Will Still
Europe’s youngest top-flight coach making waves in Belgium
It might have come as a bolt from the blue for those outside of Belgian club Beerschot when 28-year-old Will Still was chosen to replace Hernan Losada, as he headed across the Atlantic to DC United. Internally however, it was an obvious choice. Picking the Anglo-Belgian for the job made him the youngest coach at a top-level club in Europe since the last World War, continuing his rapid catapult up from video analyst and then assistant coach, to taking charge of the Antwerp-based club.
He had been an active assistant under Losada. “I was close to him and did 70 to 80 per cent of the training,” Still explains. And Beerschot’s chairman, Francis Vranken, saw the potential. “We were aware of his qualities. He was very important in Beerschot’s development from Division 1B up until now. Our choice to upgrade him was logical. People who work hard for our club get rewarded for that.”
Beerschot won promotion last season and were early season frontrunners in this campaign, but tumbled down to tenth when Losada
“I want to be as good as I possibly can be, irrespective of my age. I was 24 when I coached at Lierse. Julian Nagelsmann was 28 when he began in the Bundesliga”
left. In his first nine league games, Still won four and lost three, to take the team back to seventh before the international break in March.
Born in Belgium to English parents in a football-obsessed family, Still was raised in Britain where he first worked at Preston North End, coaching the Under-14s and Under-18s, while studying at Myerscough College. “But my dream was always to become a professional footballer.
At 19 I realised I wouldn’t make it.”
He returned to Belgium, first as a video analyst at Standard Liege, before being promoted to assistant coach at Lierse and then becoming head coach of the second division outfit.
“The age issue does bring attention. But I want to be as good as I possibly can be, irrespective of my age. I was 24 when I coached at Lierse. Julian Nagelsmann was 28 when he began in the Bundesliga. So, all is possible.”
Some of his players are older than him, but for Still that is nothing to be concerned about. “I don’t do anything to show or say, ‘I am the boss’. I don’t walk around like Napoloen. I try to win respect with the standard of my training and analysis. The players understand: ‘Will is here to help and not to create a circus’.”
Losada offered him the chance to also go to DC United as his assistant. “But Beerschot offered me the job. They said I’d become head coach one day, so why not now?” explains Still.
“They said, ‘if it goes well, we’ll take it further’ and if not, maybe I’d work under a new coach. I felt they trusted me and what did I have to lose? This is not going to make or break me. If it doesn’t go well, it’s not the end of my career. I am living my ambition but I’ve worked hard to get here. And I will continue to work; my dreams aren’t ending at the age of 28.”