By selecting players with fewer than 50 caps for the two friendlies (vs. Ireland and Burkina Faso), Roberto Martinez undoubtedly pleased those such as Kevin de Buyne and Romelu Lukaku, but he hardly learnt anything that could be useful for the World Cup. The side he sent out in Dublin on Saturday mostly consisted of… Read More »
The infamous playoffs start this weekend. The top six (Standard Liege, Anderlecht, Racing Genk, Club Brugge, Lokeren and Zulte Waregem) will play each other twice in the next six weeks. The clubs start with half of the points gained in the “classic” season. So the clubs start as follows: Standard Liege 34 points, Club Brugge… Read More »
It’s Golden Boot/Soulier d’Or/Gouden Schoen time tonight. A comparison between previous winners of the award – for the best player in the calendar year – and this year’s favourites tells a tale. It’s a tale of money. In the 1960s, 70s and 80s, Belgian clubs could just about compete with the best leagues in Europe.… Read More »
In Belgium’s Jupiler Pro League (the JPL), the real race for the title – and the 15 or so millions of euros that go with direct entry to the Champions’ League – starts with the playoffs. That’s because the JPL has a structure whereby the top six after the ‘classic’ season has finished enter the… 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 »
A new season so here’s my idea about the ‘Top Ten Talents’ coming through in the Jupiler League. I’ve changed the criteria so that now they must be younger than 20 and currently in the first team squads. That means I can’t include a couple of players I really like: Anderlecht playmaker-to-be Fernando Canesin and… Read More »