The Jupiler League has three teams in the knock-out stages of the Europa League and all three are playing today. The three – Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Standard Liege – all topped their groups and all have good chances of reaching the last 16, thereby enhancing Belgium’s UEFA coefficient. Standard (6th) are first out… Read More »
For a number of reasons, international friendly matches don’t have great appeal these days. Football fans value competition and are not keen to pay to watch a match with multiple substitutions and a lack of effort from some participants. This was thrown into sharp relief yesterday when Ajax defender Toby Alderweireld said that playing at… Read More »
And so it came to pass that Belgium failed to qualify for the 2012 European Championships. The writing has been on the wall for some time and to expect a victory in Dusseldorf was asking too much. The Belgian squad is obviously full of talent but lacks quality in several positions and – it has… Read More »
‘Nuff said! Say goodnight Georges.
Standard Liege defeated Westerlo 2-0 to win the Belgian Cup for the first time in 18 years. Goals from Mangala and Mravac (own goal) ended Westerlo’s dream. Jan Ceulemans’ team played their part in an entertaining match but they probably lacked belief. For Standard, Mangala was solid in defence and his goal put Standard on… Read More »
The shadow of Mehdi Carcela hangs over tonight’s Belgian Cup Final. Standard Liège’s Carcela suffered horrific injuries in last Tuesday’s match with Genk and he’s told his team-mates – from his hospital bed – to win the cup for him. Standard will start favourites against Westerlo but they will not – or should not –… Read More »
Tonight’s two games could not be more different. The first, Ghent-Standard Liege, brings together two teams from Belgium’s “big five”; the second features a couple of sides that spend most of their time in the shadows and rest just beyond that area. A few weeks ago, Ghent defeated Standard Liege 4-1 in the league, but… Read More »
Standard’s home draw with Club Brugge, 2-2, means that the Liege club are in danger of not qualifying for the championship playoffs for the second year running.The danger is real as their rivals – Lokeren and KV Mechelen – could easily get six points each from their final two games. Lokeren welcome Lierse (fighting relegation)… Read More »
The game ended all square and for a table-topper lived up to expectations. Genk controlled the game for 89 minutes, although they were mainly on the defensive. Joneleit and Matoukou were magnificent at the centre of the Genk defence and Courtois in the Genk goal must have impressed the 30-odd scouts watching the game. Anderlecht… Read More »
Friday night’s clash between Anderlecht and Racing Genk has all the makings of a cracker. The teams are level on points at the top of the table, with identical records. Genk just edge the lead at the moment; on more goals scored and a better goal difference. The match also takes Franky Vercauteren back to… Read More »