At 37, Seppe Baetens is without a doubt the oldest Red Dragon in coach Zanini’s squad. A player with a huge amount of experience and a very impressive list of honours: Belgian Cup winner with Antwerp after an unforgettable thriller and a 28-26 win over Roeselare, then the same the following year with Asse-Lennik (in the final against Antwerp), Cup finals with French side Nantes and in Abu Dhabi, plus the Belgian title in 2019 with Maaseik after yet another thriller against Roeselare and a five-set final play-off win in the tie-break.

But where was the son of the legendary Jo Baetens active last year? Not that easy to find in the statistics, but he was very active and successful at Steaua Bucharest in Romania.

“We played a very strong season. In the league we won 18 of our 20 matches, including a run of 15 straight wins. In the play-offs we reached the quarter-finals, but when there was suddenly a three-week stretch without matches, our level dropped. We still finished fourth after losing in the fifth play-off match against Zalau in the tie-break. And in the cup we were unlucky to be drawn straight away in the first round against Gelati, the then champions, and we were immediately knocked out,” says an ever-enthusiastic Seppe from the family home in Lennik.

Was the call-up to the national team unexpected?

Seppe Baetens: “Three months ago I got a phone call from Emanuele Zanini asking whether I’d be interested in joining the Red Dragons squad. I then asked for a week to think about it. I was torn between taking some rest — which would certainly not have been bad for my body — or being part of the Belgian team one last time in my career. I saw that it was a young, ambitious group of players with a lot of talent, and I thought I might be able to pass on my experience to them. And I also felt I could still enjoy it myself.”

You did play your last match in Romania on 16 May…

“That’s right. I also asked for, and got, an extra week off, so I only started training and playing with the group this week in a friendly against a French team. Of course I wasn’t in the starting line-up, but I could already see there is a lot of potential in this team. I shared a room with Antwerp middle blocker Lasse Van Genechten, who I didn’t really know, and vice versa. No problem though: a great group.”

Don’t they think: who is this grandpa?

“Maybe they do, but for now they’re not saying it (laughs). Coolman, who can start training again in two weeks, Deroo and D’Hulst are a bit younger. Only Matthias Valkiers is close to my age.”

Is the Romanian league a strong one?

“Absolutely. I think it is somewhat underrated over here. It really is a good league, maybe even stronger than the Belgian one. There are seven teams here that are very evenly matched and all capable of finishing near the top. There are also good players here and the budgets are quite high. Several players earn more than 100,000 euros.”

Those budgets also mean some heavy travel, I guess?

“Around the capital, Bucharest, there are about five teams, but if we have to go to Zalau, that’s an eight- to nine-hour bus ride. In the play-offs we sometimes play on consecutive days, but not in the league. Even then, we travel the day before and stay in a hotel with the team.”

Where do those budgets come from?

“At Gelati, the team that became champions for three years, there is a rich president who puts a lot of money in. So the other teams felt they also needed bigger budgets. Our team, Steaua, is the army’s team; Dinamo is the police team. I don’t know whether they get much support from those sectors. Zalau is a smaller city, but I assume the team is supported by the city among other things. Add to that the fact that Steaua, besides volleyball, also has other sports such as football, water polo and handball, and of course those sections also want money. So there is also regular talk about fraud.”

Will you play for that team again next season?

“I don’t know yet. That depends on the situation inside the club. But the longer it drags on, the less chance there is that I’ll still have a place there. Even though there are about a dozen teams in the Romanian league.

Bucharest was a very easy city to reach. My mother came to visit several times. If it were up to her, I’d have to choose either a city with nice weather or one where there’s something to see. She’s a good friend of Britt Rampelberg’s mother and even went with her to Atlanta, where Britt was playing. And since my mother will retire soon, she’ll have even more time to travel. So maybe my choice will depend on her! (laughs)”

First the Red Dragons. What are the goals in the VNL?

“I’ve only just joined the group, but I understand that staying in the top division of the VNL is the main objective. It will also depend on which teams our opponents bring: will they come with their strongest side or with more of a B-team? For us, I see only Sam Deroo and Pieter Coolman missing in the first pool matches, but I sense healthy ambition from everyone, and the idea is also to keep building with this group.”

Will you already be there Monday morning when you leave for Brazil?

“Zanini hasn’t announced his squad yet. We’ll play four matches in five days there: Brazil, Iran, Serbia and Bulgaria. I think we’ll start as outsiders. But with ambitious young players and guys full of talent. Maybe we can pull off an upset that week, like the Yellow Tigers did against Poland.

I hope I can take part; I’ve had yellow fever shots. But I also understand that I only joined training this week. I definitely hope to get my chance. They also know I’m not there to take someone’s place just for the future, but I do want to pass on my experience. Possibly in the next pool matches. Physically I’m still fine, and this is a nice challenge in what will probably be the last year of my volleyball career.”

Text: Marcel Coppens
Photo: TopVolley Belgium