Belgian football in a sorry state?

Discussion in 'Belgium' started by Belgian guy, Jun 20, 2008.

  1. Gorando

    Gorando Member

    Anderlecht
    Belgium
    Mar 12, 2008
    Belgium
    Club:
    Juventus FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Belgium
    Belgium looks good for the future, I'm not too worried about them. They have talented players no doubt. A new coach (D.Advocaat) who can work well with youngsters can do wonders for this team. I wonder what happened to Hungary, they had some amazing players back in the day but now are struggling for several decades already.

    PS: Why you think Belgium is a great country? lol
     
  2. panicfc

    panicfc Member+

    Dec 22, 2000
    In my chair, typing
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I love Belgium, great people, great beers, great chocos, mussels, cycling and once were pretty good at footy.
     
  3. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    We'll be back, this generation will come good under Advocaat.
     
  4. panicfc

    panicfc Member+

    Dec 22, 2000
    In my chair, typing
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Advocaat is the man.

    He could win with you and me on the field.
     


  5. You forget to mention the women, oh wait... of course you are married:)
    I have a very big weak spot for Belgian women, they sound wonderful ( they can read the contents of a telephone guide to me and my knees still will get flubberish) and the rumour is that they all are very good cooks too...
     
  6. panicfc

    panicfc Member+

    Dec 22, 2000
    In my chair, typing
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    They have great accents, that's for sure. Wouldn't surprise me if they could cook, the Belgian men could be mistaken for American men by their stomachs.

    ;)
     


  7. That makes me curious about yours:D Especially after you and your wife learned how to make poffertjes...
     
  8. panicfc

    panicfc Member+

    Dec 22, 2000
    In my chair, typing
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    My stomach or my wife?

    She hasn't made poffertjes in a long time, but we had waffles yesterday ;)
     
  9. monarchfootballer

    monarchfootballer New Member

    Jun 10, 2009
    Brussels, Belgium
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    belgian football itself is not in a sorry state. i am an american living in belgium and i even play for a local belgian club royal racing club waterloo, and i must say the structure set up in belgium allows even the latest bloomers to have a chance at the professional level. with this said however, the belgian league does not have very much money invested into it. that, is where belgian football is lacking. for example, a division 2 french team(sedan) has more money invested into it, than more than half of the Jupiler League teams. if you look at the history of the Jupiler League, the biggest and richest clubs have won it, most recently Standard. and theres a reason for it, money. in this day and age, money can ultimately "buy" a club a championship in the jupiler league. good players from smaller clubs can be snapped up by the "big fish" in belgian football, and that ultimately is how many of the jupiler league teams get their players. also more than half of the clubs play in stadiums that make me shake my head in disbelief. either they are old terraces, or theyre ragtag hastily put together stands that look very unappealing. and also attendances are a major problem in belgium. fans of these clubs do not really show loyalty to their club even when theyre losing, something unheard of in countries like england. overall belgium needs to put more money into the league, to improve the play, and most of all to help the Belgian national team to grow and improve.
     
  10. panicfc

    panicfc Member+

    Dec 22, 2000
    In my chair, typing
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Welcome Monarchfootballer,

    Thing is - every country is like that with the big teams buying the little team's best players.

    The statements about the fans - probably more about culture.
     
    Lastcall repped this.
  11. destekke

    destekke New Member

    Dec 28, 2004
    It is indeed a matter of money.
    The Belgian market is too small to compete with the big countries (france, england, spain, italy, germany). The annual television rights in england per team are higher than the budget from all belgian jupiler league teams together. (I could be exaggerating, don't know the specifics)


    But, it's not that there isn't ANY money, which means a big team like Anderlecht definitely could have their occasional moments de gloires on the European stage.
    Anderlecht is the only team that really has a chance to regularly build a strong team thanks to :
    - sponsors: Anderlecht is a team whith both walloon and flemish fans, which broadens the market.
    - capital position: Brussels is filled with good players (often from African origine) who have the technique from playing on the squares in the city. Kompany, Vanden Borre, etc.. are the best examples. This is a privilige that teams like Westerlo or Roeselare do not have. Anderlecht should take more advantage of this and make it more attractive for these youths to try and make it a professional football club.
    Not only is it interesting for youth players, big names are more likely to want to live in a city like Brussels (or its vicinity) than in Bruges or Charleroi, let alone Waregem or Dendermonde.
    - fanbase: with more than half a million supporters, Anderlecht is the best supported team in the country. Their season tickets are the most expensive, as are their business seats etc... Building a bigger stadium could prove to be worth the investment. They could lure 40.000 fans every two weeks easily.
     
  12. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    What are you basing the 40K crowds on? I do not believe they planned on building a 40K arena.

    Club Brugge could easily fill 35K, probalby 40k for big European games. We already have around 28-29K in our old stadium. Which is more than Anderlecht currently gets.

    And I agree, the European club that holds the record for most consecutive CL games without a win is Belgium's best hope for European glory. :rolleyes:
     
  13. Gorando

    Gorando Member

    Anderlecht
    Belgium
    Mar 12, 2008
    Belgium
    Club:
    Juventus FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Belgium
    Anderlecht is not going to build a new stadium. They are going to adjust their current one by adding a few thousand seats.

    Brugge and Standard are the ones that should build a new stadium, they are the only teams who can attract 40K fans on a regular basis.
     
  14. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    Our new ground, if it ever gets green-lighted, will hold 40K
     
  15. If I recall correctly there are a few clubs ready to boost their stadium to WC 2018 specifications. That is what it says in the WC bid of the Dutch/Belgian joint venture.
     
  16. nutbar

    nutbar New Member

    Apr 22, 2001
    Canada
    Why does Flanders have so many more teams in the top division than Wallonia? I believe the only Walloon clubs in the top division are Standard, Charleroi and Mouscron.
     
  17. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    There's more money in it in Flanders. Even Mouscron was funded by mostly Flemish investors for a very long time. (I believe this only changed with the new chairman).
     
  18. In the Netherlands the province of Brabant has a ridicilously number of Eredivisie clubs compared to the other provinces.
     
  19. nutbar

    nutbar New Member

    Apr 22, 2001
    Canada
    IIRC, Belgian football in the 80's was beset by match-fixing scandals (just like 2 or 3 years ago) so one could argue that Belgian football wasn't exactly in great shape then either.

    Of course the national team was much stronger then and so were certain clubs like Mechelen.
     
  20. brentgoulet

    brentgoulet Member+

    Oct 12, 2005
    PuertoPlata, DomRep
    And the bad stuff keeps coming, now Exc Mouscron has ceased operations
     
  21. ArizonaFußballFan

    Nov 8, 2009
    Chandler, Arizona
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    I admit to only knowing a little about Standard Liege and Anderlecht. Other than that, I know very little about the top Belgian league along with the clubs.

    I know Anderlecht has won the most titles.


    What can anyone tell a newbie? Who is the club most hated? Who have the biggest fan bases? What styles of play do various clubs play? (Boring defensive, attractive attack style)


    Anything would be good.:cool:
     
  22. Sabbat

    Sabbat New Member

    Mar 2, 2010
    Brussels
    Club:
    RSC Anderlecht
    Nat'l Team:
    Belgium
    Anderlecht has historically been the top club in Belgium, with 29 titles (and probably the 30th this season as we are coming close to the end of it, and Anderlecht is far ahead at this time), biggest budget, and richest club of Belgium. Then you have FC Bruges as second, with 13 titles, then Union Saint-Gilloise with 11 titles, but that team is now in 3rd division, then Standard de Liège with 10 titles.

    These last 2 seasons Standard de Liège has won the title, and this season Anderlecht really, really want it. Standard is doing a very bad season on the belgian scene, and the only club who could still claim the title from Anderlecht at this time would be Bruges.

    In European championships, this season Anderlecht, Bruges and Standard have done a good season in CL and EL, Standard being still in the race for the quarter finals of EL, after beating greek Panathinaikos in 8th. Anderlecht has been eliminated by Hamburg SV in the 8th after beating Bilbao in the 16th, while Bruges was eliminated in 16th by Valencia.

    There is no "most hated club". If you ask a supporter of Standard, he will say he hates Anderlecht, if you ask an Anderlecht Supporter, he will say he hates Standard or Bruges, and if you ask a Bruges fan he will probably hate Anderlecht or Germinal Beerschot or even Standard... Biggest fan base is for Standard, definitely. Then Anderlecht, Bruges, Mechelen all have a big fan base.

    The "stars" of Belgian football at the time are 16 years old Romelu Lukaku attacker from Anderlecht, Jonathan Legear and Mbark Boussoufa from Anderlecht also, Axel Witsel (known for a very bad tacle in August 2009 in the Anderlecht-Standard match) and Milan Jovanovic from Standard, and keeper Stijn Stijnen and attacker Wesley Sonck for Bruges.
     
  23. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    I think most Club Brugge fans would disagree with your pick of "stars". Dorge Kouemaha is now the man, along with Perisic if we're talking fan favorites.
     
  24. Sabbat

    Sabbat New Member

    Mar 2, 2010
    Brussels
    Club:
    RSC Anderlecht
    Nat'l Team:
    Belgium
    Fair enough, I was just naming the first ones that would come to my mind :eek: And I like Perisic more than Sonck :D
     
  25. ArizonaFußballFan

    Nov 8, 2009
    Chandler, Arizona
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Thank you for the information, I will admit to being curious about Anderlecht especially after that 2 legged match vs Hamburg.


    I guess why I was curious about a most hated as some would hate Bayern Munich as they are the one big club that seems to have the most money and take players from other clubs in the league.


    What sized crowds do Standard, Anderlecht, and Bruges draw at their home matches? Are tickets expensive or pretty reasonable?
     

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