Belgian football Mid-Term Report 2008-09 season

There seems to be a little ray of light at the end of the tunnel in which Belgian football has been in for about a decade now. The European adventures of Standard and the encouraging results of the national side are the main satisfactions.

After a successful (and controversial) Olympic tournament in which the Belgian youngsters reached the semi-finals Belgium kicked off their WORLD CUP 2010 campaign in positive fashion. The team, a mix of players from the Olympic side and older guys, seems to finally have found a pattern of play and cohesion on the pitch (at long last under stubborn coach René Van der Eycken, as some may say) that was missing in the last unsuccessful attempts.

Belgium began with a hard-fought 3-2 win in Liège against the group’s minnows, Estonia. An unconvincing start but the next game, in Istanbul against Euro semi-finalists Turkey, was much more like the Belgium of old: a solid performance in defence, dangerous counter-attacks and a solidarity on the pitch unseen in years should have brought us 3 points back from the shores of the Bosphorus. But after a brilliant headed goal by rejuvenated FC Bruges striker Wesley Sonck, the referee awarded Turkey a penalty straight out of his imagination and the 1-1 result now felt like 2 points lost (while everybody would have been more than happy before the game with such a result).

After a routine 2-0 win vs Armenia in Brussels came a game against European champions Spain, also in Brussels. Belgium played a magnificent match, scoring first through a Wesley Sonck header (just like in Istanbul). But a mistake by new < a href="http://www.albionroad.com/club-profiles/54-everton">Everton player Marouane Fellaini gifted Spain an equalizer just before the break. In the second half, the Red Devils pushed for a second goal, with a confidence unseen in years. But, after a Fellaini goal wrongly disallowed for off-side and a few narrow misses, Spain scored the winner through David Villa in injury time. An unjust defeat but a brilliant performance by our standards.

The only good news on the night were the 2 points dropped by Turkey in Tallinn. After four games, Belgium are 3rd in the table, 1 point behind Turkey but already 5 behind Spain. While the Spaniards seem impossible to catch, 2nd place (and a play-off spot) is not out of reach. Next are two very important games against the group’s outsiders, Bosnia-Hercegovina. The first game is on March 28th in Brussels, and the return in Zenica 3 days latter. If we can pick up 4 points out of these games, then we can have hopes.

IN EUROPE, the talk of the country both sides of the linguistic divide has been the performances of Standard. After narrowly losing to Liverpool in the Champions’ League play-off round, they deservedly put Everton out of the UEFA Cup (much to my personal delight). The Liège side was drawn into a very difficult group, with former holders Sevilla FC, Serie A side Sampdoria, VfB Stuttgart of the Bundesliga and Serbian outfit Partizan Belgrade. They started with a fine 1-0 home win vs Sevilla, then another 1-0 win away in Belgrade and next destroyed Sampdoria 3-0. After 3 games, the Rouches were already sure of qualification and first spot in the group. In these circumstances, the 3-0 defeat in Stuttgart in the final game was kind of irrelevant. In the next round, Standard were drawn against Portuguese side Sporting Braga. If they can win that one, they will meet the winners of the Paris St Germain-VfL Wolfsburg tie.

While Standard were restoring some of Belgium’s pride on the continental stage, the other representative sides in Europe did not. Anderlecht went shamefully out against BATE Borisov (although the performances of the Belarus side in the group stage proved that they were no pushovers). KAA Gent’s presence was barely noted, as they went down heavily against Swedish team Kalmar FF.

Finally, FC Bruges, after beating Young Boys Bern in the first round, miserably failed in the UEFA Cup group stage, in a easier group than Standard. They started with an unadventurous goalless draw away in Norway vs Rosenborg and then drew 1-1 at home at then bottom-of-the table French team AS Saint-Etienne, largely thanks to their international goalkeeper Stijn Stijnen. The only creditable result was a 1-1 draw away at Valencia, who fielded many reserve players for the occasion. In the last game, at home against FC Copenhagen, yet another draw would have been enough to secure third spot and qualification to the next round. But the Danish side deservedly won this one 1-0 (and went through) after an inept and frankly shameful performance by the home side, who are now in free fall in the league also (more of that latter).

AT THE HALFWAY STAGE IN THE LEAGUE, Anderlecht are top of the table with a 4 point lead. Despite some poor performances and still healing the wounds inflicted in Europe, the Brussels team can fully concentrate on winning its 30th title. Also out of the Cup, the enormous squad of 30 players is too much for the Belgian league only and there are many players unhappy at their limited playing opportunities. Still, they have the advantage of playing at home in the second round against their main (and probably only) rivals, Standard. Much will depend on this game but with this 4 point cushion, the title is theirs to lose. And during the January transfer window, they have bought one of Belgium’s brightest prospects, Tom De Sutter from Cercle Bruges.

Behind them are reigning champions Standard, arguably the best side in the country. I had my doubts about Bolöni when he replaced Michel Preud’homme as coach at the start of the season but he proved that he’s probably even better, bringing out the best in the young team, especially in Europe. But those exploits have cost them dear in the league. They dropped many points after midweek games and it could cost them the title. While beating Anderlecht and hammering FC Bruges 4-1 at their place, they lost at home after European games against the likes of Charleroi and Zulte Waregem. Also, the international exposure has brought a lot of the club’s players to the attention of clubs from richer leagues. Brazilian full-back Dante (who missed a penalty against Liverpool and was at fault at Anfield in the only goal of the game) has already been sold to the Bundesliga’s bottom team, Borussia Mönchengladbach. The fact that Dante considered this move as a step forward in his career deMonstrates the fact the Belgian league is still a small one. Standard's many fans are holding their breath until the end of this month in the hope that no-one else will follow him. Jovanovic, Mbokani, Dufour and Witsel are the players who have attracted the most interest.

In 3rd place, already 7th points behind the leaders (and after they lead the table in November) are fast sinking FC Bruges. Many think that their place at the top was largely due to a lot of favourable refereeing decisions but recently, everything is going against them. First they lost at home 4-1 to Standard, then they went out of Europe and they finished the first round of matches with a 5-1 defeat at Mouscron. 2009 has started in the same vein as they lost at home in the Cup against bottom-of-the-table Roeselare. How much longer controversial coach Jacky Mathijssen can keep his job is anyone’s guess. In their current form, they won’t even make it to Europe at the end of the season.

Closing on them are KRC Genk, who are enjoying a solid season but who are not strong enough to challenge for the top spots. The same can be said about Westerlo, who have once more entertained under former Red Devils legend Jan Ceulemans. Bruges’ second team, Cercle, started the season badly after their excellent 2007-2008 finish but are now recovering their form. They are only 3 points off third place but how they will cope with the loss of star player Tom De Sutter to Anderlecht will determine the rest of their campaign.

In mid-table are Mouscron, who started the season brightly, topping the table after a few games and playing good football under Enzo Scifo. Results have dipped since then but the off-field situation is the main concern as the club is facing near bankruptcy. They sold their top scorer Custovic to KAA Gent for a small sum just in order to settle their most urgent debts. Under astute coach George Leekens, draw specialists (9 in 17 games!) Lokeren are a hard team to beat (indeed, they only lost 2 games so far, which is the smallest in the league). They also have the best defence of the division. Zulte Waregem are having another quiet season, enjoying results like a 4-0 trashing of Anderlecht and a 2-1 win away at Standard. The biggest disappointment so far is KAA Gent, who had big ambitions. They attracted the champions’ coach, Michel Preud’homme, in a bid to challenge high in the table but are only in 10th place. Preud’homme (despite saying the contrary) hasn’t found his feet yet it seems. Time will tell whether this was a good move for him.

KV Kortrijk, 2nd division champions last season, are having a good season, playing attractive football under innovative coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck and are a refreshing addition to the league. They should survive without too many problems. Charleroi are another team with big ambitions (unrealistic some will say) who has disappointed. Coach Thierry Siquet was sacked in December and has been replaced by former Scottish international John Collins, ex Celtic, Everton and Monaco player. An interesting move.

AMONGST THE TEAMS FIGHTING TO AVOID RELEGATION (and the relegation play-offs, remember 3, maybe 4 team will go down this year), KV Mechelen are probably the least likely to go. With their passionate crowd behind them, they have enjoyed better results recently after a difficult start. Mons are in danger too and have already used 3 coaches this season. Their squad, largely made up of players from the French 2nd and 3rd division is very difficult to handle and a lack of discipline could cost them dear. Germinal Beerschot Antwerp are currently in a play-off spot, which is a big surprise as the team was expected to challenge for Europe after making some interesting transfers during the summer. Coach Harm Van Veldhoven has paid the price but they are among the teams fighting for their lives in the top league. As they say, nobody’s too good to go down. The other team occupying the relegation play-off spot is FC Dender, which is not a surprise as they were expected to struggle. Coach Johan Boskamp will retire at the end of the season, as he has health problems that have forced him to miss some of his team’s games this term.

In the automatic relegation positions are Tubize and Roeselare. The very presence of Tubize at this level is already an exploit. A little more than 10 years ago, they were playing in the 3rd division of the Province of Brabant, which is the 7th level of Belgian football. They needed time to adapt to Division 1, and lost most of their opening fixtures. A Flemish newspaper (Tubize is a club from Wallonia) predicted that the club would be mathematically relegated by Christmas. Well this has not been the case, far from it, as the Sang et Or began to win some games, with an sometimes over-physical approach under French coach Albert Cartier. During the winter break, they went for a week in a training in the Vosges region in France without practising on football, doing only physical exercises. They have a chance to survive and they will certainly not lie down. Roeselare lost most of their team in the summer and bought an entirely new one. It has not yet brought results and they are facing an uphill battle to stay up.

IN DIVISION 2, relegated St Truiden VV are leading, with Lierse just behind them. They seem to be the only sides capable of winning the title in a mediocre division.

THIS YEAR'S BELGIAN CUP is interesting as the Big 3 have all gone, Standard losing at Kortrijk, Anderlecht at KV Mechelen and FC Bruges at home to Roeselare. In the quarter finals, 2nd division Lierse will meet 3rd division Racing Mechelen (the second team from this city) which is certain to give a place in the semis to a lower league team. The other teams through are KRC Genk, KAA Gent, KV Mechelen, Roeselare, Kortrijk and the winners of the postponed tie between Cercle Bruges and Charleroi.

Current Jupiler League Standings