Fire striker Hugo Cuypers learning management side of soccer

A little more than a year ago, Hugo Cuypers was looking for something interesting to do in the afternoon when his wife was at work and he was done with practice. Then a striker for Belgian club Gent, Cuypers was alerted to the UEFA Certificate in Football Management, an online class for footballers who might be interested in a soccer management career when they leave the field.

Cuypers applied for the course in September and began the curriculum in January. He kept with it even though he left Europe for the Fire in February and is due to complete the course by the end of September.

“The course started around the time I moved here to the States, which I didn’t really need to keep me busy,” Cuypers quipped to the Sun-Times. “I found it really interesting.”

In addition to Cuypers, other notable players who have taken the course include Spain’s Juan Mata and Swiss-born Croatian star Ivan Rakitic. The class consists of 10 online modules on topics such as the organization of world soccer, operational management, marketing, communication and social responsibility, plus seven online master classes.

“I know that I won’t go into coaching, probably, and not knowing if management is something for me, it still speaks to me to discover the behind-the-scenes [of soccer] because I think I want to stay in football after my career,” Cuypers said. “I don’t know which capacity, but it’s my area of expertise compared to other areas.”

Indeed, Cuypers knows soccer well. But his job is to practice and then play. Other aspects of the sport are handled by non-players.

Cuypers is intrigued to learn about that side of the game. The class goes beyond a club’s operations, extending all the way to leagues and organizations such as FIFA and UEFA.

“After the first class we had on Zoom, I realized there are many more jobs in [soccer] than just the ones that we see daily in our routine,” Cuypers said. “As players, you get caught up in your daily training, that there’s always a next game three days after the last one or one week. You’re always living, or at least I am, on a very short term. Seeing how the business is being led behind the scenes is what spoke to me.”

A key part of the curriculum for a player is learning the ins and outs of his club and completing an analysis.

Cuypers has taken advantage. He’s planning to speak with Fire technical director Sebastian Pelzer and owner Joe Mansueto about their work. He repeatedly has met with the sporting communications staff to discuss their work and huddled with team president Dave Baldwin for a three-hour chat about the business side of the franchise.

The talk with Baldwin was “really interesting” and a “little overwhelming” for Cuypers.

“It’s hard to get everything in [over] a couple hours,” he said. “It’s the same club, but it’s a completely different environment and way of doing things. For players, it would be very interesting to see just how many people are working for the club.”

Cuypers appreciates how helpful the Fire have been as he completes the class.

“One of the questions I have to answer to complete my essay is speaking about the values and the vision and mission of the club,” Cuypers said. “They confirm what they say. They want good people and having a process to surround those people so they can perform to the best of their abilities. That’s exactly what they are doing with me.”