Dunstan Joins Aalst

There are few stars in football bigger than American forward Deontre Dunstan, and Sportvereniging Red Star Aalst has stunned the football world by acquiring him. The price was steep as Red Star reportedly paid a club record $2,000,000 (approximately €1,700,000) transfer fee to American powerhouse Long Beach Lions. The 33 year old Dunstan has spent his whole professional career with the Lions, and in his 15 seasons he played 436 league matches scoring 485 goals, including a 52 goal campaign a year ago.

Thousands of excited Aalst fans gathered at the club's training facilities today for Deontre Dunstan's introductory press event. He showed off his brand new #10 red and black shirt, and briefly addressed the crowd. "It is great to be here in Aalst in front of so many fans who appreciate my greatness" said Dunstan, pointing out to the gathered crowd. "There are some other talented players in Belgium, but I am ready to show them that Deontre and Red Star are here to win. I hope that they are prepared as well. It's going to be very fun."

Manager Modraed Engham reiterated the club's commitment to success in his address to the gathered fans and media. "We want to make bold steps towards competing with the best that the BPL has to offer. I think this is a move that proves how serious we are towards that goal. The work is still to come, but acquiring quality players and building a quality team is what we are all about here. I look forward to seeing Deontre at training, adding his talents to our own."

The club shop almost immediately sold out of Dunstan-branded merchandise, but is expected to have more prepared in advance of the club's exhibition matches to come.

Red Star Coaching Staff Announced

Red Star Aalst announced via a press release the other key members of new manager Modraed Engham's coaching staff. The biggest name among them was Ruerd Cuelemans who was named the assistant manager. Cuelemans, 53, was the manager of fellow BPL club Wonderkid Sports Authority for most of the past three seasons. Amidst a bankruptcy scare, The Rams fell from title contenders to a mid-table side, and Cuelemans was sacked from the manager role in this middle of last season.

Two former Aalst players were named in the other key coaching spots as Bridge Fisher and Archibald Friedland are set to become the first team coach and goalkeeping coach respectively. The 35 year old Fisher was a defender for Red Star for 11 seasons before retiring last year. He spent last season on Alco Moreau's staff with Aalst working as a defensive assistant. Friedland, 34, was Red Star's starting goalkeeper for many years also serving as the club's first captain. He joins the club in his first coaching role after taking a year away from football last year.

Engham Introduced as New Red Star Manager

The new manager of Sportvereniging Red Star Aalst is Modraed Engham. Engham served as the team's first team coach last season under departing manager Alco Moreau. At only 29 years old, he becomes the youngest manager in the history of the Belgian Premier League. He had been a player for the club before suffering a career ending ankle injury at only 19 years of age, and then rejoined Aalst two years later in a minor coaching role, and now becomes  the 3rd ever manager of Red Star Aalst.

Engham was a surprising choice to many given his youth and lack of managerial experience, but at this introductory press conference, club president Simon Henri-Lebrun explained the decision. "The biggest driver to wanting him was continuity in our organization" said Lebrun. "Modraed has been working at Aalst diligently for years and has gained a reputation among the players and other staff as someone who has been easy to work with and is incredibly knowledgeable about the game. He gets along well with the people here and has been helping players develop while in his various roles. He is the type of person that we do not wish to lose to another team, and we feel that the time was now to give him this chance."

When asked if he felt lucky to be able to be in this new role, Engham was adamant that good fortune had little to do with it. "I'm thankful to have this job certainly, and thankful at the opportunities that I have received in Aalst, but it doesn't feel like luck. After my injury, I decided fairly quickly that I wasn't done with football and wanted to find a career in this sport. I have poured my heart into coaching and have grown under the tutelage of some excellent coaches. I do feel like I have seized upon a moment here, and I intend to push forward in this new role, helping the players here seize the opportunities that they have."

Expectations will be high going into next season, and the hope will be that Red Star can grow into a title contender in the coming years. They are betting on their new manager being a key component of that.

Moreau Out as Aalst Manager

Sportvereniging Red Star Aalst has fired manager Alco Moreau after 3 years in that role with the club. The 52 year old Moreau had previously served as first team coach for long-time manager Rickard Oberlander before being promoted to the top job when Oberlander retired. In his 3 seasons as manager, Moreau guided Aalst to a 82-9-21 record, never finishing in the top 3 in the BPL table.

Aalst just wrapped up their season with a 1-0 win away at Liege Union FC to end the year in 4th place for the second consecutive year.