“There’s only one team in Brussels.” So went the chant ringing out from RSC Anderlecht’s Lotto Park 85 minutes into the club’s derby against local rivals Union Saint-Gilloise on Sunday evening.
But it was not the home fans who were jubilant at seeing their side’s two goals to the good but those bedecked in blue and yellow – the colours of USG.
The two sides went in the game with USG occupying third spot and their city neighbours fourth in the Jupiler Pro League, and just a single point separating them (although both trail runaway leaders Genk).
But, at the end of a lively encounter, it was Union who emerged as comfortable winners with goals in the first and second half underlining their relatively newfound status as football “top dogs” in Brussels.
That is a far cry from my only previous visit to Anderlecht’s ground: back in February 2001 when I was present to watch my team, Leeds United in the second leg of a Champions League fixture played in front of 28,000 at the then called Constant Vanden Stock Stadium.
We too easily won that game (1-4) on our way to a semi final defeat by Valencia.
Back then Anderlecht were the no.one club/team in Belgium as illustrated by their regular presence in the Champions League. They had the history and trophy cabinet to back this up.
“Little” Union were, at that time, hardly heard of outside Belgium and, despite a rich,if slightly ancient, history of its own, had not won a thing in many a year.
But the RSCA v RUSG game on Sunday stirred rich (and happy) memories for this reporter.
There was a personal angle too: I lived just a stone’s throw from Union’s picturesque little ground after moving to Belgium. I must admit to joining others at times in watching the occasional game through a fence in the park that surrounds the stadium.
In the intervening years I have come to quietly admire the love Belgians have for football.
The Belgian football set up lacks anything like the wealth and “glamour” of some of Europe’s top leagues, and the rich pickings that accompany them.
Small examples of this were reflected on Sunday’s game. Unlike at many stadiums in England where the press are treated to full course meals at half time, here the offering for the assembled media amounted to no more than a modest cup of soup.
And there were none of the very glossy (and often pricey) match day programmes for fans. Instead, just a simple sheet of A4 paper with the line ups.
The stadium does boast a couple of large screens but where were the instant action replies that fans in, say, the UK, have taken for granted for years now? Instead, all the information available were, again, the team line ups (and the time).
This is not to sit in judgement on Belgian football but merely to illustrate the huge chasm that exists, financially, between this country and, say, England.
However, it is also worth stressing that what it may lack in hard currency, Belgium more than compensates for this with its sheer passion for the game plus it enduring desire to produce some wonderful footballers.
Those on display on Sunday evening may not quite possess the sheer brilliance of the likes of Vincent Kompany, Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard (though his younger brother Thorgan was playing for Anderlecht).
Each of the three aforementioned, of course, left Belgium to ply their trade (and enjoy the wealth) of England’s Premier League. All football fans in England will agree that the presence of such great (Belgian) talent has richly endowed the game there for some time now.
But a country the size of Belgium to produce such a rich assembly line of talent over recent years in particular is remarkable and testament to what is a wonderful set-up here, one that applies as much as anything to the country’s football grassroots.
The days when Anderlecht were among some of Europe’s football elite are long gone, though, and this was evident in their clash with USG, their own “noisy neighbours” who, in recent times and partly under the leadership of the club’s British owner (Tony Bloom, also Brighton FC chairman), have been in the ascendency when it comes to bragging rights between Brussels’ two football clubs.
As soon as the huge plume of smoke (released by the home fans) had cleared it was Union who gradually asserted themselves over their more illustrious neighbours (just 5 kilometres separates the two grounds).
Despite being played on an indifferent surface, some of the football was pleasing to the eye, particularly from Union, led up front by the wonderfully named Promise David and manfully marshalled at the back by their British centre half Christian Burgess.
Anderlecht, for their part, offered precious little up front and were guilty of frittering away what few clear cut chances they created.
But, at the end of the day, it was not the football that will live in the memory but the sheer passion and noise cascading from the stands at this historic venue.
Though holding just 21,500, the constant din coming from the fans, not least the 1,000 Union fans, was highly impressive.
I have personally attended many games in England where stadiums with three times the number of fans create nothing like the bedlam the two sets of fans here managed throughout the whole 90 minutes.
This extended, in Anderlecht’s case, to reserving some serious “stick” for one of their own (young Belgian full back, Killian Sardella).
So, at the conclusion of a very boisterous affair, both on and off the pitch, it was Union who continue to claim bragging rights over their so-called bigger neighbours.
But credit is due to both sets of supporters, including those Union fans who were bare-chested on a chilly February evening) for producing one heck of a cracking ambience and a game that, thankfully, was devoid of any of the crowd trouble that sometimes mars the game here (as elsewhere).
Anyone new to these shores who wants to get a flavour of what life in Belgium is like would do well to include a visit to a footy game on their “to do” list. You are unlikely to be disappointed.
- Photo Credit: photo courtesy of RSC Anderlecht
