I've been trying to find some nice Belgians to chat about Belgian football, but I haven't seen Belgian guy around for a while. With Feyenoord signing a cooperative agreement with Westerloo, Gooch at La Louviere, I've got some interest in Belgium. I like the cities of Brugge and Brussels, and would like to go back, but I can never find anyone to chat football.
Apparently some clubs have developped an interest in Belgium. Especially English clubs use the belgian league as a league to develop their young talents. Antwerp has ties with Man Utd, Adbulrahman Hussain ,Arthur Gomez, David Fox and Colin Heath are currently all playing for Antwerp, but their wages are still being paid by Man U. Chelsea and Arsenal both have similar ties with Belgian clubs.
I meant "Anybody care on bigsoccer?" We've got two Americans playing there, but no one checks on this section of the board.
Waffles, chocolate, mussels, beer - you just need to get around more. I'd love to catch a game at Anderlecht of FC Brussels (formerly Molenbeek).
I just returned from a 2 year stint living in Brussels and would welcome some conversation on Belgian football. While living in Brussels, I was a registered supporter of RSC Anderlecht and enjoyed many games over the past 2 years. I don't know if anyone has had a chance to see Vincent Kompany but he is the real thing. He's a big, powerful defender who you really have to see to believe. When I saw him the first time last season, I assumed that he had transferred in from somewhere else but was surprised to learn that he is only 17. Watch out for this guy - he is that good.
Great to have you here RSCA. If you don't mind me asking...what were you doing in Brussels? === I've heard of Kompany, in fact World Soccer had a mini-profile on him in a recent issue.
My company sent me to Europe on a 2 year assignment. There are so many expats and diplomats in Brussels with the European Union, NATO, etc so it was a great opportunity to meet people from all over the world. I just got back a couple months ago and am in football withdrawl and despite the fact that Belgian football is so-so, I have a feeling that my hometown Metrostars are going to have a tough time living up to my expectations. What's your interest in Belgian football? I gotta tell you that the games between Anderlecht & Club Brugge are some of the most exciting I've seen (I've seen Ajax play at PSV in Holland and PSG host Marseille in France). Last year Brugge were the runaway leaders in Belgium and we pasted them at home 5-1 late in the year. Its always the biggest match of the year and it rarely disappoints.
I work in soccer and for the longest time I wanted to find someone Belgian to discuss football on and off the field with - but I never find anyone. How do you compare Belgian football to MLS? I was in Brussels in 2000 the night they beat Lazio. I wanted to go to the game, but my friend couldn't sort out the tickets. How I regret missing that match.
theres rumours in peru that andres mendoza of club brugge is going to go to malaga next season any truth in this?
Comparing Belgian football to MLS is tough. My first comment would be is that definitely the top 2 (Anderlecht & Brugge) and possibly 3 & 4 (Standard Liege & Genk) are better than the top 4 in MLS (you pick the top 4 this year). But top to bottom MLS is a better league because of the parity created by the league structure. I also think that the Belgian league benefits from the influx of players from Africa and Eastern Europe. Most outsiders observing a team like Anderlecht notice guys like Par Zetterberg but its players like Aruna Dindane (Ivory Coast) and Nenad Jestrovic (Serbia) really make that team work. Keep in mind that Ivica Mornar (Croatia) moved to Portsmouth during the winter break and he was far from their best player. MLS seems to be getting it right by importing players from the South America, Central America, & the Carribbean but I think they could do more and better. You also really can't beat playing in European cup competitions every year. Finally, you can't beat the atmosphere in European venues. I've been going to Metrostars games since the league's inception and venues really do make a difference. I went to the Champions Leagues games against Celtic, Bayern Munich, & Lyon this year and the atmosphere was fantastic. I doubt it could ever be equalled in any MLS stadium for any MLS game. You said you work in soccer. Are you a coach/player or do you work for a team?
Mendoza is linked with a ton of teams in Russia and Qatar of all places. I wouldn't be surprised to see him move to Spain in the offseason although I think Germany or England would more fit his style.
You brought up a lot of great points. Let me see if I can do this easier to analyze. Foreign players: Belgian teams seem to like the African and Eastern European players, but have had a few Canadians as well. Only two Yanks are there now - Gooch Oneywu and ALex Yi.
Atmospheres: The Belgian stadiums are perfect for soccer, and we don't have the luxury of small intimate facilities. Even when you go to Columbus - its just a bit sterile and too wide open. Something about that closed in feeling that just reverberates the sound so much. Plus the fans are more accustomed to getting involved and not just waiting for something to happen.
well they certainly aren't as good. The way I see it is these Africans and Eastern Europeans many of them grow up poor so there is a huge drive to get better and to succeed. Most pro American soccer players didnt grow up dirt poor so maybe their drive and effort isnt as great because they dont need to "make it" in soccer as bad.
Nobody cares about Belgium. 1-Belgian soccer is just a boring version of Dutch soccer. 2-Belgian players don't have a reputation of beiing smart. (Why is Belgium part of the Northern Europe forum while most civilised people considere it to be a part of Western Europe.)
always something to consider, and then you hear of guys who would give their right arm for that opportunity. Seems to be more difficult then it should be in Belgium than it needs to be.
Equally important to remember is that Africans and Eastern Europeans aspire to go anywhere in Europe, including Belgium, to have a better life. American players see it more as an "European experience" rather than a better way of life. I think you can compare the situation to why Mexicans rarely do well outside of Mexico - they are well paid and have a good lifestyle in Mexico so they know they always have something to fall back on.
I am interested in the Belgian national team. This is a team that arguably deserved to beat Brazil in the world cup, since then they have been rubbish.
keep an eye out for Anderlecht youngsters Anthony Vanden Borre, Vincent Kompany, and Gabriel Ngalula - these guys have the talent to help get Belgian football out of the rut its been in. I think that Ngalula has a younger brother in the youth system at Manchester United - hopefully he'll get the chance to show what he's got.
Hello, since I'm already a 5 year long supporter of Anderlecht maybe I can help you in your search on info at Belgium. My team is a team full of class. Most of the team of Anderlecht is filled with players like Wilhelmsson, Aruna, Kolar, Baseggio, Zetterberg, Iachtchouk and of course the biggest talent in Belgium, Vincent Kompany. These are real technical players and are the most loved by supporters. Brugge, our arch rivals, are what we call "farmers". They got to have power and long balls our their supporters don't feel at home. Then you have Genk, a team of ups and downs. They won the cup and two times the championship in 6 years but the other years they didn't come above 4th place or something. Then you have our second rival (we don't think of Genk as a rival, it's more like a club we make fun of) Standard. They always buy a lot of players but they can't make a team of it. This winterbreak they were second with 7 points bonus on Brugge and 11 points less than the leader (WE ) but now they are third with 5 points behind Brugge. More info about Anderlecht on www.rsca.be (it was voted best site of the year one or two years ago) . If you want to know more: Ask or add me on MSN messenger: dumbass1908@hotmail.com