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Van de Velde discovered the talent of Bruges at an early age: “I convinced his mother that the right path for Charles was football. Perfect behind Giroud or Ibra, he makes passes that only he sees.”
It is really one step away from Milan Charles De Ketelaere and now that he is an established footballer, it is Birger Van de Velde, the coach who convinced him to leave tennis for football, to tell us how it all began. De Ketelaere was 13 and good at both sports. His mother imagined him at Wimbledon, her coach in the Champions League. “I was so sure of his future in football that I went straight to my mother. ‘Your son will become a footballer'”. History and talent have given an answer, and after eight years Birger Van de Velde tells it with such a big, satisfied smile. And a request: “I want a shirt, write it down!”.