Overview
- The club announced on Monday that Compper, 41, has signed a two-year contract to become Royal Antwerpen’s first permanent head coach.
- Compper moves up from assistant and youth roles after working at MSV Duisburg, Lokomotive Moscow, RB Leipzig and most recently as Enrico Maaßen’s assistant at FC St. Gallen.
- He completed the Belgian Pro-license course alongside former interim coach Faris Haroun, a credential that clears him to manage in the Belgian top flight.
- Antwerp’s decision comes after a 10th-place finish last season and a wide squad overhaul that included releasing eight players, selling Zeno Van den Bosch to Union Berlin, and bringing in mainly younger signings plus returnee Maxime Busi and Michael Frey.
- Compper faces the short-term task of stabilizing results with a younger roster and the longer-term task of rebuilding talent and selling players for profit, so early transfer activity and opening fixtures will be key tests of his mandate.