Thibaut Courtois And Belgium Head Coach In War Of Words

Real Madrid and Belgium goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois has countered the assertion of his national team coach, Domenico Tedesco, who claimed that the goalie left the team’s camp over captaincy row.

Thibaut Courtois played for Belgium when the country took on Austria in the 2024 Euro qualifiers which ended in a 1-1 draw on June 17, 2023.

After the game, the Real Madrid goalkeeper decided to leave the team’s camp while his teammates were preparing for their 4th qualification match which is against Estonia later today, June 20 (7:45 PM WAT).

When the issue was raised in a press conference on Monday, June 19, coach Tedesco told reporters that Thibaut Courtois decided to leave the camp because he was offended that he wasn’t made the captain in the game against Austria.

The coach insisted that Courtois didn’t leave the camp because of an injury as it was widely reported after his exit. “I wish I could say it’s an injury, but I can’t lie.”

Kevin De Bruyne who just won the UEFA Champions League with Manchester City is the captain of Belgium’s national team. But he was not present for the game due to fitness issues.

Hence, the captaincy hand band ought to go to either Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku or Thibaut Courtois, the two assistant captains of the team. The coach decided to go with Lukaku even though Courtois was making his 100th appearance for the country in the game against Austria.

The Reaction of Thibaut Courtois

After coach Domenico Tedesco decided to tell the world that goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois left the Belgian team camp because he was not happy that he was not the captain of the team against Austria, the goalkeeper took to his private website to publish his response.

In his response, the former Chelsea goalkeeper lambasted his country’s head coach for telling the media what they discussed in private.

Courtois wrote on Monday: “This afternoon I was surprised to hear the coach’s press conference in which he gave a partial and subjective account of a private conversation we had after the match against Austria”.

“I want to make it clear that it is not the first time or the last time that I talk to a coach about issues related to a locker room, but it is the first time that someone decides to tell it publicly.

“I am deeply disappointed with this, but I want to make it clear that the coach’s assessments do not fit with reality.”

He added: “I insist that in no case have I demanded anything and that I have spoken to my team-mate Romelu Lukaku to clarify any circumstances relating to this situation.

“Furthermore [Sunday] afternoon I underwent a check-up for a problem in my right knee. The medical team of my club and the national team were in contact and reviewed all the corresponding material to decide to leave the training camp. () ”