Other domestic leagues 2020/21
- Thread starter Theokritos
- Start date
ScottishCanuck
Registered User
Last time Rangers poked the bear Celtic flexed their muscle and went on to win 4 trebles in a row. They've defeated themselves through complacency and incompetence this season, and as well as that mob have played there has been zero pressure on them.
Celtic have a significant rebuilding job on their hands this summer, but I don't expect this period of dominance to last very long.
Celtic have a significant rebuilding job on their hands this summer, but I don't expect this period of dominance to last very long.
sabremike
Friend To All Giraffes And Lindy Ruff
But you must admit that plucky Sevco winning a title within it's first decade of existence is pretty impressive right. They might one day overtake the mighty Jags as Celtic's chief local rival.
BKIslandersFan
F*** off
sabremike
Friend To All Giraffes And Lindy Ruff
BKIslandersFan
F*** off
sabremike
Friend To All Giraffes And Lindy Ruff
BKIslandersFan
F*** off
Savi
Registered User
Next season will (finally!) mark the return of one of Belgium's most iconic clubs to the top flight: Royal Union Saint-Gilloise, or just Union SG
Yesterday they clinched the 2nd division title with 5 games to spare, they have a 20 point lead after winning 19 of their 23 games so far.
Union were founded 123 years ago and are one of the oldest clubs of the country. They were the most dominant team pre-World War II when they won a total of 11 championships, that still ranks as 2nd all time behind Anderlecht and Club Brugge. Even to this day they still hold some noticeable records, the most important one their 60-game unbeaten streak from 1933 to 1935. Their last decent spell came in the late 1950's when they managed to reach the semi final of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (which would later transition into the UEFA Cup) after beating Leipzig and Roma, then in the 1960's they kinda bounced around between the 1st and 2nd division, and in 1973 they went down for good. So it's been 48 years of misery, they mostly played in the 3rd division with even some 4th division years too.
A couple of years ago they were purchased by the Brighton & Hove owner and they've been steadily on the rise since then. Two years ago they had a great cup run, eliminating both Anderlecht and Genk and reaching the semi final. And now they finally achieved promotion.
Their promotion will also bring back a long lost derby. Union are located at the heart of Brussels and are true club of the Brussels people, rich or poor, working man or higher class, Dutch or French speaking, it doesn't matter. Anderlecht's more of a 'national' club with fans flocking in from everywhere, Union doesn't have that. What they do have, besides being one of Belgium's oldest clubs, is also one of the country's oldest stadiums. They have been playing in the same stadium since 1920(!), back then it had a capacity of up to 35.000 and it even hosted 3 games at the 1920 Olympics. It is one of the last true residential area stadiums, the kind you still see a lot in London or Buenos Aires. The art deco style contructed grandstand is still one of a kind and is listed as cultural heritage in Belgium.
The outside may look beautiful however they've got their work cut out for them regarding infrastructure. About 80% of the stands aren't covered, there are no business seats, no VIP room, it's truly a stadium where time's been standing still since the 60's
That may sound great for nostalgic people among us fans who want to go back in time and have an old school 'away trip' experience but looking at the future for Union they will need serious investments or their stay in the 1st division will be short lived once again. And that would be a damn shame after all those years in purgatory. To be continued!
Yesterday they clinched the 2nd division title with 5 games to spare, they have a 20 point lead after winning 19 of their 23 games so far.
Union were founded 123 years ago and are one of the oldest clubs of the country. They were the most dominant team pre-World War II when they won a total of 11 championships, that still ranks as 2nd all time behind Anderlecht and Club Brugge. Even to this day they still hold some noticeable records, the most important one their 60-game unbeaten streak from 1933 to 1935. Their last decent spell came in the late 1950's when they managed to reach the semi final of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (which would later transition into the UEFA Cup) after beating Leipzig and Roma, then in the 1960's they kinda bounced around between the 1st and 2nd division, and in 1973 they went down for good. So it's been 48 years of misery, they mostly played in the 3rd division with even some 4th division years too.
A couple of years ago they were purchased by the Brighton & Hove owner and they've been steadily on the rise since then. Two years ago they had a great cup run, eliminating both Anderlecht and Genk and reaching the semi final. And now they finally achieved promotion.
Their promotion will also bring back a long lost derby. Union are located at the heart of Brussels and are true club of the Brussels people, rich or poor, working man or higher class, Dutch or French speaking, it doesn't matter. Anderlecht's more of a 'national' club with fans flocking in from everywhere, Union doesn't have that. What they do have, besides being one of Belgium's oldest clubs, is also one of the country's oldest stadiums. They have been playing in the same stadium since 1920(!), back then it had a capacity of up to 35.000 and it even hosted 3 games at the 1920 Olympics. It is one of the last true residential area stadiums, the kind you still see a lot in London or Buenos Aires. The art deco style contructed grandstand is still one of a kind and is listed as cultural heritage in Belgium.
The outside may look beautiful however they've got their work cut out for them regarding infrastructure. About 80% of the stands aren't covered, there are no business seats, no VIP room, it's truly a stadium where time's been standing still since the 60's
That may sound great for nostalgic people among us fans who want to go back in time and have an old school 'away trip' experience but looking at the future for Union they will need serious investments or their stay in the 1st division will be short lived once again. And that would be a damn shame after all those years in purgatory. To be continued!
Rangers playing pretty incredible season. 28-4-0 record on scottish premiership and 9-3-0 (including qualifyind round) at Europa league. Intresting to see how much movement there is on squad after this season. Lots of good players that may attract teams on bigger leagues.
News out of Belgium that the merger with the Eredivise is progressing well. How are the fans reacting to that?
Savi
Registered User
This really isn't "news" nor has anything been decided
There was a big conference yesterday, about the future of Belgian football. Lots of things were discussed, mainly the integration of U21 squads in the second division.
However near the end of the meeting, the Club Brugge sporting director laid out a first draft of what they feel the future could look like (Club Brugge are the biggest advocates of a merger), namely a BeNe League (with 8 Belgian teams), then a Belgian Pro League (with the teams that weren't included) and a 2nd division (with the rest of the professional teams + U21 squads). And he put that idea to a vote. 91% voted pro.
Now - that vote literally has no meaning, in any sense. All this was, was basically testing the waters. In the past, the smaller clubs have all been outspoken against a merger, the only reason they voted pro now is because they realise a change is going to come and they are willing to listen. That's literally it. They're open to discussions.Nothing more.
Red Bull is interested in buying LigaMX side Necaxa according to ESPN Mexico. They were also interested in a Russian club about a year ago but that has died down
sabremike
Friend To All Giraffes And Lindy Ruff
Duchene2MacKinnon
In the hands of Genius
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So speaking of Brugge (admittedly just so there's a thread to post this in), their former player Tuur Dierckx is apparently going to JAIL for having a party during lockdown?
That’s how Istra (Croatian league strugglers) of all teams were able to sign Ondoa, don’t think he had a jail threat but his Belgian side released him for breaking COVID lockdown rules. I don’t know how he developed but I remember him being in the Barca system and playing for Cameroon
Savi
Registered User
So speaking of Brugge (admittedly just so there's a thread to post this in), their former player Tuur Dierckx is apparently going to JAIL for having a party during lockdown?
He won't actually go to jail. He got a jail sentence of 1 month which isn't enough to go to jail in Belgium, he'll probably get an ankle monitor or something.
And yeah our government has been coming down hard on lockdown parties. Heavy fines and jailtime have been handed out regularly.
He couldn't beat out a mediocre goalie for the starting job at Oostende, so...
That's why it made it easier for Oostende to fire him, he was only a backup.
sabremike
Friend To All Giraffes And Lindy Ruff
Savi
Registered User
Savi
Registered User
The Belgian League regular season concluded yesterday, now it's time for the playoffs.
The Top 4 teams will play for the Championship, each time will play eachother twice. As per usual, point totals from the regular season have been cut in half, Club Brugge had a 16 point lead over 2nd place Antwerp but now with half of the lead gone, and Club Brugge playing like shit since they had that corona outbreak late Feb/early March maybe this isn't over after all. Anderlecht were out of the top 4 for the majority of the season but closed the season with 3 straight wins to grab the final spot.
1. Club Brugge 38 pts
2. Antwerp 30
3. Anderlecht 29
4. Genk 28
--------------------------------------------------
The teams finishing 5 through 8 will also play a round robin style playoff with a Europa ticket on the line for the winner (which would now be a Conference League ticket)
Surprising team Oostende looked poised to be in the CHampionship playoff but choked away their lead in the final month, both Standard and Gent had very disappointing seasons but could still go to Europe if they do well here.
1. Oostende 27 pts
2. Standard 25
3. AA Gent 25
4. KV Mechelen 24
--------------------------------------------------
Down at the bottom of the standings, two teams were still fighting to survive: Beveren and Mouscron. The latter had a 3 point lead, and were tied 2-2 against Club Brugge with 5 minutes to go yesterday, before conceding 2 late goals and lose.
Beveren on the other hand were up 2-1 at Leuven and held on for dear life. With that win, they now leapfrog Mouscron (level on points but Beveren have more wins).
Mouscron goes down, Beveren now moves on to a relegation playoff game against the 2nd placed team in the 2nd division.
Mouscron going down has been coming for years and everybody is happy about it lol. Very dubious club with shady ties to agents, investors etc. At one point even 'super agent' Pini Zahavi owned the club. They have faced litigation at the end of every season for about 5 or 6 years now and have been threatened with relegation (mostly for financial reasons) but somehow they always won in court. Now they've finally gone down.
The Top 4 teams will play for the Championship, each time will play eachother twice. As per usual, point totals from the regular season have been cut in half, Club Brugge had a 16 point lead over 2nd place Antwerp but now with half of the lead gone, and Club Brugge playing like shit since they had that corona outbreak late Feb/early March maybe this isn't over after all. Anderlecht were out of the top 4 for the majority of the season but closed the season with 3 straight wins to grab the final spot.
1. Club Brugge 38 pts
2. Antwerp 30
3. Anderlecht 29
4. Genk 28
--------------------------------------------------
The teams finishing 5 through 8 will also play a round robin style playoff with a Europa ticket on the line for the winner (which would now be a Conference League ticket)
Surprising team Oostende looked poised to be in the CHampionship playoff but choked away their lead in the final month, both Standard and Gent had very disappointing seasons but could still go to Europe if they do well here.
1. Oostende 27 pts
2. Standard 25
3. AA Gent 25
4. KV Mechelen 24
--------------------------------------------------
Down at the bottom of the standings, two teams were still fighting to survive: Beveren and Mouscron. The latter had a 3 point lead, and were tied 2-2 against Club Brugge with 5 minutes to go yesterday, before conceding 2 late goals and lose.
Beveren on the other hand were up 2-1 at Leuven and held on for dear life. With that win, they now leapfrog Mouscron (level on points but Beveren have more wins).
Mouscron goes down, Beveren now moves on to a relegation playoff game against the 2nd placed team in the 2nd division.
Mouscron going down has been coming for years and everybody is happy about it lol. Very dubious club with shady ties to agents, investors etc. At one point even 'super agent' Pini Zahavi owned the club. They have faced litigation at the end of every season for about 5 or 6 years now and have been threatened with relegation (mostly for financial reasons) but somehow they always won in court. Now they've finally gone down.
Savi
Registered User
In Portugal, Sporting looked well and good on their way to their first title since 2002(!), a couple of weeks ago they had a 10-point lead over Porto.
But recently they look like they're struggling a bit, in their last 6 games they've had three narrow 1-0 wins and three draws. Against Belenenses a couple of days ago they needed a 90+5th minute penalty to salvage a point (and their undefeated season, they still haven't lost a game).
So with 28 (of 34) MD's completed they are on 70 points with Porto on 66. They don't play eachother anymore although Porto does hold the tiebreaker (scored more away goals in H2H matchups)
Sporting still travel to Braga (this weekend) and they play at Benfica on MD 33. Porto's schedule looks a bit easier, they also still have to go to Benfica (MD 31) though.
Btw 2002 was the last time neither Porto or Benfica won the League
But recently they look like they're struggling a bit, in their last 6 games they've had three narrow 1-0 wins and three draws. Against Belenenses a couple of days ago they needed a 90+5th minute penalty to salvage a point (and their undefeated season, they still haven't lost a game).
So with 28 (of 34) MD's completed they are on 70 points with Porto on 66. They don't play eachother anymore although Porto does hold the tiebreaker (scored more away goals in H2H matchups)
Sporting still travel to Braga (this weekend) and they play at Benfica on MD 33. Porto's schedule looks a bit easier, they also still have to go to Benfica (MD 31) though.
Btw 2002 was the last time neither Porto or Benfica won the League
Savi
Registered User
Who knows, I don't watch any games
Just thought it was interesting how (finally) someone could possibly snatch away a title from Porto/BenficaAd
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