Nothing new but it is the first time I have seen the reference to the basic maths test he gives potential new signings!
Until recently, the influx of Belgians into English football was restricted to the pitch. That and much more changed after Roland Duchâtelet’s takeover of Charlton Athletic two months ago.
An entrepreneur and something of an eccentric, who founded Vivant, his own political party, in Belgium, Duchâtelet has spent the past decade dreaming up ideas to reinvent the traditional rules and boundaries of football, not always with success, and he is now racing forward with a business model for the survival of clubs. Restoring the FA Cup to its former glories may be too great a challenge, but it is certain he will have some suggestions on that matter if Charlton beat Sheffield United tomorrow to reach the semi-finals.
Yesterday, the multimillionaire was linked with a takeover of Bari, the Serie A club, who would become a seventh club under his control. The 67-year-old owns Standard Liège, in Belgium, plus teams in Germany, Hungary and Spain. It has been suggested he may add clubs in Portugal and France to his collection, which rivals the Pozzo family’s ownership of Watford, Udinese and Granada. “Football is just becoming more European,” Duchâtelet said. “This is the only viable model for the future. With Financial Fair Play rules, teams need to be smarter. Charlton can offer players the chance to play in the Champions League with [Standard].”
That sounds a romantic possibility for young players at The Valley but Duchâtelet is, naturally, being resourceful by sharing knowhow, players and trying to limit the influence of and payments to agents. Yohann Thuram-Ulien had not been playing for Liège, so the goalkeeper and three team-mates joined Charlton in January in a bid to keep the club in the Sky Bet Championship. It has not proved an immediate success, as they remain third from bottom. Duchâtelet also sold Yann Kermorgant and Dale Stephens, the Charlton players, because they would have been free agents this summer.
He says there is no pecking order among his clubs. “If you have five children what is the priority between your children? They are all your priority,” he said. “Charlton is attractive and historically rich. I want to make them stable. I’m not just giving money but relegation would be unfortunate.”
Duchâtelet trained as a civil engineer and made his £420 million fortune in micro-electronics. When he bought Sint-Truiden, the Belgian club, in 2004, some claimed that he did not know the offside rule, but that has not deterred him from looking beyond the financial figures. He once calculated the best angle to deliver a throw-in — and demonstrated the results in the dressing room, to his players’ amusement — and has presented basic mathematical tests to potential signings to understand how players solve problems.
He also wanted to amalgamate the leagues in Belgium and the Netherlands to enhance television revenues and has long felt that football should be played on artificial pitches, so he could host several matches on the same day and increase income.
He has yet to watch a game at The Valley, and Belgians found it strange that he rarely accompanied Standard in Europe. He bought the club in 2011, just hours after he had first thought of doing so, but he ran into trouble with their fans and had to be put under police protection last summer when he sacked Mircea Rednic and replaced him with Guy Luzon, a little-known coach from Israel. That and selling Axel Witsel and Steven Defour were viewed by some as profiteering and they printed anti-Duchâtelet T-shirts and scarves. Yet Standard are now top of the league.
Duchâtelet has struggled to understand the passion of Standard fans — he wondered why Yves Leterme, the former Belgian Prime Minister, would travel hundreds of miles to watch the team — and is perplexed by wealthy owners who lavish money in the pursuit of silverware. “So many people waste their money in football,” he said. “Look at the losses. It is a very interesting phenomenon, so you need to be a bit creative to not lose money.”
Another Belgian, Jean-Marc Bosman, left a lasting legacy when he revolutionised the transfer system in the 1990s. Duchâtelet may yet change ownership models with his ideas.
How football family grew
2004 Duchâtelet’s partner, Marijke Höfte, runs Sint-Truiden, the Belgian second division club
2011 His son, Roderick, buys 94 per cent of Ujpest, of Hungary
June 2011 Buys Standard Liège for about £30 million
May 2012 Fails to take over Fortuna Sittard in the Netherlands
Dec 2013 Acquires 49.9 per cent of Carl Zeiss Jena, of Germany
Jan 2014 Takes 71 per cent of Alcorcón, in Spain’s second division
Jan 2014 Buys Charlton Athletic for about £14 milion
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Duchâtelet has struggled to understand the passion of Standard fans — he wondered why Yves Leterme, the former Belgian Prime Minister, would travel hundreds of miles to watch the team — and is perplexed by wealthy owners who lavish money in the pursuit of silverware. “So many people waste their money in football,” he said. “Look at the losses. It is a very interesting phenomenon, so you need to be a bit creative to not lose money.”
I agree with the second part. However the first part suggests he fundamentally does not understand his customers and why they buy the "product" he wishes to offer. That is a very dangerous misunderstanding for a business leader to labour under. However it is obvious that he is very smart, and may already have 'got it' as a result of his Standard experience
Edit : Wiki says Serie B
First article I've seen he may possibly buy a French club, and previously failed to buy a Dutch side. So along with Portugal that's at least 3 countries he may be looking at to buy more clubs, as well as Bari.
The cost of buying them might look to be value given their current plight. It's still all very interesting.
How much I wonder has RD now actually spent on this football experiment ?
This probably explains why all our attempted loan signings go elsewhere.
I can't really see us ever signing an English player if they have to pass a maths exam :-(