Belgium have reached the final of the U17 European Championship. This afternoon in the semi-final they beat France 2-1. Anderlecht players Jayden Onia Seke and Ilyas Benktib scored the Young Red Devils' goals. With Mattis Seghers, Joshua Nga, Kana, Onia Seke and Benktib, four Anderlecht players were in the starting line-up. Read more »
RSCA Futsal confirmed their domestic dominance, claiming a fourth consecutive title with a 6-2 win over Antwerp in the second leg of the final. After winning the first leg, Anderlecht thus rounded off an almost perfect season with the crown. It took just three minutes for the scoring to open: Edu, fed by Grello, crushed Antwerp's hopes. Before the break Anderlecht pulled further away: Cainan — good for 115 goals in three seasons — even scored from his own half, after which Raul and Grello took the score to 4-0 at the interval. Read more »
Belgium's U17s won their third group match at the European Championship 1-0 against Estonia. Noah Kalonji (photo) scored the only goal, assisted by Joshua Nga Kana. Spain's defeat ensured Belgium would progress as group winners to the semi-finals. Head coach Sven Vermant fielded an almost entirely new starting line-up compared with the previous two matches. Read more »
Sporting Hasselt, the Challenger Pro League's brand-new entrant, has announced a number of pre-season friendlies. Anderlecht will visit Hasselt on 27 June at 6:00 p.m. Preparations for the new season begin on 22 June. Read more »
RSCA Women won the Belgian Cup at the expense of Zulte Waregem, beating them 3-0 with two goals from IJzerman. The match was not yet ten minutes old when IJzerman was gifted a goal after Zulte's goalkeeper erred from a corner. That early lead proved ideal, and Vanzeir doubled the score on the half hour. After the break Zulte Waregem competed better, but IJzerman dashed their ambitions by making it 3-0 — Anderlecht's third headed goal of the afternoon. Read more »
According to some sources, Óscar García is on RSCA's shortlist of potential head coaches. In the past he has coached, among others, OHL, Barcelona U19, Tel Aviv, Brighton, Watford, Red Bull Salzburg, Saint?Étienne, Olympiakos, Celta Vigo, Reims and Chivas; he is currently active at Ajax. As a player he was developed at Barcelona before becoming a coach at Albacete, Valencia and UE Lleida. Read more »
Jérémy Taravel's chapter as Anderlecht's head coach is over. Whether the Frenchman will keep a role within the staff of a new coach is for now uncertain. After three intense months in charge, he is looking back on that period in detail for the first time. “I learned a huge amount in a short time about managing a group, handling pressure and leading a staff,” Taravel says. Read more »
After the heavy 5-1 defeat to Union Saint-Gilloise, RSC Anderlecht came in for fierce criticism on the HLN Football podcast. Analysts Frank Boeckx and Toby Alderweireld did not spare the purple-and-white and pointed to structural problems within the club. At the same time, Boeckx put forward a notable name as a possible new coach: Wouter Vrancken. Boeckx suggested the heavy loss may even have clarified matters for sporting director Antoine Sibierski. Read more »
Majeed Ashimeru and Antwi Dacosta did not make the Ghanaian World Cup squad. This comes as no surprise, but the duo were called up for a friendly match last week. That was enough for some media outlets to start speculating wildly. Read more »
The Belgian U17s got off to a fine start at the European Championship in Estonia, beating Croatia 2-0. Three Anderlecht players were in the starting lineup and three more came on as substitutes. Jayden Onia Seke (photo) was involved in both goals, and goalkeeper Mattis Seghers also put in a strong performance. After nine minutes Onia Seke intercepted a poor back pass, ran forward and struck the post. Read more »
At 15 years and 359 days, Adjani Mujangi Bia became the youngest purple-and-white player to make his first-team debut. He came on Sunday to see out the stoppage time in the match against Union. His father is Geoffrey Mujangi Bia, who was trained in Neerpede before moving on to Charleroi and Standard. Geoffrey later became a player agent. Read more »
A totally uninterested and unmotivated Anderlecht turned in an utterly shameful performance this evening. They were beaten 5-1 by Union and were already 4-0 down at the interval. The Anderlecht players were no more than a collection of spectators, receiving a football lesson in every possible way—especially on a mental level. After the break Anderlecht were reduced to ten men when Hazard was sent off. Read more »
On Thursday, there was a celebration for Ludwig Augustinsson. Before kickoff in the match against STVV, he was honored for his 100th match for Anderlecht. By now, the tally has even reached 103. There likely won't be many more added to that. Although he still has a year left on his contract, he may Read more »
Anderlecht may immediately face a tough task in the second qualifying round of the Europa League. Yet it will be crucial to get through this round. Last year it went wrong straight away against Häcken and the European campaign was over as early as August. Anderlecht will probably be seeded, although that is not yet certain. Read more »
Anderlecht secured fourth place in the league with a 3-1 win. The purple-and-whites were not at their best, but proved very efficient before the interval. Sikan tucked away the only two clear chances in the first 45 minutes. After the break STVV worked their way back into the game with a late 2-1, but Bertaccini erased all doubts on the counter. Read more »
On Thursday evening Keisuke Goto will again be in the spotlight when STVV visit the Lotto Park. The Japanese forward, loaned to Sint?Truiden by Anderlecht, caused quite a stir in the first leg at Stayen with a late goal against his parent club. Goto celebrated the equaliser exuberantly and then provoked further by repeatedly and conspicuously kissing the STVV crest on his shirt. That clearly went down badly with some of the purple?and?white: among others Ludwig Augustinsson and Colin Coosemans confronted the young Japanese after the final whistle. Read more »
Lawrence Visser has been appointed to lead Sunday's Brussels derby. He will be assisted by assistant referees Ruben Wyns and Thibaud Nijssen. Wesli De Cremer will serve as the fourth official. Read more »
The heavy defeat of Royale Union Saint-Gilloise against Club Brugge KV also provoked reactions from Silvio Proto. The former Anderlecht icon didn't mince his words on a French-language sports podcast and responded sharply to the increasing comparisons between Union and R.S.C. Anderlecht. Proto conceded that Club Brugge is currently the dominant team in Belgium, but he added important nuance to that supremacy. Read more »
On Thursday at 8:30 p.m. an intriguing Jupiler Pro League clash takes place between R.S.C. Anderlecht and K. Sint-Truidense V.V. Read more »
For the second year running, RSCA Women have seen the title slip through their fingers. OH Leuven were crowned champions last weekend after a win in Bruges. Just like the men, the purple-and-white women must now try to salvage their season via the cup. Preparation for the final was far from smooth: in the league they lost two points against Standard (1-1). Read more »
Anderlecht's ordeal this season has one more week to run. Today, at the last moment, they avoided a first fall by salvaging a 2-2 draw. The Purple-and-Whites again started sluggishly and Mechelen took the lead after a gift from Huerta. Saliba quickly levelled, and Miras kept Mechelen in front until half-time. Read more »
It is quite possible that Mihajlo Cvetkovic has played his last match for Anderlecht this season. After his red card — and following Anderlecht's appeal — the Serbian has been suspended for three matches, with a fourth match suspended conditionally. A fine of €3,500 was also imposed. Cvetkovic will therefore miss the games against Mechelen, STVV and Union. Read more »
A section of Anderlecht supporters again showed their worst side during the Belgian Cup final. After the match the city of Brussels, owner of the stadium, found that more than 300 seats had been vandalised. There was also an outbreak of arson in one of the stands. "We can understand sporting frustration." Read more »
Storm clouds loom over Anderlecht's leadership after the cup final. Owner Marc Coucke refused to comment. Chairman Michael Verschueren did speak, and in blunt terms. "We deserved to lose." Read more »
Not even a third time (or fourth time if you look further back in time) proved to be the charm. In the Belgian Cup final, Union were too strong, winning 3-1. After Anderlecht fell behind midway through the second half, hope rose with a goal from Cvetkovic, but in extra time Union struck twice in quick succession to clinch the victory. Read more »
Anderlecht drew 1-1 in Ghent. On the one hand they can be satisfied — they played the second half with ten men after a foolish red card for Cvetkovic. On the other hand they have reason to be disappointed: they produced a good first half but forgot to extend their 0-1 lead. Gent equalised after poor defending on the stroke of half-time, but barely threatened Anderlecht after the break. Read more »
Jérémy Taravel has tinkered with his defence ten times in thirteen matches. Het Nieuwsblad looked into it. The reason for all the changes remains unclear. Injuries or suspensions often played a role (Kana, Sardella, Augustinsson), but not always. Read more »
Anderlecht lost again to Club Brugge, this time without posing a real threat: 1-3. Brugge even squandered three one-on-one chances. Anderlecht was virtually uninspired in possession and its defence rattled like a battered old car. Read more »
A few hours before the clash with Union, Keisuke Goto looks back on the commotion that followed his celebration during STVV–Anderlecht. The Japanese forward, constantly followed by a Japanese film crew, says he still does not understand why the Brussels reaction was so strong after his goal against the purple-and-white. Nine days after his decisive strike that made it 2-0, Goto maintains he never meant to provoke RSCA. For him the celebration was above all an expression of relief: STVV had not beaten Anderlecht in almost eight years, and he himself had gone two months without scoring. Read more »
At the start of the second half of the Champions' Play-offs the balance for Anderlecht looks insufficient, with just six points. The level of play remains very inconsistent and, above all, inadequate. Crucial weeks lie ahead in which Anderlecht must try to finish fourth, and of course there is also the cup final. Can the Purple-and-Whites build on the promising first half against Union, or will the quality gap become clear again as it was in the first half in Bruges? Read more »
