A little history In recent years, the bigger clubs in Belgium have not taken the Belgian Cup very seriously. Anderlecht and Club Brugge have not appeared in the final since, respectively, 2008 and 2007. The last time two of Belgium’s ‘Big Five’ met in the final was in 2008, when Anderlecht beat Gent. In the… Read More »
Belgian football starts up again after the winter break tonight. It’s Cofidis Cup time with the return legs of the quarter finals. The top match is Anderlecht vs. Gent, where the score was 1-1 in the first leg. Anderlecht will be without several first choices: Dieumerci Mbokani (CAN), Guillaume Gillet (suspension), Cheikhou Kouyaté (minor operation)… Read More »
About one year ago, I wrote that the Cofidis Cup was dying on its feet. Tonight see the first leg of the quarter finals and the patient is hardly in better health. The fans are not showing any great interest in the competition and several pundits are calling for changes. The current setup certainly favours… Read More »
Here’s a rundown of this week’s Cofidis Cup action in Belgium. The Cup rarely gets people excited but I have a feeling this year could be a vintage one. And don’t ask me why I think that. In the 16 matches, there were 13 winners from the First Division and they were joined by three… Read More »
Tonight’s cup final at the Roi Baudouin stadium sees Lokeren face Kortrijk. It’s the first time that none of the ‘Big Five’ have reached the final since 2006, when Zulte Waregem defeated Mouscron. This year, the big clubs fell regularly with the biggest shock being Anderlecht’s home defeat to Rupel Boom. At the quarter final… Read More »
Standard Liege and Gent both crashed out at the cup quarter final stage. Standard lost heavily at home to Lierse while Gent could only draw at home with Lokeren, who now play Lierse in the semi final. The other last four match will feature Kortrijk and Mons. That meant that the four qualifying teams all… Read More »
The Belgian Cofidis Cup is a competition that is dying on its feet. Steve Martens and his team at the Belgian Football Association are looking at ways of injecting some life into the contest; ideas being mooted include a facelift to make it more like the Davis Cup. That’s no surprise given Martens’ background at… Read More »