New kings of Belgium
Rennes, France’s third representatives in the Champions League this season, have been quietly going about their business under young coach Julien Stephan. After leading the club to victory against PSG in the final of the 2019 Coupe de France – their first major trophy in 48 years – Stephan took Rennes to a highly creditable third-place finish last season with a squad consisting almost entirely of French players, including highly rated 17-year-old midfielder Eduardo Camavinga. They’ve added muchtravelled France international midfielder Steven Nzonzi to the ranks on loan from Roma, and it will be interesting to see if they can continue their impressive progress this season.
It’s also going to be a big season for two of France’s most prestigious clubs as they attempt to claw their way back to the top table. Monaco narrowly avoided relegation in 2018-19, but bounced back to finish a creditable ninth last time out. That still wasn’t enough to keep Roberto Moreno in the job however, with the Spaniard replaced by Niko Kovac.
With his predecessor lasting less than seven months, Kovac will be under no less pressure than he was in his previous role at Bayern Munich – particularly as he takes charge of a team featuring Ligue 1’s joint-top scorer last term, Wissam Ben Yedder, who notched 18 goals to match PSG’s Kylian Mbappe.
Saint-Etienne, meanwhile, will be hoping that coach Claude Puel can finally bring the good times back to the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. Puel has already coached Monaco, Lille, Lyon and Nice in France, so is a vastly experienced helmsman. Despite finishing a ghastly 17th last season,
Les Verts did at least make it to the cup final where they were unlucky to lose to PSG, despite having veteran defender Loic Perrin sent off in the first half in his final game for the club before retirement.
With the likes of Reims, Lyon and Montpellier also harbouring big ambitions for the coming campaign, Bordeaux won’t find it any easier this time around than they did last season. Having been dogged by off-the-field ownership problems and highly disgruntled fans for quite some time now, Girondins recently lost their director of football and only just managed to persuade coach Paulo Sousa to remain at the club. They’ll need a lot of hard work and a fair slice of luck to turn things around.
With his predecessor lasting less than seven months, Kovac will be under no less pressure [at Monaco] than he was in his previous role at Bayern Munich
Uncertainty, if not outright COVID-19 chaos, has proved the order of the day in Belgian football of late. Whether caused by panic, hesitancy, absence of leadership or judicial battles, the image of the game here has taken a real battering.
It’s been a spring and summer of backroom adjudications, lawyers on the make, indecision and flux. The executive board of the Pro League dithering for six long weeks before finally holding a General Assembly to ratify the proposal that the championship be wound up early, scratching the last weekend of the regular season and play-off series. The title awarded to runaway leaders Club Brugge, with Waasland-Beveren, in last place at shutdown, successfully going to court to appeal against their demotion.
Only a week before the scheduled date of the 2020-21 kick-off, no one even knew how many teams would be competing in the new campaign. Would it be 16? Would it be 18? Pro League
Club Brugge, who only lost one league game in all last season, will again be the team to beat
clubs ultimately plumped for the second option, increasing the runners and riders by two. No relegation for Waasland-Beveren and two clubs promoted from the second tier instead of one, with both promotion play-off finalists (OH Leuven and Beerschot) allowed to upgrade.
The 18-team format will be valid for the next two campaigns. It will then revert to 16. This season, Belgium’s play-offs for the title and Europa League qualification will involve fewer clubs than normal.
Flemish flag-carriers Club Brugge, who only lost one league game last season, will again be the team to beat. Having finished runners-up a record 25 times, the “Blauw en Zwart” (Blue and Blacks) have the potential to become Belgium’s dominant force, winning three of the last five titles. Their ace in the hole is coach Philippe Clement. Responsible for Belgium’s last two champions (Genk in 2018-19 and Club Brugge last term), he is one canny operator. Under him, Club are a force in any formation: 4-3-3, 3-5-2, or 4-5-1.
Within a framework of “all-for one, one-for-all” togetherness, Brugge have excellent individuals all over the park. Belgium keeper Simon Mignolet has bounced back superbly following his fall from grace at Liverpool; Angolan right-back or central defender Clinton Mata was deservedly voted their Player of the Year, and they boast a fine midfield engine room, manned by Mats Rits, skipper and assist king Ruud Vormer and Belgian Footballer of the Year Hans Vanaken. Definitely one to watch for the future is homegrown teenager Charles De Ketelaere, a leftfooted No.10 of elegance and vision.
Despite their recent success, Brugge haven’t won back-to-back titles since the ’70s, so last season’s runners-up, Gent, have a chance too. Their president Ivan De Witte is talking openly of a title push and he has sanctioned a raft of impressive summer signings, including highly-rated Charleroi full-back Nurio Fortuna and German striker Tim Kleindienst from Heidenheim.
The one fly in the ointment? Star striker Jonathan David has left to join Lille for €30 million.
Antwerp, Belgium’s oldest club, are another outfit with serious aspirations. DR Congo striker Dieumerci Mboakani and Israeli attacking midfielder Lior Refaelov form a formidable goal-grabbing partnership and the morale in the camp received a timely preseason boost thanks to a 1-0 victory over Club Brugge in the national cup final, the game held over from the end of last term.
A big talking point around the
Pro League is what Brussels giants Anderlecht have in store for us. So used to ruling the roost in these parts, with a record 34 titles to their name, Les Mauves endured a nightmarish campaign last term, finishing in a humiliating 8th place, their worst performance since 1937. It’s been tough times all round at the Parc Astrid: financial losses of €27m in 2019, 30 staff redundancies and an increasing number of fans turning on veteran centre-back Vincent Kompany, who returned to his mother club in a blaze of publicity a year ago.
Kompany was brought in as playermanager in 2019, but was swiftly forced to share head coach duties with ex-Anderlecht and Belgium midfielder Franky Vercauteuren. The former Manchester City man has now ended his playing career, but the Purple-andWhites’ failure to qualify for Europe leaves him vulnerable, and a quick turnaround is needed.
Fortunately, the 34-times Belgian champions have a wonderful youth system. Full-back Killian Sardella, centre-back Marco Kana, midfielders Yari Verschaeren and Albert Sambi Lokonga, and wingers Jeremy Doku and Francis Amuzu are a guarantee of a brighter tomorrow.