Rudi Garcia adds a maverick element to the Belgian setup.
The former Marseille, Lyon and Napoli manager was four minutes away from his Belgium stint ending against Senegal.
His contract is up at the end of the tournament and, having substituted Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku, his decisions would have been ridiculed had Belgium gone out.
Instead, since the 86th minute against Senegal, they have scored seven goals (all with De Bruyne off the field) and looked a completely different team in defence and attack, producing incisive, fast-paced football.
Garcia's team selections and unorthodox, unpredictable calls during games can raise eyebrows.
He dropped De Bruyne and Doku against the U.S. and one backroom staff member, speaking anonymously to protect relationships, said: "Sometimes even we are like, 'What the f*** is he doing?'." No one seems to know what he will do next.
Garcia wasn't exactly popular with Belgium fans but since that Senegal match, a website has been set up where they can apologise to him. 'Sorry Rudi' had more than 10,000 apologies or comments posted on it as of Thursday.
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