Next Wednesday journalists, coaches and past winners will decide who will be Belgium’s ‘Golden Boot’ for 2014. As usual, the award will be based on performances over the calendar year rather than a complete football season. It’s crazy but it’s true. Last year, the three favourites – Thorgan Hazard, Michy Batshuayi and Maxime Lestienne –… Read More »
On May 13, Marc Wilmots will announce his ‘pre-selection’ of players who could go to Brazil. The final squad of 23 will be divulged to the public on June 2. Prior to the final group being announced, Belgium will play two friendlies, against Luxembourg and Sweden. After the announcement, Belgium will play Tunisia on June… Read More »
Two of the biggest games of the season in Belgium – ignoring the playoffs – are the clashes between Anderlecht and Standard Liege, known as the Clasicos. The next one takes place on Sunday and despite the game’s attraction, Anderlecht’s ‘Golden Boot’ winner Dieumerci Mbokani decided not the get a plane back from the African… Read More »
And so it came to pass that Mbokani did win, ahead of Vossen and Proto. Tonight sees the award of the 59th Gouden Schoen / Soulier d’Or for 2012. The votes will be cast by journalists, coaches and past winners with the victor being chosen based on performances over a calendar year rather than on… Read More »
There will be 20, 783 spectators in the Constant Vanden Stock stadium tonight and all but 1,085 will be hoping for a home victory. Hopes have not been so high for a decade or more, when Jan Koller and Tomasz Radzinski were demolishing defences, including that of Manchester United. The new coach John Van den… Read More »
Writing on the blog yesterday, I reasoned that Anderlecht might grab a draw with Malaga. John Van den Brom’s team have shown good league form recently and achieved a good result in Milan. It wasn’t to be though, as Malaga came to Brussels and played Anderlecht off the pitch. Isco was a constant threat in… Read More »
Anderlecht have not played in the Champions League for six years and they haven’t achieved much since the days when Jan Koller, Tomasz Radzinski and Walter Baseggio gave Manchester United – with Gary Neville, David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs – a good beating in 2000. Last night wasn’t quite up to… Read More »