What language do Belgium footballers speak and how does coach Roberto Martinez address them?
In Belgium there isn’t one language which is more prevalent than the others, making it linguistically diverse
PLAYING A team sport such as football requires communication between the players.
In most national team set-ups the predominant language takes precedence, like English for England, French for France, Spanish for Spain etc. However in Belgium there isn’t one language which is more prevalent than the others, making it linguistically diverse.
What languages are spoken in Belgium?
Flemish (a Dutch dialect) is dominant in the north of the country and most of the rest speak French whilst there is also a small German-speaking community.
This divide is noticeable amongst some of the stars of the Belgian team; Kevin de Bruyne is a Flemish-speaker from Ghent whilst Axel Witsel speaks only French (he was born in Liège).
Yet the two languages are not the same.
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So how do the players speak to each other?
A spokesman for the Belgian Football Association said back in 2014 that they “organise interviews separately for the French and Flemish speakers”. In that particular press conference midfielder Axel Witsel and defender Thomas Vermaelen and spoke different languages, Witsel in French and Vermaelen in Dutch.
The ethnic diversity of the team means there is a wide range of languages spoken amongst the team. Striker Romelu Lukaku can speak six – Flemish, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Swahili. But some of the French-speaking players are monolingual.
English is reportedly used as the common language in the dressing room, so the Belgian FA cannot be accused of favouring either French or Flemish over the other and creating language barriers.
How does the coach Roberto Martinez communicate with his players?
Martinez is a Spanish coach who talks in none of the three official languages of Belgium: French, Flemish and German. He uses English when speaking to the players, where it acts as a middle ground. However recently Martinez said the variety of languages spoken is an advantage of coaching the team and insists ‘the language of football’ conveys his messages to the players.