John van den Brom throws the dice for 17 million euros

Tonight Anderlecht play the return Champions League qualifying match against AEL Limassol. The first leg was won by the Cypriots 2-1 and new coach John van den Brom will be feeling the pressure that comes with coaching Belgium’s most media-intense club.

The press and the Anderlecht President have reminded van den Brom that qualification for the Champions’ League group stage is obligatory as it will mean roughly 17 million euros going into the Anderlecht coffers. The Brussels side would get about 4-5 million from the Europa League in case of defeat but that would not satisfy the club hierarchy.
The club’s budget is based on qualification for the group stage one year in two but sadly, Anderlecht have not reached that stage in Europe since 2006-07. With a budget of 35 million euros per annum, it’s obvious why Anderlecht were not happy when Matias Suarez failed his medical prior to a 15 million euro move to CSKA.
Tonight, Anderlecht will most likely go with a 4-4-2 formation with Lucas Biglia and Brazilian Kanu in midfield. One player who won’t be there is Milan Jovanovic who was given a red card, for pure stupidity, by a Serb referee in the first leg. He’ll be replaced by Ukrainian winger Sacha Iakovenko who has seemed like a new man since the change of coach at the beginning of the season.
If Anderlecht win, the club will rejoice and it will be great for Belgian football. If they lose, watch out for talk of a crisis and the possibility of some ‘big names’ leaving the club before midnight on Friday.