happens at Euro 2016, but first our mind should be on qualifying.
BR: Within the Belgian group would be it fair to say you are the ‘second captain’?
AW: Yes, I think I am a second captain in terms of responsibility and leadership. The coach gives me a lot of trust and I give a lot back on the pitch. He put me in the number six position of defensive midfielder and I play well. It’s true that I have been in the national team for eight years and so I start to be one of the older ones in the group. (Vincent) Kompany, (Jan) Verthongen and me are the leaders.
