Familiar Territory: Shane McLeod Embarks on Another Coaching Journey to Propel Belgium to New Heights

It would be a stern challenge for ace coach Shane McLeod as he embarks on another stint as Belgium men team’s coach, replacing Miguel Van Heuvel. Shane undoubtedly, has great coaching credentials – durings first stint as Belgium coach, he guided them to its maiden Olympic medal – a silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics that was just a year after he took charge as Red Lions coach. The 56-year-old former New Zealand striker subsequently propelled Belgium to its first-ever World Cup glory at Bhubaneshwar in 2018 as well as its maiden European Championship in 2019 – two years later, Shane perhaps attained the biggest moment for Belgium hockey, winning the Olympic gold medal at Tokyo.

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The Belgium team under previous coach Miguel Van Heuvel (he took over from Shane McLeod after the 2021 Tokyo Olympics) had slipped off the performance radar a bit going by their own high standards they had set for themselves. The Red Lions dished out a below-par performance in the 2023-24 Pro League finishing fifth, losing as many as seven games, including two surprising defeats at the hands of unfancied Ireland.

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The team’s disappointing Olympic campaign at Paris, where they exited in the quarterfinals and settling for the fifth spot, was perhaps enough for the Royal Belgian Hockey Association to mull a change in guard and look beyond Miguel Van Heuvel. So, the change in guard isn’t exactly on unexpected lines.

The road ahead would not be an easy one as the Red Lions are passing through a transition phase with Paris Olympics captain Felix Denayer calling time on his international hockey career alongside world’s most capped men’s hockey player John-John Dohmen, fullback Loick Luypaert and the forward duo of Cedric Charlier and Florent Van Aubel.

The spate of international retirements effectively means that the team would count a lot on the likes of Gauthier Boccard, Tom Boon, Alexander Hendrickx, Nicolas De Kerpel, Thibeau Stockbroekx among others to effectively shoulder responsibility through this transition phase and help the team come up with a strong performance in the 2024-2025 Pro League.

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It may be worth noting that Shane McLeod had stepped down as Red Lions coach after the 2021 Tokyo Olympics glory to spend more time with his family in New Zealand. Shane, who played for the Black Sticks between 1994-96, had rejoined the Red Lions as an Assistant Coach to Miguel Van Heuvel in mid-2022. He has vast experience of coaching several Belgium clubs. Shane was also the coach of the New Zealand men’s team at the 2008 and 2012 Beijing and London Olympics, where they had finished 7th and 9th respectively.

Belgium men would look to write a new chapter of glory under Shane McLeod’s second coaching stint.