The small notebook consulted by Rudi Garcia on the sideline during every Belgium match at this World Cup, the object credited by pundits with the comeback against Senegal, the tactical dismantling of the United States, and what one Spanish newspaper called “a level of in-game management bordering on clairvoyance,” has leaked. The Brussels Monitor has reviewed all thirty-one pages.
Page one is a grocery list. It includes leeks, sponges, and the word “batteries” underlined twice, with no indication of what the batteries are for.
Pages two through six contain a ranked evaluation of frituren within walking distance of the team hotel, scored across four criteria: sauce selection, structural integrity of the cornet, queue discipline, and “ambiance.” One establishment received a zero for ambiance with the annotation “TV was showing tennis.”
Page seven is a reminder to cancel a dentist appointment dated March 2024. It is not crossed out. The RBFA declined to confirm whether the appointment was cancelled, citing medical confidentiality.
Pages eight through nineteen are a sudoku. It is unfinished. A forensic puzzle analyst consulted by this newspaper confirmed the abandonment point as “the same row where everyone gets stuck” and rated the attempt “honest.”
Page twenty is a drawing of a dog. The species is contested.
Pages twenty-one through thirty are blank, except for page twenty-six, which contains a single pressed flower and the word “why.”
Page thirty-one, the final page, the page Garcia was photographed consulting in the 63rd minute against the United States, seconds before the double substitution that produced two goals in eight minutes, contains the entirety of the notebook's tactical content. It reads, in full:
“faire les changements”
There are no names. No minutes. No formations. No arrows. Three words, written once, in pencil, some time ago, judging by the fading.
The revelation has forced a reassessment of Belgium's entire campaign. Tactical analysts who spent the week producing eleven-part threads on Garcia's “substitution algorithms” have begun quietly deleting them. One prominent podcast issued a correction stating that its two-hour episode “Inside the Notebook: Decoding Garcia's In-Game Model” should now be understood as fiction.
The RBFA has launched a formal investigation into the leak, treating the document as compromised strategic material. When a journalist pointed out that the strategy consists of three words and could be reconstructed by anyone who has ever watched football, an RBFA spokesperson replied: “Spain didn't know that yesterday. They know it now. You've armed them.”
Garcia addressed the leak briefly at Thursday's press conference. Asked whether the notebook's contents were genuine, he consulted it, paused, and said: “It says here to make the changes.” He then made a change, ending the press conference eleven minutes early.
The Spanish federation declined to comment on whether the leak alters their preparation. A source within the camp admitted the document had been studied at length and had “somehow made things worse,” explaining: “When you thought there was a system, you could prepare for the system. Now we know there is a man, a pencil, and three words, and he is beating everyone. What do you do with that?”
A new notebook was purchased Thursday morning at a CVS on Sepulveda Boulevard. Witnesses report Garcia selected it in under four seconds, paid in cash, and wrote something on the last page in the parking lot.
The RBFA has classified the contents of the new notebook. Belgium play Spain tomorrow at 18:00 CET.