From 'Rudi Out' To 'Sorry Rudi': Fans Build Website To Apologise To This World Cup Manager
The website, sorryrudi.be, asks: "Who still believed in Rudi Garcia in the 85th minute? Cursed en masse, answered masterfully. Time to apologize, together with Tout Bien Pils."
A couple of Belgium fans have built a website to apologise to the manager of their national football team, Rudi Garcia. The Frenchman had been heavily criticised for his side's lacklustre performances in the group stage of the FIFA World Cup 2026. However, all of that changed in a matter of minutes after Belgium pulled off one of the unlikeliest of comebacks to dump Senegal out of the tournament in the Round of 32.
One of his biggest criticisms came after he benched the country's top scorer, Romelu Lukaku, for the knockout clash. The dissent gained steam when he subbed off talisman Kevin De Bruyne, especially with Senegal leading two goals to nil.
Yet, Garcia's moves turned out to be a masterstroke. Belgium hit back twice in the space of three minutes to take the game to extra time, before adding another goal with penalties looming to seal a dramatic 3-2 comeback victory.
Now, remorseful Belgian fans are feeling the heat after Garcia made them eat their own words. Luca Garcia, not related to Rudi, built the website with a colleague to tell the manager they will not give up on him. So far, over 10,000 fans have written to the 62-year-old.
The website, sorryrudi.be, asks: "Who still believed in Rudi Garcia in the 85th minute? Cursed en masse, answered masterfully. Time to apologize, together with Tout Bien Pils."
Luca, who works for an advertising agency in Brussels, admitted that he was one of those who had lost faith in Rudi with Belgium nearing elimination.
"Just like many Belgians, I shouted 'Rudi out!' in the 85th minute at my television," Luca told The Brussels Times. "Not much later, I had to swallow my words. Afterwards, I felt like I had to apologise to the national team manager. Rudi turned out to be a tactical mastermind."
The late drama in Seattle completely transformed Luca into an admirer, prompting him to launch the digital peace offering.
"A colleague who is good at coding and I built the website very quickly, as a joke, with the intention to send it to our friends who felt the same way after the game," Luca said. "And suddenly, we kept seeing the number of comments go up. It is all going really quickly."
"From Garcia to Garcia: sorry Rudi, I'll never doubt you again," read Luca's own message on the website.
Tout Bien, the famous Belgian beer brand, played a massive role in the website gaining traction after sharing the link online.
Luca is hopeful that the platform will get a few thousand more engagements if Belgium manages to beat the USA in the upcoming Round of 16 clash.
"If we win against the US, I reckon the website might well get a few thousand more comments," he said. "If we lose, we will keep an eye on the sort of comments that get posted to see whether the website can stay online for much longer."
"We will see what happens with the game first," Luca added. "I, for one, will not be doubting his choices anymore, and I'd advise Rudi not to listen to the critics. Even if nobody understands what he's doing, it works."
Belgium