I couldn't find any topic related to Belgium NT, so I decided to create new one.
Here is an interview with Freya regarding the situation in national team. It's in polish so you need to use translator
https://newonce.sport/artykul/freya-aelbrecht-wywiad-radomka
Some translated parts here:
You're right, we're not old after all. I am talking n about me, but also about Helene Rousseaux, Lisa Van Hecke, Laura Heyrman - we are all in our thirties, plus or minus one or two years.
Why did the successes end there? In my case it is a matter of the coach (Gert Vande Broek). He kicked me out of the national team two years ago. In his opinion, I was already too old and did not fit the concept. He believed that it was time to rejuvenate the team and put on players just in their twenties. What was behind this idea? He honestly will never answer it. In my opinion, he did it to be an underdog all the time. Nobody blames you for losing, because the young players have to gain experience.
In 2013-2015 we had a great team. After bronze eight years ago, there was a fifth place. Expectations grew around us, but we did everything to meet them. We were even close to going to the Rio Olympics. It wasn't too much for anyone except the coach. After EuroVolley 2017, he began the process of destroying the well-coordinated team. Charlotte Leys left quickly, and so did Valerie Courtois. Van Hecke and Heyrman said they have health problems and did not want to play anymore. On the other hand, I felt great, I wanted to continue performing. Vande Broek had to find a way to kick me out of the national team. Working with us, experienced players, began to overwhelm him. We played for top teams in Europe and he never went beyond Kieldrecht and Belgium.
Moreover, he [Gert] has a job in the government which ensures good funding for the volleyball federation. He brings money, so he can say what he wants - that's the attitude. Because of this, no one wants to listen to us, the players. He has been in the national team for thirteen years. There is always an explanation for everything. "Lisa and Laura? They quit because of knee pain. "
Helene Rousseaux didn't want to think too much about it. Charlotte and Valerie left on their own, but it's mostly the coach's fault. They didn't want anything to do with him anymore. One more problem remained - me. When he resigned from me, he said: -Just don't go to the media with it!
- It is known that I will not call journalists now. I wanted to say goodbye to the fans so I wrote "thank you" on social media. After all, they were with me for ten years. The press soon began looking for answers to the question why I was no longer in the picture. Who did they call for clarification? To Vande Broek, not to Aelbrecht. No one was interested in my point of view.