Belgian soccer: the Beergian League!

In the first of what he drunkenly promises will be an ongoing series of roundups of the weekend action in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League, Charles le Roi looks at the return to domestic action after a heady cocktail of midweek European fixtures.

As a Maes drinker, the Jupiler Pro League sometimes makes painful viewing. It might require beer goggles to suggest that, in the 70s, 80s and 90s, the Belgian league was providing spectacle (champagne football if you allow me to mix my drinks) to compare with the finest in Europe, but no fewer than five teams - Anderlecht, Club Bruges, Standard Liège, KV Mechelen, and Royal Antwerp - graced European finals during that period. Since then it has been a practical drought and we have been reduced to quaffing Jupiler (les hommes savent pourquoi ™).

So it was with renewed optimism that we entered Round 27 after midweek exploits against some of Spain's and, ahem, Austria's finest. Club Bruges kept David Villa and Valencia at bay, recording a 1-0 win in Jan Breydel. Anderlecht gave as good as they got both on and off the pitch in a 1-1 battle at ‘La Catedral’ in Bilbao, while Standard came from behind to snatch a 3-2 victory from Salzburg at Stade Sclessin.

Given until Sunday to recover from their Europa League heroics, the big three literally topped the bill. Anderlecht, seemingly sauntering to title number 30, had a relative “makkie” (gimme) at home to KV Mechelen. All eyes were, therefore, on Jan Breydel where a resurgent Club Bruges took on a faltering Standard de Liege. Champions for the last two years, Liege have disappeared up their own behinds this term to lie fifth at an unusually crucial point of the season.

This season the top six break away in late March to decide the title and to serve the public the fresh hops of the Jupiler League play-offs 1, leaving the rest to fester in the putrid vat of Jupiler play-offs 2, or worse the play-off for Division 2. In fifth place, with more games played than their nearest rivals, Standard entered the weekend in grave risk of two months of festering. How would they leave it? Results and play-offs explanation below...

Racing Genk – Lokeren 3 - 1

Zulte Waregem – Roeselare 1 - 1

AA Gent – Sint Truiden 0 – 1

Kortrijk – Cercle Bruges 3 - 1

Westerlo – Charleroi 4 – 0

Club Bruges – Standard 2 – 1

Anderlecht – KV Mechelen 2 - 0

Jupiler Pro League 2009-2010: Play-off system explained

The regular competition
The Jupiler Pro League started on the weekend of 1 August 2009 with 16 Clubs scheduled to play 15 home and 15 away games finishing on 13 March 2010. Numbers 1 – 6 on 13 March qualify for play-offs 1, numbers 7 – 14 for play-offs 2. Second from bottom number 15 enters a play-off against demotion, number 16 goes straight down probably never to re-emerge (this year this is quite literally the case as Mouscron have gone bankrupt).

Play-offs 1
The play-offs 1 begin on 24 March 2010. Each team plays the others home and away, a total of 10 games each. For some reason, each club enters play-off 1 with half of its points total from the regular competition. The winner is Champion and qualifies for the group phase of the Champions League. The second placed team qualifies for the qualification rounds of the Champions League. The third placed team qualifies for the Uefa Europa League. The fourth placed team enters yet another play-off, against the winner of play-offs 2, for qualification for the Uefa Europa League.

Play-offs 2
The play-offs 2 also begin on 24 March 2010. The teams classified between 7 & 14 in the regular competition split into two groups of four (numbers 7, 9, 12 and 14 in group 1; numbers 8, 10, 11 and 13 in group 2) and play the others in the group home and away, a total of 6 games. Not only does this ingenious two-group format keep the number of games down but it also, you guessed it, allows for a play-off between the two group winners to decide who gets to, at this point you probably think I am making this up, play-off against the fourth team in play-offs 1 for a place in the Uefa Europa League.

Easy!

Comments

[Charles le Roi]

he'll probably end up at Racing Club Mechelen. Not because they are playing in the Belgian third division but because they wear green and white hoops so he'll probably reckon he supported them when he was a kid growing up in Dublin..... http://bit.ly/bFabSS

[Teddy]

Who will Robbie Keane one day play for?

[theoutsider]

One can't help wonder how far the bankruptcy virus has spread... seems to have infected clubs far and wide, big and small.

[Charles le Roi]

News just in today, the start date for play-offs 1 may be delayed by 4 days if any of the teams involved qualify for the next round of European competition. Hold off on booking those flights to Belgium....

[wim]

Interesting. Just the other day I was jokingly suggesting that the English Premier League should adopt a top-six title play-off:
http://www.quantumofsport.com/2010/02/epl-playoff-so-much-for-the-champions-league.html