Soccer in Belgium

Alongside cycling, football isthe most popular sport in Belgium . The national team was among the best in the world in the 1980s and 1990s, and the clubs were able to celebrate their greatest successes in the European Cups in the 1970s and 1980s. The first Belgian championship was held in 1895/96. Today the Belgian Football Association has 425,000 members in almost 2,000 clubs and almost 20,000 teams. There are sub-groups for Flanders (Voetbal Vlaanderen, VFV) and francophone Belgium including the German-speaking area (Association des clubs francophones de Football, ACFF).

history

Association

Association logo

The Royal Belgian Football Association (KBFV) was founded in 1895 as Union Belge des Sociétés de Sports Athlétiques (UBSSA) and initially also represented athletics and cycling. In 1912, the football department split under the name Union Belge des Sociétés de Football Association (UBSFA) and, since 1913, also carried the Flemish name Belgische Voetbalbond (BVB). It has had its current name since 1920. The KBFV was a founding member of FIFA in 1904 and UEFA in 1954 .

The first club foundations

The team of the Daring Club de Bruxelles, 1912

As in other countries, the sport of football was brought to Belgium by the English . Football was already being played in the English schools in Brussels around 1865 . In the port city of Antwerp it was employees of the English trading companies and in Liège the engineers from Cockerill who first played football, soon afterwards pupils at Belgian schools also began playing the sport.

The first football clubs in Belgium emerged in the 1880s and 1890s. The clubs have matriculation numbers assigned by the football association in 1926 based on the length of time they were members of the association. As the oldest association, the Royal Antwerp therefore bears the renowned matriculation number 1. The first ten associations with the numbers 1-10 were:

Royal Antwerp (founded 1880)
Daring Club de Bruxelles (1895; merged into Racing White Daring, today FC Brussels )
Club Bruges (1891)
Royal Football Club de Liège (1892)
Royal Léopold Club Uccle Forestoise (1893)
Racing Club de Bruxelles (1895; merged with Racing White Daring, now FC Brussels)
KAA Gent (1896)
Royal Cercle Sportif Verviétois (1896)
Royal Dolhain FC
Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (1897)

Tradition is also reflected in the name of a club: after 50 years, every club has the right to use the addition Königlich , Royal (French) or Koninklijk (Dutch) (shorter periods previously applied). Many Flemish clubs changed their name from French to Dutch in the 1960s. Mergers are also not uncommon in Belgian football, so that overall there are relatively many name changes; It is also not uncommon to mention two cities in one club name.

The early days of the Belgian championship

The Belgian Football Association hosted its first official competition ( Coupe de Championnat ) in 1895/96. The seven participating teams were Royal Antwerp, Club Bruges, FC Lüttich and from Brussels Racing Club de Bruxelles, Léopold Club de Bruxelles, Sporting Club de Bruxelles and Union d'Ixelles. Léopold Club was considered a club of the nobility and the upper classes and still plays in the fourth division today. The Liège FC became the first champions and the bottom two, Bruges and Union d'Ixelles, were replaced by the Athletic Club de Bruxelles. Liège and the Racing Club dominated the first championships. The first top scorer of the league in the years 1896-1902 were the Englishmen Samuel C. Hickson, Charles Grimshaw Atkinson, Herbert Pott and the Austrian Franz König.

After the turn of the century, Union Saint-Gilloise became the dominant team, winning six titles in a decade. In addition, RC de Bruxelles and the new Beerschot team were AC champions, and later FC Bruges prevailed as the top club. The mode was changed several times, it was either played in a one or two-tier league. In 1926 the League was called Division d'Honneur . The 1920s were dominated by teams from Antwerp: Beerschot AC won the title five times, Royal Antwerp twice and Lierse SK once.

Since the Second World War

After World War II , RSC Anderlecht won its first title in 1947, and Standard Liège was successful for the first time in the late 1950s. From 1960 to 1972, these two teams made the title among themselves. The dominance in Belgian football was so great that eleven RSC Anderlecht players were on the pitch in an international match against the Netherlands in 1964 after the goalkeeper was replaced. The professional football was introduced in the late 1960s in Belgium. Since the 1990s, Club Brugge and RSC Anderlecht have mostly won the title among themselves, only RC Genk won the title in 2001/02. In the 2007/08 and 2008/2009 seasons, Standard Liège was again Belgian champion after a long dry spell.

The record champions are RSC Anderlecht with 32 titles ahead of Club Bruges (13 titles), Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (11), Standard Liège (10), Beerschot VAC (7), Racing de Bruxelles (6), Daring de Bruxelles and FC Liège (both 5), Royal Antwerp, KV Mechelen and Lierse SK (all 4) and the KRC Genk and Cercle Bruges (both 3).

development

Game culture

Vincent Kompany is considered one of the best Belgian footballers

Belgian football is considered very physical and rather defensive. The Belgian offside trap became famous , especially at the 1980 European Championship . For some years now, players from immigrant families have been playing on the Belgian team, whose game is often at a high technical level and who have influenced the style of the national team: Mousa Dembélé , Marouane Fellaini , Vincent Kompany .

The best Belgian footballers were mostly defensive players: Eric Gerets , Leo Clijsters , Georges Grün , Philippe Albert , Franky Van Der Elst , Vincent Kompany or the goalkeepers Jean-Marie Pfaff and Michel Preud'homme . On the other hand, Belgium has produced relatively few strikers of international stature. a. Fernand Goyvaerts , Jan Ceulemans , Erwin Vandenbergh , Enzo Scifo , Marc Degryse , Luc Nilis , Emile Mpenza . Paul Van Himst , who played for RSC Anderlecht and led the Belgian national team from 1960–1974 and received the Golden Shoe for Footballer of the Year four times, was voted the best Belgian footballer of the 20th century .

Belgian professionals abroad

The vast majority of the current Belgian national team play abroad, mostly in the English Premier League , for example captain Vincent Kompany ( Manchester City ), Marouane Fellaini ( Manchester United ), Eden Hazard , Thibaut Courtois (both Chelsea FC ) or Jan Vertonghen ( Tottenham Hotspur) ). Other national players are under contract in the other top European leagues. While Belgian football professionals mainly earned their money in the Bundesliga a few years ago , only two Belgians play in Germany today: Koen Casteels ( VfL Wolfsburg ) and Thorgan Hazard ( Borussia Mönchengladbach ). Roger Van Gool was the first professional in the Bundesliga to receive a DM 1 million transfer fee.

“Legionaries” in Belgium

Since the so-called Bosman ruling , the number of foreign players in the Pro League teams is no longer limited. As a result, the Belgian clubs signed numerous footballers from Eastern Europe, Africa and South America, as is the case in other countries. On the one hand, this development weakened the national team, on the other hand, the Belgian league was given the function of a showcase for the big clubs in Europe. Many of the best footballers in Europe started their international careers in Belgium. B. Jean-Pierre Papin ( Club Bruges ; France ), Sunday Oliseh , Victor Ikpeba ( Standard Liège ; Nigeria ), Jan Koller ( Czech Republic ), Aruna Dindane and Celestine Babayaro ( RSC Anderlecht ; Ivory Coast ) and many others.

African professionals in Belgium

Belgian professional football plays a special role for African players who play in large numbers, e.g. T. dubious agents are brought to Europe. The KSK Beveren is almost entirely on players from the football school of the former French international Jean-Marc Guillou in Abidjan . Thus the 2005/06 season from the 18 come from the 26 players in the squad Ivory Coast (of which only one as a national team at the African Cup of Nations in 2006 took part), two from Mali and the Republic of Congo . There is a special distinction for footballers of African and African descent, the ebony shoe . Mbaye Leye from Senegal won this trophy in 2013, followed by Dieumerci Mbokani (DR Congo).

Economic strength of the clubs

The annual budget divides the Belgian league into two classes. Most clubs have a modest budget of 3 to 6 million euros. The AA Gent leads this large field with a budget of 7.8 million euros. Four clubs have a multiple of it: RSC Anderlecht with 27 million euros is the absolute league, ahead of KRC Genk (18 million), Standard Liège (16 million) and Club Bruges (15 million) (as of 2005/06) . An average Jupiler League professional earns an estimated € 2,000–3,000 a month plus bonuses. Only the teams that regularly play in the European Cup can also raise the salaries of international players. Attempts to poach them from the big clubs from Spain, Italy or England, however, have nothing to counteract even these clubs.

The first league, the Pro League , is sponsored by the Jupiler brewery . The average attendance is usually just under 10,000. In addition to the top clubs Club Brugge and RSC Anderlecht, Standard Liège and RC Genk, whose fans are considered particularly loyal, have relatively high visitor numbers.

The numerous mergers in Belgian football result from the low economic strength of most clubs. FC Brussels, for example, is the product of six different clubs in the first and second division, which have gradually merged with one another since the 1960s. Other clubs such as KV Mechelen , which won the European Cup in 1988, or Royal Antwerp , the oldest club in the country and a European Cup finalist in 1993, barely escaped bankruptcy, but have now landed in the second or even third division.

Corruption and betting scandal

The relatively low salaries make Belgian football vulnerable to corruption scandals. As early as 1982, Standard Liège is said to have influenced the winning of the championship title with payments to the Waterschei club through coach Raymond Goethals and captain Eric Gerets . Belgian professional football has been involved in a betting scandal since the end of 2005. According to media reports, a Chinese betting mafia is said to have influenced the outcome of various games. Especially St. Truiden , Lierse SK , La Louvière and Charleroi , or individual players and coaches of these teams, are accused of manipulation. The judiciary has been dealing with the case since the beginning of 2006.

National team

The Belgian national football team, 1905

Belgium played their first official international match in 1904 against France (3: 3). Because of the red jerseys of the national team , the team has been called the Red Devils since a radio report in 1906 . In the 1980s, Belgium was one of the best footballing nations in the world. After a long period of weakness between 2002 and 2012, during which it was not possible to qualify for any of the tournaments taking place, the team is considered the secret favorite for the 2014 World Cup . Young players like Eden Hazard , Marouane Fellaini , Thibaut Courtois , Kevin De Bruyne or Romelu Lukaku are among the greatest talents in world football and play for internationally known top clubs. Belgium is currently in second place in the FIFA World Ranking (as of April 2016); from November 2015 to April 2016 it even took first place.

World championships

Belgium has participated in a world championship thirteen times so far. Belgium failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany for the first time since 1978.

Belgium participated as one of four European teams at the first soccer World Cup in Uruguay in 1930 , but lost both games in the preliminary round to the USA (0: 3) and Paraguay (0: 1) and were eliminated.

Belgium played only one game at the 1934 World Cup and lost to Germany 2-5.

Even during the 1938 World Cup , Belgium only had to play one game. In the round of 16, the Belgians lost 3-1 to hosts France and had to make the short journey home.

The 1954 World Cup in Switzerland started with a 4: 4 after extra time against England furiously, but a 1: 4 defeat against Italy still meant the end in the preliminary round.

Belgium could only qualify again for the football World Cup in 1970 . The team started with a 3-0 win against El Salvador , but then they were defeated by the Soviet Union (1: 4) and hosts Mexico (0: 1).

For the 1974 World Cup , the Diables Rouges could not qualify, although they did not concede a single goal in the six games: the neighboring Netherlands had a goal difference of 10 goals better with a tie.

It was not until the 1982 World Cup that Belgium reached a final again. In Spain, Belgium entered the European runner-up with high hopes after having left France , the Netherlands and Ireland runner-up in the qualification .

World champions Argentina were beaten 1-0 in the opening game, followed by a win against El Salvador (1-0) and a draw against Hungary (1: 1). Belgium had reached the second round, but lost to Poland (0: 3) and the Soviet Union (0: 1).

At the 1986 World Cup , Belgium initially struggled and was only able to qualify for the round of 16 as one of the best third-placed finishers in the preliminary round groups. After an opening defeat against Mexico (1: 2), the Belgians prevailed against Iraq (2: 1) and finally played (2: 2) against Paraguay .

The subsequent round of 16 against the Soviet Union was one of the most outstanding games of the tournament and is considered a football classic. In a game that could hardly be surpassed in drama, Belgium won (4: 3) after extra time. Belgium also had to go into extra time in the quarter-finals against Spain , after which it was (1: 1). In the penalty shootout, Belgium retained the upper hand (6: 5). After a (0: 2) in the semifinals against Argentina, Belgium also lost the game for third place against France (2: 4), again after extra time. The fourth place in this tournament was the best placement of Belgium in a world championship.

The 1990 World Cup in Italy began with a (2-0) win against South Korea and a (3-1) win against Uruguay . Belgium was already qualified for the round of 16 when they lost to Spain (1: 2). There the team lost extremely unhappily against England with a goal in the last minute of extra time.

The preliminary round at the 1994 World Cup in the USA was curious: after two (1-0) wins against Morocco and the Netherlands, the Belgian team lost the last game against Saudi Arabia (0-1) and found themselves only on the third place in the preliminary round again. Nevertheless, the team was qualified for the round of 16, but they lost 3-2 to Germany .

In 1998 , the team retired as third party in the preliminary round, although they remained undefeated. Three draws against the Netherlands (0: 0), Mexico (2: 2) and South Korea (1: 1) were not enough to advance.

After Belgium initially finished second behind Croatia in qualifying , the team surprisingly eliminated the Czech Republic in the relegation .

At the 2002 World Cup , after two draws against Japan (2: 2) and Tunisia (1: 1) in the last game of the preliminary round, they won against Russia (3: 2). A (0: 2) against Brazil in the round of 16 meant the end despite their superiority in play. A correct hit by Marc Wilmots was not recognized by the referee. The two Brazilian goals fell in the closing stages.

In 2006 and 2010 Belgium did not qualify for the World Cup; the “red devils” only succeeded in doing this again at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil . Starting as one of the "secret favorites", the team was able to reach the quarter-finals.

In 2018 , Belgium achieved their best result ever with third place, scored the most goals of all teams and eliminated record world champions Brazil in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, the team lost to eventual world champions France.

European championships

The final round of the 1972 European Championship was held in Belgium. In Brussels, the hosts met the eventual European champions Germany, against whom the team lost 2-1. In the game for third place in Liège , Belgium determined the game against Hungary from the start and led at halftime (2-0). Hungary managed to take the next goal, but the Belgian victory was undisputed.

The greatest success of a Belgian team came at the European Championship in 1980 , when the team reached the final and were only barely defeated by Germany (1: 2). This tournament marks the beginning of the greatest time for the Belgian national team. In the qualification, Belgium was able to prevail with a 3-1 victory in the last game in Scotland and displace the highly rated Austrians . Also in the preliminary round of the European Championship, the Belgians were clear underdogs against hosts Italy, the team from England and Spain, peppered with European Cup winners. After Belgium had a (1-1) win against England in their first game and won against Spain (2-1), there was a real final between Italy and Belgium in Rome. The Belgians only needed one draw due to the better goal difference. The Belgian team of coach Guy Thys used their offside trap particularly consistently , as it was never seen before in international football. The Italians bit their teeth on the defense and goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff . Belgium reached the final of Rome by (0-0). There Germany took the lead in the 10th minute when Bernd Schuster managed to play the offside trap and Horst Hrubesch scored it (1-0). In the second half, the German team ran into a counterattack by the Belgians in the 71st minute. Uli Stielike only knew how to help himself with a foul and René Vandereycken converted the subsequent penalty to equalize. When everything was already set to an extension, Germany received a corner kick in the 89th minute and Horst Hrubesch headed the 2-1 winning goal for Germany.

Against Yugoslavia , Belgium won their first game of the European Championship in 1984 (2-0), but then they went down (0-5) against hosts France. Despite an increase in performance, the last group game against Denmark was lost (2: 3). This meant the end.

The European Football Championship 2000 was organized jointly by Belgium and the Netherlands. The Belgian team played the opening game of the tournament against Sweden and won (2-1). Italy and Turkey turned out to be the best playing teams in this group and were able to beat Belgium (2-0) each. The departure was a bitter disappointment for the host.

Olympic games

Belgium won the gold medal at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp . In the final, Belgium defeated Czechoslovakia 2-0 (2-0), which left the pitch in protest after scoring the second goal. Belgium was then declared the winner.

A Belgian selection had already won bronze at the demonstration competition in Paris in 1900 . In 1924 and 1928 Belgium reached the last sixteen and quarter-finals, respectively. It was not until 2008 that the team was able to qualify for the Olympic Games again. There the team surprisingly reached the semi-finals and finally lost the game for third place against Brazil.

Professional football

Pro League

Excelsior Mouscron v Standard Liege, 2007

The first Belgian soccer league, the Pro League , is one of the oldest in the world. The Belgian Football Association has been organizing official championships since 1896. The first division currently bears the name of the main sponsor, the Jupiler brewery .

The first division consists of 16 teams. The bottom of the table is relegated directly, the nine teams placed on the 7th to 15th place in the table play qualifying games together with clubs in Division 1B that are ranked second to fourth.

In the first division there is a clear preponderance of the Flemish over the francophone clubs. KAS Eupen from the German-speaking community is currently (2016/17) playing in the top division.

The first division in the 2016/2017 season

society	province
RSC Anderlecht	Brussels
Club Bruges	West Flanders
Sporting Charleroi	Hainaut Province
KAS Eupen	Liege Province
KRC Genk	Limburg
KAA Gent	East Flanders
KV Kortrijk	West Flanders
SC Lokeren	East Flanders
Standard Liege	Liege Province
KV Mechelen	Antwerp Province
Royal Excel Mouscron	Hainaut Province
KV Ostend	West Flanders
VV St. Truiden	Limburg
Waasland-Beveren	East Flanders
KVC Westerlo	Antwerp Province
SV Zulte-Waregem	West Flanders

League structure

Below the first three leagues, Belgian football is organized according to language communities (with the German-speaking clubs playing in the francophone), below the first five leagues according to provinces.

level	league
1	Pro League 16 clubs
2	Division 1B 8 clubs
3	1st Division Amateurs 16 clubs
4th	2nd Amateurs Division (Wallonia) 16 clubs		2nd Amateurs Division (Flanders) 16 clubs	2nd Amateurs Division (Flanders) 16 clubs
5	3rd Division Amateurs 14 clubs	3rd Division Amateurs 14 clubs	3rd Division Amateurs 16 clubs	3rd Division Amateurs 16 clubs
6+	Provincial leagues

Cup

The Belgian Cup ( Beker van België / Coupe de Belgique ) is the cup competition for club teams in Belgian football. It was held for the first time in 1908. Back then and also in 1909, however, regions played against each other rather than clubs. From 1912, with a few interruptions, the cup was played among club teams. The final has been held in the King Baudouin Stadium for several years.

In addition to the cup, the winner will receive the fourth Belgian starting place in the European Cup. The record winner is Club Bruges with 10 cup wins ahead of RSC Anderlecht (8 wins) and Standard Liège (5 wins). In 2007, Club Bruges won the cup with a 1-0 final victory over Standard Liège.

League Cup

The Belgian League Cup was introduced in 1975 shortly after the Pro League was founded under the name Coupe de la Ligue Pro , but was discontinued after one season. In 1985 and 1986 the competition was played again.

From 1998 to 2000 the competition was reintroduced. This time it was called Coupe de la Ligue Professionell . In these three editions, the winner qualified for the UEFA Intertoto Cup .

Due to a lack of interest and problems with funding from TV revenues, the competition was discontinued in 2000. A proposal from Standard Liège in 2010 to reintroduce the competition instead of play-offs in the league was rejected by the other clubs.

Super Cup

The Belgian Super Cup has been played since 1979. Normally the Supercup is played in a game between the winner of the Pro League and the winner of the Belgian Cup. The venue has always been the champions' stadium since 2004. Until then, the competition was held in the Roi Baudoin stadium.

Exceptions were the years 1987 when the winner was determined in the two legs, as well as the year 1989 when the duel between KV Mechelen and RSC Anderlecht did not take place. If the champion is also a cup winner, he will play in the Supercup against the cup finalist.

European Cup

In the European Cup , RSC Anderlecht have been successful three times and KV Mechelen once. In the UEFA five-year ranking, Belgian club football ranks fourteen (as of June 2010). This means that the national champion is directly entitled to start in the Champions League , the second must go to the third qualifying round. The third and the cup winners are qualified for the UEFA Cup .

Champions League

In the European Cup, the forerunner of the Champions League , only Club Brugge 1978 made it into the final. There, however, he was defeated in London's Wembley Stadium to Liverpool with 0: 1st

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was the RSC Anderlecht twice (1976 and 1978) and KV Mechelen win once (1988). With two further finals (1977 and 1990) Anderlecht are even the most successful team in this competition after CF Barcelona . In 1976 she beat West Ham United 4-2 in the final in Brussels and repeated this success two years later with a clear 4-0 win in Paris against FK Austria Wien . In between there was a 2-0 defeat in the 1977 final in Amsterdam, so that the RSC was in the final three times in a row. Once again, the team moved into the final in 1990, but lost to Sampdoria Genoa 0-2 after extra time in Gothenburg . A big sensation was KV Mechelen's title win in 1988, who won 1-0 in Strasbourg against the highly favored Ajax Amsterdam team . The final of the European Cup Winners' Cup also reached Standard Liège , who lost 2-1 to CF Barcelona in 1982 (in Barcelona ) and Royal Antwerp , who lost 3-1 to AC Parma in London in 1993 .

UEFA Cup

RSC Anderlecht were also successful in the UEFA Cup in 1983 after a 1-0 home win and a 1-1 in the second leg against Benfica Lisbon . The following year they reached the final again, but lost to Tottenham Hotspur after two draws (1-1 each) on penalties in London. In 1976, Club Bruges advanced to the final, but after a 3-2 defeat in the first leg at Liverpool FC at home, they didn't get past 1-1

Trade fair trophy

In 1970 RSC Anderlecht made it to the final of the trade fair cup , the forerunner of the UEFA Cup, and defeated Arsenal 3-1 in the first leg. But Arsenal managed to win the title with a 3-0 home win.

UEFA Super Cup

RSC Anderlecht also won the UEFA Super Cup twice against the respective European Cup winners of the national champions: in 1976 against Bayern Munich (4: 1 and 1: 2) and in 1978 against FC Liverpool (3: 1 and 1: 2). In 1988 KV Mechelen also succeeded against PSV Eindhoven (3-0 and 0-1).

Stages

The King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels has the status of a 'national stadium' , and with a capacity of 50,000 it is also the largest in Belgium. The KBFV has contractually stipulated that all international matches will be played here. In the European Football Championship 2000 here the opening game and four other meetings were held. Until it was rebuilt in the mid-1990s, the stadium was called Heysel Stadium . It was built in 1920 and at that time held 70,000 spectators. At the European Football Championship in 1972 , the Heysel Stadium was the venue for a semi-final and the final. A European Cup final has taken place here seven times since 1958 . The last one between Liverpool FC and Juventus Turin occurred in 1985 after a crowd riot, the greatest disaster in European football, in which 39 people were killed.

The Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges (30,000 spectators), the Stade Sclessin in Liège (29,000) and the Stade du Pays de Charleroi (22,000) were also renovated for the EM 2000 .

The Olympic Stadium Antwerp (12,700) hosted the 1920 Summer Olympics , in which Belgium won the gold medal. It is the home stadium of the first division club Germinal Beerschot Antwerp .

Women's soccer

Women's football has existed in Belgium since 1970. A championship was held for the first time in the 1971/72 season, and a cup competition since 1977. Today around 20,000 girls and women play football in the KBVB. In 1977 the first international match of a Belgian national team took place (2-2 against Switzerland). This has not yet qualified for a world championship but for the 2017 European championship.