On October 11, 2021, Luka Elsner is presented as the new T1 of the Rouches. He has a mission: to raise Standard and try to qualify it for Europe, whatever the path. “Here, you can experience strong emotions, an exceptional adventure. I had a deep desire to work in this club and this was reinforced by the feeling of compatibility quickly felt with the leaders”he said then, his eyes sparkling.
Six months later, almost to the day, the sparks left the eyes of the 39-year-old coach. Sunday evening, at Stayen, following yet another defeat and a disastrous record of 23 points out of 72, Luka Elsner took stock with great lucidity.
“I cannot ignore my share of responsibility in this failure. We all have one, me, my staff and the players. I have never managed to find the solutions and it is not for lack of having tried. This I am totally responsible. Am I down? No, but scarred, extremely scarred by a season that will leave its mark on all floors and in everyone. I hope it will be useful to all those who have experienced it. to have enough desire not to live the same in the future or even to get closer to it.”
In October, Luka Elsner spoke of an exceptional adventure, it will have been, but in the bad sense of the term.
“We do not come out unscathed from such an experience,” he says. “But that won’t take away from my enthusiasm and my drive to succeed. It will, however, shape my work and the way I see my role in the future. The season is over and it’s been a disaster. But like from one match to another, a new season will come quickly and the future will be clearer. There is always an following.”
A future that seems to be moving away from Sclessin
The whole question is whether this following will take place with Luka Elsner at the head of the Rouches. “I don’t have the faintest idea. As I’ve said many times before, I know how to be lucid regarding my ability to help the boys raise their level. We’ll see later.”
Finishing 14th, 15 points from PO2 and 27 from PO1 was certainly not the outcome expected by Elsner when signing his two-year lease at Sclessin.
“However, I don’t regret anything. You would have had to be crazy to refuse to coach Standard. Regret is not part of my way of functioning.”
This week, the Liégeois will be on leave and they will meet on Saturday at the Academy for a block of four weeks of training and two friendly matches until May 13. A transition period which should sound the death knell for Luka Elsner.
