// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Valère Billen a good builder? Billen on it.

Valère Billen

Personal information
Date of birth	23 November 1952 (1952-11-23) (age 73)
Place of birth	Belgium
Managerial career
Years	Team
2005–2006	Újpest (assistant)
2006	Újpest
2007	Sint-Truiden
2008–2009	Dessel
2009–2011	Beerschot A.C. (youth)
2011–2012	KVK Tienen
2012–2013	Swaziland
2012	Swaziland U20
2014–2016	KFC Duffel
2016	KVK Tienen

Valère Billen (born 23 November 1952) is a Belgian football coach. He has coached in Ivory Coast where he managed Satellite FC Abidjan.

Coaching career

Swaziland national team

Appointed Swaziland head coach in 2012 on a one-year contract, Billen was bought a new car by the National Football Association of Swaziland as a mode of conveyance was one of the rules his contract embodied. With a monthly salary of 100000 Swaziland lilangenis, and the Swaziland Football Association spending 40000 on his rent, the Belgian's first match was a friendly against Lesotho in October, losing 2–1. Two days later, he helped them achieve a 1–0 victory over Lesotho again. Praising his players for their efforts that game, his charges held Lesotho to a 0–0 stalemate in their third and final friendly in preparation for the 2014 African Nations Championship qualifying two-legged round opposing Angola, losing 1–0 both legs. That same month, the former footballer stated that his desire was to work with local coaches and predicted a rise in the FIFA World Rankings, claiming that they would improve dramatically over time. In 2013, he went with the national selection to participate in the 2013 COSAFA Cup, not having a presentiment of failure and predicting that they would overcome all seemingly insuperable obstacles and deliver a good showing in the tournament; however, despite a draw with Botswana in their opener, the Sihlangu never progressed past the group stage, losing 2–0 twice to Kenya and Lesotho with Billen reconsidering his job as coach. Being thrashed 10–0 by Egypt in a friendly worsened the trainer's position, with fans requesting for his immediate dismissal as they were not expecting such a scoreline; but, despite fan pressure, the National Football Association of Swaziland still did not sack Billen until November 2013, with local Harris Bulunga taking up the interim post. The reason they gave for his firing was that he was in Belgium too often and spent more time there rather than helping the Swaziland Football Association.

The coach temporarily returned to Belgium to care for his mother, who was ill.

One year succeeding his appointment, Billen criticized his Swazi coaching colleagues, saying that they never allowed him to share his ideas.

External links

• Full CV with clubs as a player