I’m getting back into the Belgofoot business after a bit of a break. The international team are meeting up again for their European qualification games and I managed to take in the Belgian Cup Final last weekend in Brussels. Following that come the infamous Belgian Playoffs. First up was the Cup Final. It was a… Read More »
Later today, Sint Truiden face Eupen in a top of the table clash in Belgium’s second division. The home team’s coach is 34 year-old Yannick Ferrera and with his team eight points clear of today’s Qatari-backed opponents, Belgofoot recently caught up with a young coach who has packed a lot into his career to-date. Ferrera… Read More »
The ‘football match’ between Standard Liege and Anderlecht today encapsulated every aspect of the modern game. On Wednesday I wrote about the good side of football with Standard Chairman Roland Duchâtelet releasing his international centre back Laurent Ciman who wished to move to Montreal with his wife and family to get treatment for their autistic… Read More »
Football is no longer, in Pelé’s words, the “beautiful game”. Today, the leading players can be counted among the world’s ‘super-rich’. Encouraged by their agents, many players seek transfers on a regular basis. Some change clubs to enhance their career, others to improve their own financial situation and those of their ‘people’. January is one… Read More »
As an aside, the first thing we learned is that I should stop forecasting. OK, I said it would be a draw but I felt there would be goals. End result: nine shots on target – the total from both teams. Apart from that, what struck me early on in the game was that Eden… Read More »
As Lady Gaga once said, football is a funny old game. Going into their Champions League match with Arsenal on Tuesday night, Anderlecht were seen as lambs to the slaughter. They had won one of their last five league games and would be without Steven Defour and Matias Suarez through injury and Alexsander Mitrovic as… Read More »
Belgium play Bosnia and Herzegovina tonight in Sarajevo. On paper it looks like the toughest match in the qualifying group. Last week they easily beat Andorra and now the hard work starts. Looking at the Belgian squad, the strength lies in midfield. Even though Zenit’s Axel Witsel and Everton’s Kevin Mirallas are missing through injury,… Read More »
Before the match with Australia, two of Belgium’s most-capped players, Timmy Simons and Daniel Van Buyten, will get a chance to say farewell to the fans and for supporters to say thank you for a job well done. Regular readers of this blog will know that I have long been an admirer of Simons. He’s… Read More »
I’ve been watching Belgian football for many years. I don’t like criticising it but with the league season starting today, I’m in a negative mood. I’ve seen some top players and great characters in the Belgian league: Pär Zetterberg, Walter Baseggio, Gert Verheyen, Jan Koller, Timmy Simons, Vincent Kompany, Axel Witsel, Kevin De Bruyne, Thibaut… Read More »
Last week I wrote extensively about Marc Wilmots’ options for Brazil. Today, he’ll announce a group of 27 – including four keepers – as a pre-selection. Given the number of certainties and ‘highly likely to travel’ candidates, it could be that a group of four or five players will be competing for a couple of… Read More »