LIER - The Belgian billiard crowd can witness the farewell tour of its famous champions in the coming year. Raymond Ceulemans and Ludo Dielis, together good for 210 world and European titles, will play together in one team for the first time in their long careers in Belgium. They will do so with another famous name, Richard Bitalis, and with Raymond's eldest son, Koen Ceulemans. The 'nostalgic dream team', as the foursome was launched during a press conference at the Mister 100 in Lier this Monday afternoon, entered into a two-year commitment and aims to make a stab at a position in the highest Belgian team division. ''We are used to win a lot, so expectations are high,'' it sounded combative.
Raymond Ceulemans (85), Ludo Dielis (78), Richard Bitalis (77) and Koen Ceulemans (61) are of a rare breed of top athletes who still want to pursue the highest level as a team. That gave Kurt Ceulemans, Raymond's other son, the idea of a unique farewell tour. Kurt, the brilliant entertainer, announced it with a joke: ''For the first match of this dream team, we will put a Red Cross tent at the entrance of the arena.''
However, for all three veterans in the team, they are in puking condition. ''You never know huh,'' philosophised Raymond, the record holder in world titles (35), ''but we have already survived many champions.'' The Mister 100's stronghold at the Grote Markt in Lier will therefore be 'the place to be' in the coming team season. The Mister 100’sreke won the highest national title with its first team (Peter, Kurt and Bart Ceulemans and Jerry Hermans) this year and will enter the next team competition as champions.
The Dream team with the former champions may start in the second division with chances of promotion. The calculation was made quickly: Raymond and Ludo surely will win many matches at positions 1 and 2. Richard (who still trains many hours a day) and Koen are almost unbeatable at positions 3 and 4.
Raymond Ceulemans won his last world title in 2001 in Luxembourg with many of the current world top guns in the field of participants. ’’There I announced that I would never again play individually, but only in teams. So that was 22 years ago now.’’ Ludo Dielis has not played individual matches for 16 years. ’’I first played against Raymond when I was 18, so 60 years ago,'' Dielis cites the many titanic battles. ’’We played countless finals against each other.''
Never did they play together in one team, or it must have been with the Belgian team during the legendary TEP tournaments in Amersfoort, where each country team played five disciplines. ’’That is still one of the very famous events in billiards,'' Ceulemans and Dielis assure.
The project, for which they were invited by Kurt Ceulemans, counts as a farewell tour. ’’I am looking forward to two splendid years,'' Dielis said. ’’For me, it very much remembers me to the slogan: out together, home together.'' Raymond Ceulemans: ’’This is pretty much a 'once in a lifetime' opportunity that we get. And fortunately Richard Bitalis, with whom the two have played many tournaments, was also willing to come over from Paris every week.
The two veterans, once among the founding members of Werner Bayer's pro association BWA, have closely followed the controversy between the UMB and PBA, which has led to suspensions of top players like Caudron, Leppens and Kasidokostas and now also sidelined Dani Sánchez and Semih Sayginer for the traditional federation UMB after their transfers. The expectations are not very high about the upcoming negotiations.
Raymond and Ludo, however, are happy to offer one advice: ’’It would be great when there should come out one compromise from the negotiations. That the best 16 players of the UMB and the best 16 of PBA play against each other in one big clash. The best would be in Antwerp, the billiard city of Belgium. The sports palace would be fully packed, so let that be the challenge for the two federations.''
Young Raymond Ceulemans (right) and Ludo Dielis (left) in a historic picture with Belgian king Boudewijn
Palmares Raymond Ceulemans:
35 times world champion
45 times champion of Europe
61 times champion of Belgium
(Knight of the Order of Nobility in 2003, member in Hall of Fame, USA in 2002).
Palmares of Ludo Dielis:
9 times world champion
23 times European champion
37 times champion of Belgium.