The Jupiler League 2011-2012 looks set to be the most open for many years. Each of the ‘Big Five’ (Anderlecht, AA Gent, Club Brugge, Racing Genk and Standard Liege) have strengths and all have their weaknesses. A new factor this year is direct entry into the Champions League pools for the champions and that should focus minds of the powers-that-be. However, it remains tricky to make a confident forecast while the transfer window remains open and even when it closes, given the vagaries of the Jupiler League playoffs, only a brave man would be willing to take off his shirt and place it one on the leading candidates.
Some top players have left the league – Axel Witsel, Thibaut Courtois and Ivan Perisic among them – and others such as Steven Defour and Eliaquim Mangala are set to follow. Equally, questions remain about the futures of Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne, both of whom would be extremely welcome at Stamford Bridge. To balance that, Club Brugge have made some shrewd purchases and each of the ‘Big Five’ have youngsters coming through who could make their mark in the future.
However, the league starts – remarkably – on Saturday July 28, so it’s only right to provide a brief rundown on the top five clubs, together with a few words on some of the other teams that make up the wonderful world of the Jupiler League.
Anderlecht
Following Anderlecht’s third-place finish last season, the fans are demanding blood – preferably that belonging to Herman Van Holsbeeck. The Club Manager promised to bring in star names in order to deliver an Anderlecht that would rank with the teams of yesteryear. Sadly the strategy now seems to be based around selling Romelu Lukaku – but seemingly he only wants to join Chelsea – and bringing in Milan Jovanovic (still a big name in Belgium) and Dieumerci Mbokani who – to put it mildly – would not be everyone’s first choice to replace Lukaku.
To be fair, they have brought in the talented Ronald Vargas from Club Brugge, but he’s out until the end of September, and Swedish flyer Guillermo Molins – out for six months. There is also the impressive Lucas Biglia, but he needs a shoulder operation, and Roland Juhasz; however, both have been at the club for around five years and both have made it plain that they want out. The majority of the rest are journeymen footballers, who would have not been anywhere near the Anderlecht first team a decade ago.
If they play 4-4-2 and put Matias Suarez – talented but a confidence player – alongside Lukaku (if he stays) then it might just work. The future, though, does not look bright. As usual, Anderlecht don’t want to spend money as they claim that they have none, having missed out on the Champions League pools for the last four seasons. The silver lining is that there are young players coming through. Brazilian Fernando Canesin Matos is 19 and could bring much needed flair. Then there is Denis Praet (17) who has been closely followed by Arsenal and – further down the line – Charly Musonda Jr (15). It will be too soon this season though and the fans may be on the rampage come the end of the playoffs.
Club Brugge
Last season, Club Brugge gained a reputation as a team of individuals difficult to manage. Everyone expected coach Adrie Koster to carry the can but, unexpectedly, the Dutch technician is still there. Instead, the Blauw en Zwart now have a totally new management team, under General Manager Vincent Mannaert, and a comprehensive scouting network with many ex-Brugge players. With an aim of creating a team that will play with the fighting spirit that existed in the 80s and 90s, the strategy is already bearing fruit. Without wishing to be too stereotypical, the new look is based on Scandinavian stability and authority backed by a dash of Spanish and Israeli creativity. Key newcomers seem to be Lior Ravaelov (from Maccabi Haifa), Victor Vazquez (from Barcelona ‘B’) and Niki Zimling (from NEC). The last-named is becoming the leader of the pack, rather in the style of Franky Van der Elst and Timmy Simons of old. The icing on Club’s cake is Bjorn Vleminckx, also picked up from NEC; Vleminckx was the Eredivisie’s top scorer last season.
Club Brugge also have one of the many bright young keepers in Colin Coosemans (19) and two more likely teenagers in Maxime Lestienne (ex Mouscron) and Thomas Meunier, signed from division 3 Virton. With many players having left the club, or being about to leave, the new-look Club Brugge looks like it could be in for a top two finish.
AA Gent
The most encouraging event at AA Gent since the end of last season has been the appointment of Norwegian Trond Sollied as coach. It’s his third spell at Jules Otten stadium but this one could be his most successful. He’s following Michel Preud’homme and Franky Dury, both of whom have done decent groundwork for this ambitious club. Sollied is intelligent and experienced and he could be the man to get the best out of some talented and creative players.
Yassine El Ghanassy is perhaps the best-known of the crop outside of Belgium. He’s hugely talented but his form dipped after he was linked to, initially, Manchester City, and then to Anderlecht. If Sollied can get El Ghanassy to focus, he could be one of the season’s stars. Others to watch are Ivory Coast winger Yaya Soumahoro and Petit-Pele Mboyo who Vincent Kompany has gone on record as saying was the brightest of his generation in the Anderlecht youth ranks. Others to note are cult Serb keeper Bojan Jorgacevic and young midfielder Hannes Van der Bruggen (18) who has impressed pre-season. If AA Gent can build a solid back four – either in-house or in the transfer window – then they could be in for a successful season.
Racing Genk
Franky Vercauteren worked wonders last season when he took Genk to the title. Unfancied, Vercauteren turned players like Kevin De Bruyne, Jelle Vossen, Marvin Ogunjimi and Thibaut Courtois into, if not household names, at least into names that were often seen in the Twittersphere.
Since then, Genk have lost three of their regular back five: Courtois to Chelsea, Chris Mavinga to Rennes and Eric Matoukou to Ukrainian outfit Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, and are still unsure about the futures of De Bruyne and Vossen. They only have 19 players in the squad and they must strengthen if they are to remain competitive.
Young players to follow include Anthony Limbombe (17) who is tipped to go all the way to the top, and young centre back Sandy Walsh (16), a Dutch junior who moved over from Anderlecht. In attack, Kennedy Nwanganga is only 20 and should not be ignored. Genk don’t lack quality in midfield, especially with De Bruyne in place, and in attack. Added to that, the team has a fighting spirit that could take them to the top again this season. It all depends what happens in the transfer window, when the club’s embargo on outgoing transfers ends at the end of August, and whether Genk can bring more quality players in.
Standard Liege
New coach Jose Riga has said that this could be a season of transition. While that would not please the fans of Les Rouches, one can sympathise. Standard also have a totally new management structure and they will have to cope without Axel Witsel (who went to Benfica), the expected exits of Steven Defour and Eliaquim Malaga, and the possible departure of winger Mehdi Carcela.
Given all that, Standard have a lot of work to do to reach last season’s heights and to please the fans – easily the most committed in Belgium. Pape Camara (19) is a real find in midfield and Yonni Buyens is a useful acquisition. Add to that duo the new captain Jelle Van Damme and it’s obvious that this is a team that will fight to the end. Creativity could be lacking however and it will be interesting to see how Ignacio Gonzalez works out. He’s been built up into a class-act but his record hardly bears that out. Standard also have Franck Berrier, Geoffrey Mujangi Bia and Paul Jose Mpoku on the books but there are question marks about whether they will step up to the plate this season.
Standard have a bloated squad with a high number of players who don’t seem to have the necessary quality. Against that, the famous Standard ‘B’ team went to Anderlecht last season and took three points. There are questions to be answered at Sclessin and it could turn out to be, indeed, a season of transition.
News of the rest
Outside the ‘Big Five’, Cercle Brugge will miss Reynaldo (back to Anderlecht) but Bob Peeters is a young coach who could be going places. He’s enthusiastic and seems to be willing to learn from his mistakes. Lierse might struggle again but it will be fun to see Wesley Sonck as captain; keeper Elji Kawashima is still there having failed to move to the Premier League.
Lokeren could again be the sixth team to make it to the playoffs (top six); they are a team without stars who punch above their weight. Ivory Coast keeper Barry ‘Copa’ is the best-known player while everyone should watch Hamdi Harbaoui to see if he can score goals in the first division as he did in the second with OH Leuven (OHL).
OHL themselves are probably favourites to go back down; they have an annual budget of €6 million and a ground capacity of 8,500. KV Mechelen were unlucky in lots of ways last season and could push Lokeren for sixth position. They have signed Kevin Vandenbergh from Eupen and it could be his last chance to succeed after failing at a number of clubs.
Beerschot will hope to finish in the top half of the table, with creativity coming from ex-Anderlecht playmaker Hernan Losada. Kortrijk have a couple of impressive defensive midfield players in Serb captain Nebojsa Pavlovic and French/Senegalese capture Ismaila N’Diaye. Coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck will be looking to improve his reputation after his failure at Genk.
Mons are the only club, apart from Standard Liege, from Wallonia and it’s to be hoped they have enough talent to stay up. Westerlo are in Europe, at the time of writing, and Jan Ceulemans continues to work miracles without any resources. At Zulte Waregem, Darije Kalezic has been brought in to quieten an unruly dressing room but that may not be enough. Finally, Sint Truiden will be playing on a synthetic pitch and all clubs will get two practice sessions before they play the Canaries. Yes, it’s true – there’s something for everyone in the Jupiler League.