© Photo News
Kruisem/Zulte –
A thousand bombs and grenades! It was not the real Captain Haddock who received the Red Devils in the training camp in Tubize. The Zultan actor Bernd Verzele (44) was allowed to shake hands. “I read the Tintin comics to get to know the captain better.”
The Red Devils will be flying reporters during the European Championship in Germany. They play away matches in a Tintin outfit: brown trousers and a light blue shirt with a white collar. Sponsor Adidas and the football association have built a campaign around it. The main characters from the famous comics were present at the presentation of the new shirt and they were allowed to appear again for the welcome of the players during the international break on Tuesday.
Bernd Verzele as himself. — © if
Under Captain Haddock’s beard and cap was a fellow countryman: Bernd Verzele from Zulte, with roots in Kruishoutem. “The question came from a production company for which I have worked before, including as a circus director at Tomorrowland. This time they were looking for someone to play Haddock and they thought of me. It clearly should not be a frail man, but someone who is good in the flesh.”
“I immediately started to delve into the character of the captain: I read comics and also looked up how he swears in French. And I got to know him better. Haddock is a friendly man. He wears his heart on his sleeve and is tough in life, but he actually has a gingerbread heart.”
Sticky beard
Originally, Bernd was only supposed to wear the sticky beard once, during the presentation of the jerseys. “But the responses were so overwhelming that we were given an additional assignment for the welcome to the training center.”
Bernd ‘Haddock’ Verzele at the arrival of Romelo Lukaku. — © Photo News
Bernd is not a big football fan. “My son plays himself, so he obliges me to follow it a bit. And when the Red Devils play, it’s almost impossible not to watch it, of course. But I’m not really a fan.”
“That made this a bit easier to play. I saw it as a job. I was acting. When I’m in my role, it doesn’t matter to me who I’m playing. But of course I realize that it was special and that many people would have loved to have been there.”
Bernd saw quiet players arriving at the practice complex. “They seemed to like the fact that this time they weren’t just met by the red mascot. And I had the impression that they all knew Tintin. Jan Vertonghen even said ‘Hello, captain’ when he shook my hand.”