Article about Royale Union Saint-Gilloise who currently lead the Belgian top division under Brighton owner Tony Bloom. Interesting that the sporting director is Chris O'Loughlin
And Belfast-born Chris O'Loughlin is the sporting director - he focuses on recruitment and works closely with head coach Felice Mazzu. "There was always a strong fanbase here, and it is a diverse area," O'Loughlin, whose CV includes stints coaching at Orlando Pirates, Charlton Athletic and Belgian clubs KV Kortrijk and STVV, before taking up his first director's role with Union in 2019, tells BBC Sport. "I won't say it was a blank canvas, but there is more of a chance to build and put structures in place and to create. Everybody wants to be part of something unique and something special. Everyone is open to new ideas and developing both professionally and personally. "It is exciting that we are looking at different advantages in the direction football is going. It is a developmental stance, not just with recruitment but in terms of culture, medical, coaching and infrastructure. "The culture inside the team is important. We have people coming from different backgrounds, different education levels and from all over the world. "We are not going to be successful if we work only as individuals. We have core values and it is important that we find examples of those."
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Article about Royale Union Saint-Gilloise who currently lead the Belgian top division under Brighton owner Tony Bloom. Interesting that the sporting director is Chris O'Loughlin
"There was always a strong fanbase here, and it is a diverse area," O'Loughlin, whose CV includes stints coaching at Orlando Pirates, Charlton Athletic and Belgian clubs KV Kortrijk and STVV, before taking up his first director's role with Union in 2019, tells BBC Sport.
"I won't say it was a blank canvas, but there is more of a chance to build and put structures in place and to create. Everybody wants to be part of something unique and something special. Everyone is open to new ideas and developing both professionally and personally.
"It is exciting that we are looking at different advantages in the direction football is going. It is a developmental stance, not just with recruitment but in terms of culture, medical, coaching and infrastructure.
"The culture inside the team is important. We have people coming from different backgrounds, different education levels and from all over the world.
"We are not going to be successful if we work only as individuals. We have core values and it is important that we find examples of those."