The life of a football manager is defined by control, or at least the illusion of it. But what happens when that control is physically stripped away? In his “De Warming Up” column for the April 11 match against NAC Breda, FC Groningen manager Erwin van de Looi reflects on the agonizing experience of being banished to the stands.

Van de Looi opens the column by celebrating a miraculous turnaround in form. After hitting rock bottom in March, the team had secured massive victories against Vitesse , PSV , and PEC Zwolle . However, the victory in Eindhoven came at a personal cost. “At the end of the match against PSV, I was sent away by referee Tom van Sichem for commenting on the officiating, and therefore I was missing along the touchline in Zwolle,” he explains.

Under the sub-header “GEEN CONTACT” (No Contact), Van de Looi describes the helplessness of his suspension. “During the match, I sat in the press box. It is quite difficult. You can do very little and I was absolutely not allowed to have any contact with the technical staff. It is certainly not worth repeating.” He notes that his role was reduced to waving at the players as they got off the bus, and then waiting to see them again after the final whistle.

A Look into the Future

Despite the manager’s absence from the dugout, the team secured a crucial victory in Zwolle, proving that the tactical foundation Van de Looi had built was strong enough to function on autopilot. This late-season surge of three consecutive victories completely salvaged the campaign, propelling FC Groningen back into the European playoff spots. Van de Looi’s brief exile to the press box served as a bizarre, stressful footnote in a season that ultimately forged his reputation as one of the most resilient young managers in the Eredivisie.