GAMES 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 »
OTHER Anderlecht coach Jérémy Taravel is far from pleased with Adriano Bertaccini's criticism of the late announcement of the lineup. Het Laatste Nieuws reports the coach will summon Bertaccini on Monday. He should not, however, expect any sanction. The club believes a good conversation between the two will suffice and that afterward tensions will be smoothed over. Read more »
OTHER On Sunday Anderlecht must get back to work for an important match, but there will be a few fires to put out in the coming days. Bertaccini, Camara and Cvetkovic spoke to Sporza after the lost cup final and were visibly disappointed and critical. Bertaccini said "Union deserved to win." He felt Anderlecht had hardly any chances and that there were far too many long balls, which Union dealt with comfortably. He noted there was no adjustment from the bench, while adding that the players themselves should have known better in that moment. Read more »
GAMES 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 »
GAMES - OTHER 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 »
INTERVIEWS 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 »
OTHER César Huerta may once again allow himself to dream a little about the World Cup. The Mexican Anderlecht player is part of the 55-man preliminary squad announced by national coach Javier Aguirre. The 25-year-old Huerta has 25 caps (3 goals), but a troublesome pubalgia kept him sidelined since the end of October. He made his comeback for Anderlecht in early May and in recent matches has come on for just over fifteen minutes each time. Read more »
GAMES 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 »
OTHER Tomorrow is the day: Anderlecht play the Belgian Cup final. Some 18,511 purple-and-white supporters will follow the local derby against Union at the King Baudouin Stadium. The purple-and-white Fan Village on Eeuwfeestlaan opens at 10:00. There are no concrete plans for a celebration if the result is positive. Read more »
INTERVIEWS Nathan De Cat is fit again, and all of Anderlecht is hoping he will take the team by the hand tomorrow and steer them to victory in the Belgian Cup final. Will that be his farewell gift to Anderlecht? With one year left on his contract, a departure this summer seems almost inevitable. "But fans may still hope I'll stay," he tells Het Nieuwsblad today. Read more »
OTHER The Disciplinary Committee has handed down a ruling on Cvetkovic's suspension. The striker has been given a three-match ban—two matches to be served and one match suspended. Anderlecht, however, will not accept the decision and plans to appeal so that the suspension only takes effect after the cup final the day after tomorrow. In addition to the suspension, a fine of €2,500 has been imposed. Read more »
OTHER Today Devon De Corte celebrates his birthday! He becomes 20 years old and we would like to wish him a happy birthday! Read more »
OTHER Should Thorgan Hazard start for Anderlecht in the cup final? Eight experts—former coaches, ex-players and analysts—give their verdict. Francky Dury is pro-Hazard without hesitation. It's a final, Hazard is fresh and motivated, and Dury believes his experience and figures should count for more than Degreef or Bertaccini. Read more »
OTHER The football association's disciplinary office has requested a four-match ban for Mihajlo Cvetkovic, with one of those matches suspended. Anderlecht can still appeal the proposal in the hope the Serbian will be allowed to play in the cup final against Union, but the club must pray the sanction is not increased on appeal, which would rule him out altogether. Regardless of the ultimate decision, it appears the young striker already played his last competitive game of the season in Ghent — a serious setback for Anderlecht, because if they fail to win the cup they will still have to fight in the league to secure fourth place and avoid the test match. Read more »
GAMES 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 »
FLASHBACK At the end of August 2009, the unhealthy rivalry between Anderlecht and Standard reached a shocking peak: Axel Witsel delivered a criminal tackle on right-back Marcin Wasilewski, resulting in a double open leg fracture. Almost a year and six surgeries later, Wasilewski made his comeback at the highest level. Read more »
INTERVIEWS Antoine Sibierski spoke to the press this afternoon for the first time in his capacity as Anderlecht's sporting director. “My ambitions fully match those of the club,” said the 51-year-old Frenchman. He declined to comment on the current coach and the squad for now. Sibierski outlined his vision for Anderlecht: “We want to play dominant football, both on and off the ball. Read more »
OTHER Today Jayden Onia Seke celebrates his birthday! He becomes 17 years old and we would like to wish him a happy birthday! Read more »
INTERVIEWS This afternoon Anderlecht introduced its new sporting director, Antoine Sibierski, to the press. CEO Kenneth Bornauw said at the presentation that, before launching the search, the club carried out a thorough analysis of what it needed. "We arrived at five criteria. Sibierski meets all five," Bornauw said. Read more »
INTERVIEWS Antoine Sibierski has officially taken up the role of technical director at Anderlecht. The Frenchman was at Neerpede yesterday to finalise the last formalities. He brings substantial experience — and a personal story that has deeply shaped him. His approach is straightforward, thorough and uncompromising. Read more »
YOUTH The arrival of a new sports director also brings other changes to Anderlecht's notoriously crowded organizational chart: according to La Dernière Heure, Tim Borguet, who was appointed Chief Sports Officer a year ago, is returning to Neerpede. He will (once again) be in charge of everything related to youth development. Read more »
OTHER 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 »
OTHER After months of tensions, DAZN and the telecom operators have finally reached an agreement. As a result, Belgian football returns to Telenet, and matches will again be available via Play. The cup final in a week and a half will already be broadcast on television. Broadcasting rights have increasingly become spread across different platforms in recent years. Read more »
INTERVIEWS In an interview with Voetbal International, Cedric Hatenboer looks back on his transfer and his spell at Anderlecht. The midfielder explains how everything changed for him when Anderlecht replaced both coach and chairman. His future was also discussed. Read more »
TRANSFERS As expected, 51-year-old Frenchman Antoine Sibierski has been appointed Anderlecht's new Sporting Director. He will take the reins of sporting policy across all professional teams and will also oversee the scouting and performance departments (first team, Futures and Women). Sibierski played as an attacking midfielder for Auxerre, Nantes and Lens, and later in England for Manchester City, Newcastle and Wigan. For the past two seasons he was Sporting Director at ESTAC Troyes; Troyes secured promotion to Ligue 1 this season. Read more »
INJURIES The injury Nathan Saliba picked up during training appears to have further consequences. According to 'Het Laatst Nieuws' the Canadian will also miss the game against Ghent, and it is even uncertain whether he will be fit in time for the cup final. Ali Maamar was also left out of today's squad with an injury. The young Moroccan had played very creditably against Union last week but had to give up his place in the starting eleven. Read more »
GAMES 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 »
INJURIES The painful evening against Club Brugge also brought a bit of good news: both Nathan De Cat and Cesar Huerta (pictured) made their comebacks. For Huerta these were his first minutes since October; a pubalgia had kept him sidelined for six months. De Cat replaced Enric Llansana at half?time, and the fact he was able to play the full 45 minutes this evening bodes well ahead of the Belgian Cup final in a week and a half. Huerta came on late and, including stoppage time, played roughly twenty minutes. Read more »
INJURIES With Moussa Diarra, Anderlecht have added another name to the injury list. The centre-back was forced off already in the first half against Club Brugge. He first collided with goalkeeper Nordin Jackers (who also had to be substituted), then was the victim of a heavy challenge from Hugo Siquet. Mihajlo Ilic came on for Diarra, having been preferred to Lucas Hey. Read more »
TRANSFERS Daevon Balembi will be part of RSC Anderlecht's U18 squad next season; he is transferring from Club Brugge. He has signed his first professional contract, which runs until June 2029, and plays as a number nine. Furthermore, he is physically strong for his age. This gives Anderlecht a player with a profile that the team has too often lacked. Read more »
INTERVIEWS 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 »
YOUTH - TRANSFERS Maximilian Chmielewski is joining RSC Anderlecht's U18 team. He has transferred from Union. The 16-year-old forward, of German and Polish descent, played in the Youth League with Union this season. He had moved from Overijse to Union in 2024. He thanked Union for the trust the club's management placed in him and expressed his gratitude to his family. Read more »
INJURIES Jérémy Taravel had good news from the treatment room this afternoon. Nathan De Cat is indeed in the squad for the game against Club Brugge, though at best he will pick up a few minutes off the bench. Read more »
GAMES 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 »
OTHER Today Jan-Carlo Simic and Killian Sardella celebrate their birthday. Jan-Carlo Simic is now 21 and Killian Sardella 24years old. We wish them both a happy anniversary! Read more »
INTERVIEWS
Anderlecht must absolutely win the cup final on 14 May and keep its fourth place in the table, says Jérémy Taravel. After the defeat to Union, RSCA now trails Sint?Truiden by eight points, a gap that makes the battle for third place "complex," Taravel admits. But the coach refuses to give up: "There are still 15 points to play for; as long as it's possible, we must believe." Taravel will have to do without Sardella for two weeks. Having reviewed the footage, the coach called the red card disproportionate: "A yellow for both players would have been sufficient." Read more »
OTHER Anderlecht hopes to present its new sporting director by mid-May at the latest. The role is expected to go to Antoine Sibierski, who is currently handing in his notice at Troyes in France. An initial deadline of 1 May had reportedly been set, but that now appears unattainable. If Sibierski — who would immediately face a heavy workload — has not committed by 15 May, other options will likely be explored. Read more »
