| Royal Antwerp Football Club - News Headlines | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PROFILE OPPONENT * KSV ROESELARE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History Season 2008-2009 Season 2009-2010 Season 2010-2011 But as long as KSV Roeselare can attract crowds of around 2,000, they will retain some hope of consolidating in the Exqi League. Out from the shadow of Dennis Van Wijk, assistant-coach and newbie in the managers world Nico Vanderdonck will be hungry to prove he deserves his promising coaching reputation. And although the transfer market went all the wrong way for our next visitor at the Bosuil there are still enough talented youngsters and old hands at Schiervelde for Vanderdonck to mould into a team. In a nutshell, relegation forced the team from West Flanders to jettison as many as 17 (!) players in the summer, including teens sensations Joeri Dequevy and Bjarni Vidarsson. Also inspirational skipper of the last couple of seasons Stefaan Tanghe together with Eyjolfsson, Govoni, Nikolic, Huygebaert, Van Loo, Kucera and worldcup participant Nikita Rukavytsya have gone to pastures new. Only new entries are some leftovers and fringe players from Jupiler League title contenders Club Bruges such as De Rechter, Guiro and from Armenia a certain Voskanian bloke. To resume, the change of league will certainly help, but KSV Roeselare have to be more adventurous. A goal a game last year was patently not good enough and with two goals out of three games thus far improvement must be made rather sooner than later.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 03/09/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
R.A.F.C. RECRUITMENT POLICY COULD PAY DIVIDENDS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frank Nicola assesses Royal Antwerp’s signings during the summer transfer window and what impact they may have as the red half and the main team in the city of Antwerp strive for a berth in the top-flight (Jupiler Pro League). Royal Antwerp Football Club desperately needed to bolster their squad ahead of the transfer window slamming shut – and that’s exactly what the board and the technical sporting staff has done. No manager can expect 100% success rate in the transfer market, especially in the modern game where players and agents power rules the roost. However, on the back of bringing in success stories such as our talented youngsters Put, Pelgrims, Baert, Vogels and Martin last year, gaffer Colin Andrews’s record is far from atrocious – especially given of the disaster stories that came before at sky-high transfer rates and wages at the end of the nineties and beginning of this century when our club was a perennial struggler in the highest tier of Belgian football. Here is a rundown on the work of the sporting staff and board so far: Thomas De Corte (° 31/03/1988 right-back, centre-back) has had a solid if unspectacular start to his Antwerp career so far – but it is early days. De Corte has plenty of promise and potential and showed willing in his three games so far, but as a young player who is finding his feet in the Exqi League, he requires time and patience to allow him to show his true worth. Injuries in the last couple of seasons haven’t exactly helped our right-back, but with Van Zundert also vying for his position, competition for places could bring out the best in all two once they have the red-and-white shirt on their back. De Corte has had a couple of shaky moments so far when he was harshly sent off by referee Delferière in the away tie at KV Turnhout but the assist in our derby home tie against K. Rupel Boom FC stated that Thomas is already finding his feet at the Bosuil. Verdict: Is currently holding the baton as far as the right-back slot is concerned but Van Zundert is also keen to get in the mix. Bart Van Zundert (° 30/11/1980 right-back, centre-back, anchor man midfield or right flank) is reliable, versatile and our boss Andrews was very quick to speak up about just what a competitor the Reds have signed. The tough-tackling anchor man – who starred with Jupiler Pro League outfits YR KV Mechelen and Zulte Waregem – may well have an important role to play on the field and in the dressing room. This specialist of set-pieces arrives hungry for success at the Bosuil. He must lead our young, vibrant team together with the other seniors Pivaljevic and Di Gregorio to a higher level and Bart is certainly or marquee signing of the summer. Verdict : Could well prove to be a real cult hero with Antwerp fans if he picks up where he left at YR KV Mechelen. Marvin Peersman (° 10/02/1991 left-back) is a Belgian U 19 international who fits into the policy of ‘buy young and bring in cheap’ but with the player tipped to be a future Belgian international the technical sporting staff appears to have pulled an ace out of their sleeve. Did play a little bit like Ashley Cole or Gareth Bale marauding down the flank again and again and showed already his huge awareness and skill when he set up our winning goal at the Leburtonstadium. Verdict : A shrewd piece of business, wonderful move made by RAFC that gazumped several Exqi League rivals. Alexandre Di Gregorio (° 12/02/1980 box-to-box midfielder) is the leader on and off the pitch. Out of contract at Dutch Eredivisie strugglers RKC Waalwijk he rejoined his favourite team in Belgium for a second spell. He will provide further competition to the midfield engine room that already boasts Franky Pelgrims, Niels Martin, Benjamin Lambot (if used as a holding midfielder), Kevin Baert and Emmerik De Vriese. Verdict: Must stay injury-free this season to help us out of this division, his role can not be underestimated. Kerem Zevne (° 16/01/1990 free role behind mercurial striker Kevin Oris) is the sensation of the Exqi League already with 3 goals out of three games. Not a bad average to have for a newbie and youth international from Turkey and Belgium coming out of the ranks of Dutch second division team MVV. Can Kerem become that player who will give us the amount of goals that miracle Hungarian maestro Tisza gave us last year? Both players did illuminate the big stage at Bosuilstadium in the past or present but isn’t it asked to much from a 20-year-old to be already one of the stars of the team? Verdict: Star in the making, let’s hope it may continue… Stavros Glouftsis and Jasper Vermeerbergen are two other signings we made but the former has some conditional problems by entering the training sessions when the friendlies were coming thick and fast, the latter proved already to be a good acquisition but he had to leave the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium at Inverness on a stretcher but his recovery is going all right. Verdict: The jury is still out on you lads, so come on! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 02/09/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SUMMARY DAY THREE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bad-tempered, vicious and vindictive this match may have been – competitive the managers called it – but for Kevin Oris and Kerem Zevne it was a dream. Welcoming daughter Louise earlier this week, big man Oris spearheaded the Royal Antwerp attack, revelling in the physical stuff and scoring the opener in the Stadsparkstadium on 18’ with a delightful shot for his third goal in three games. Then referee Delferière took centre stage and harshly sent off Thomas De Corte. Only for a 10-men strong Royal Antwerp side to double the lead courtesy of a Kerem Zevne superb lob. Just before the interval the home side scored from a set-piece and in the second half, yet as impressive as our interplay had been, we were caught by Turnhout’s more direct approach via Da Silva and a 2-2 final score meant that our perfect start of the season was halted. Momentarily we are occupying second spot in the Exqi League behind leaders RAEC Mons.
Although the scoreline was emphatic, for the first half-an-hour K Rupel Boom’s simple gameplan of beating Lommel United to the first ball had frustrated the visitors. Had Boom possessed United’s confidence in attack then nobody would have begrudged them taking an early lead. Unfortunately, Peter Van Wambeke’s side lacked invention in and around the area and as seems to be the way in football, the team which failed to make the most of their advantage in possession was punished courtesy of a brace from Ketting and further goals from Oost, Henkens and Cerigioni.
In Ostend, the hosts’ defensive frailties, exemplified by poor performances of the whole rearguard of the coastal team, were once again exposed and FC M Brussels S. cemented their status as KV Ostend’s ‘bogey’ team with a professional display of star forward Veselinovic. Their top marksman scored all the goals in the tie (hattrick) and has now 4 goals on his tally in the ongoing campaign.
Oud-Heverlee Leuven manager Ronny Van Geneugden has pledged to bring a more attractive brand of football to the city of the famous university but he is unlikely to mind that one of his side’s goals were as brutally direct as anything from the Jean Pierre Vande Velde era against a lacklustre Royal Boussu Dour.
New boys RCS Visé and KSK Heist went into their game with confidence after collecting four (home team) and three (visitors) points each from their opening two games. This resulted in an enthralling encounter, the visitors took the lead on two occasions via Van Asten and Van der Mieren but Verhoeven and Dessart brought the home side back on track earning them a hard-fought point each. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30/08/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PROFILE OPPONENT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stadium Stadspark - 28 August 2010 - 8 PM (cet)
KV Turnhout - R Antwerp FC Referees: Sébastien Delferière - Eddy Roosens - Michaël Gerard With small crowds and cramped surrounds at Stadsparkstadium, KV Turnhout will have to punch above their weight. Some current players have already been squabbling over the terms of the new deals on offer and financial constraints have kept transfer activity to a minimum. Turnhout fans, give thanks to Wadi Degla. The investor group from Egypt did offer a glimmer of hope amid the doom and gloom that surrounded the Blue and White. Wadi Degla who owns Jupiler League outfit K. Lierse S.K. gave some leftovers and fringe players to their feeder club with as outcome a stabilisation of the club. K.V. Turnhout can now look forward to reach as high as possible under coach Luc Beyens whose name will ring a bell from his playing days at successful Club Bruges in the nineties as a workhorse in the midfield area. After his impressive playing career he got his coaching badges and started his managerial career at teams in the lower divisions. “KV Turnhout chase Pele,” could be the headline in a newspaper this summer.. Some say that our next opponent might need the real Brazilian legend, not to mention Diego Maradona and Johan Cruyff to stay up but most pundits think that promising young and reliable goalkeeper Goris, defenders Renson, Loyens, Vandenbergh and two Egyptian imports in Lamloun and Fawaz should get enough clean sheets and a midfield containing Delanoy, Wils, Mauro, Noyen and Da Silva must give striker Ven enough opportunities to score and in doing so forget eventual relegation worries. So, with a small squad and even smaller budget, the camaraderie in the Turnhout dressing room must become one of the main strengths of this team; it will certainly be the major factor in the club clawing itself free from the drop zone this season! But due to an unlucky away defeat in midweek at the Bergéstadium against K.V.K. Tienen where they conceded two spot-kicks this televised game on Saturday can already make or break the season for KV Turnhout. Maybe a place in the upper half of mid-table is possible when our next opponent does play as in their seasonsopener against KV RS Waasland – SK Beveren. Can our next opponent make their Stadsparkstadium into a fortress? Wait and see…
Founded : 1912 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 28/08/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SUMMARY DAY TWO | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Royal Antwerp Football Club brought K. Rupel Boom FC down to earth with a bump with a spectacular triumph on the second day of the Exqi League in Deurne. The inevitable Jerry Poorters struck first, scoring his third goal in two encounters after a burst down the left from Ngadrira, followed by a corner and a marking error from Kevin Oris. At the press conference gaffer Colin Andrews stated that he was furious because he showed video recording from previous matches from K. Rupel Boom FC where all our opponent goals came from set-pieces but to no avail! But the culprit for the first goal redeemed himself by levelling after 37’ before Zevne was very aware when goalkeeper Van Impe spoilt a cross from De Corte and Kerem scrambled a winner in the dying seconds of the first half. So, once again trailing at home against the brickmakers followed by a spirited comeback from our lads who rallied in a wonderful last 7 minutes before the interval in front of a 7000+ Bosuilcrowd. A job well done and the outcome is a merited second position in the ranking behind RAEC Mons.
The Walloon outfit won with more than the smallest margin at the Luc Varennestadium in Doornik. Class players such as midfield maestro Matumona and striker Jarju with a brace apiece proving the difference against a home side weakened by a lot of high-profiled departures in the summer.
Away wins this time around for KS Wetteren beating FC M Brussels S. in the capital with a brace from De Langhe and a goal from De Winne before Boujouh could net a consolation goal for the habitants of the Edmond Machtensstadium. Together with our beloved colours in third position are KV Ostend who profited from two dismassals for home team Royal Boussu Dour Borinage.
First win of the season for KV RS Waasland-SK Beveren at home against last year relegated side KSV Roeselare courtesy of Neve, Bourabia and Masureel goals and the same did United Lommel who outclassed relegation fodder AFC Tubize with a 4-1 scoreline thanks to Ketting, Azevedo and a brace from Dutch striker Jason Oost. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 26/08/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PROFILE OPPONENT * K. RUPEL BOOM F.C. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bosuilstadium - Wednesday 25 August 2010 - 8 PM (c.e.t.)
Referees: Philippe Vinche - Ronny Vanhoof - Gregory Crotteux Our next opponent was founded in 1998, a result of a merger between Rupel SK and K. Boom F.C The club started playing in the third division of the Antwerp provincial leagues. Six years later and having already three promotion parties under their belt, the club started in the Belgian Fourth Division. After two yo-yo seasons and some stability another title was achieved in the outskirts of the Antwerp region. In 2008-2009 they narrowly missed a play-offs place in the Third Division. Last season they were on top from mid September onwards but provincial neighbours K.S.K. Heist pipped them for an automatic promotion berth in May. The dreaded promotion play-offs to reach the second tier of Belgian football was successful by defeating and outplaying Eendracht Aalst, R.O.C. de Charleroi M. and finally Walloon outfit U.R.S. du Centre (with former Antwerphero Ristovic in goal) were beaten with a 5-4 aggregate scoreline. In all their matches the brickmakers (their nickname) played for more than 2,000 enthousiastic fans and to away legs the Blue Army always travels in large numbers. So, K. Rupel Boom F.C. have now been promoted for the sixth time in twelve years and the last couple of promotions was obtained under stewardship from Urbain Spaenhoven but for the new season the manager said farewell to Boom to partner Marc Brijs at Belgium Jupiler Pro League outfit YR KV Mechelen. New man at the helm is Peter Van Wambeke, a former clubplayer, who must now handle the added weight of expectation hung around his shoulders. Consolidation should be the target for a man who has prior experience of life at this level from his time with perennial strugglers K.F.C. V.W. Hamme. For K. Rupel Boom F.C. the transfer traffic has all been going the wrong way, with inspirational gaffer Spaenhoven leading the way followed by the high profiled departures of Laevaert, Verroken, Mewis, Dewoyer, Aters and last but not least also their top marksman, the Greek Stavros Glouftsis have all chosen other football horizons. But new gaffer Van Wambeke drafted in reliable goalkeeper De Boodt and prolific midfield dynamo Beyens. Together with some loanees from YR KV Mechelen (midfielder Kourouma and striker Ngadrira) they must do well for the team that came searing out the third tier of Belgian football last season. Can inspirational skipper Poorters (very dangerous at set-pieces) and the other ex-teammates from Stavros Glouftsis avoid the drop?
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 23/08/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SUMMARY DAY ONE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The first match of the season it may have been but this could already proved to be a huge victory for a Royal Antwerp side against a boring, negative but still dangerous home team in AFC Tubize. We trailed Les Sang et Or after Daddi shrugged off a challenge from Van Zundert and miracously decided to lob Wauthy. Our only first half reply came from Oris who crushed a thunderous free-kick against the woodwork. In a better second half Oris and Zevne were on the scoresheet with one goal apiece with stunning strikes after good combination play through the heart of the home defense. It was a just reward for a devastating few minutes of football. Then the glory of the past, Walter Baseggio, got his marching orders and the first threepointer of our beloved colours was a fact. Extra tactical bonus was that Colin Andrews had to ring the changes by replacing De Corte (25’) and De Vriese (half-time) due to injury and sickness but after a hesitant reshuffle of our troops, four unbelievable minutes decided the encounter, watched by a meagre 1,500 spectators at the Leburton –whereby the travelling contingent once again in large numbers – ensuring Royal Antwerp got their Exqi League campaign off to a winning start.
K. Rupel Boom F.C. kicked off their season to a winning start after beating a lacklustre K.V.K. Tienen side courtesy of a brace from skipper Poorters. The brickmakers were the only team to beat their opponent with more than one goal, therefore they take the pole position in the second division which will set up nice for a mouthwatering derbygame at the Bosuil next week.
A surprise score came from K.V. Turnhout who scored via a late Da Silva header, onwards KVRS Waasland/SK Beveren (merger) plugged away for the equaliser but, although their passing was neat, they lacked a cutting edge up front. Can Ilenga Penga, their latest addition to the squad be a solution?
Another surprise scoreline coming from the Stadium de la Cité de l’Oie where new boys R.C.S. Visé won with the smallest margin against the hotly tipped favourite to reach at least the play-offs come May, Lommel United. Caramazza delivering a goal and an assist against his former team, the Limburgers could only reduce the deficit thanks to a Dufour goal. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20/08/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PROFILE OPPONENT * AFC TUBIZE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday 1st June 2008, our next opponent did manage to stun a full capacity Bosuil crowd via a Stuckens goal in the first half and our promotion dream was over. It was AFC Tubize finest hour and Lambot and his Sang et Or colleagues were having a party together with their meagre 300 travelling fans. Although no one gave Tubize a prayer when they were promoted to the Jupiler Pro League it was gaffer Cartier who has inspired his troops to a remarkable season. Wonders do happen sometimes but AFC Tubize were relegated last term, they were sunk under the weight of off-the-field chaos, schockingly bad buys (Quinton Fortune anyone?) and the sense that however bad things got, they were about to get worse. In the latter stages of the season Cartier lost his managerial vim and political heavyweight and chairman Langendries made it clear that this Exqi-League season there would be a new man on the helm. That man is their former assistant manager Felice Mazzu who appears to be safe for the moment but that does not mean he will allow his players to ease up.
Although Dufer, Sorokin, Pinelli and Lambot have chosen other horizons Tubize drafted in Steens, Gillis, goalkeeper Govoni and last but not least giant striker Njock returned to the club so you could say they bought cannily. Even Jérémy Perbet stayed at the Leburtonstadium and this strikers’ partnership does mean business. But at the winter mercato Le Sang et Or have been rocked by their high-profiled departures, but our next opponent still have a number of young players who’ve now been together for a fair period of time. The most important part of the team is the rearguard with butcher Neels playing a major role in Tubize not conceding a lot of goals in the current campaign. In midfield good old Alan Haydock and youngster Villano have the most important roles. Upfront a lot was expected from Alandson Da Silva but he took performance-enhanced drugs and the verdict is a three month ban for the striker that let bulge the opposite nets five times this season! So, Mazzu has built a side based less on talent and more on hard graft and self-sacrifice. A lesson from this season thus far is that Tubize must take the teams at the bottom as seriously as those at the top. If you can beat K. Lierse S.K. at their own ground that’s wonderful but then losing points against relegation candidates at their half-empty spanky new Leburtonstadium made them also-rans for the play-offs tickets.
AFC Tubize may just be the Exqi League’s most fearsome club. A wind-swept stadium whose meagre 1,500 inhabitants defy its structure to generate the most intimidating din in the land (remember the chant Allez Tubize, vos supporters sont là – just joking), burly players who challenge and charge relentlessly (remember the play-acting butcher Neels – not joking), and a fresh new clear-headed manager in Frenchman Mwinyi Zahera (coming from Feignies) who refuses to apologise for his no-frills approach and might not be prissy enough to rule out an admonitory bout of naked headbutting if the situation demanded it. All involved with Tubize deserve acclaim for making their club so feared after being relegated had also one negative side-effect that not only opponents fear Les Sang et Or : transfer targets seem wary, too. It is easy to deduce that although Tubize are now an established Exqi League force, they are not viewed as a club where strikers can enhance their careers – at least not forwards of the calibre they seek (in the Perbet/Njock mould that is!). It’s easy to see why : attackers have to work extremely hard at the Leburton for relatively little reward – Tubize created probably fewer shooting opportunities than any other side, averaged a poor ball possession rate per game and completed fewer passes. Their strikers tend to spend a large amount of their time chasing and closing down and, as a consequence, find themselves under inordinate pressure to take any opportunities that do eventually come their way. The best way to attract a top-notch striker may be firstly to demonstrate an intent to evolve by bringing in a couple of midfielders to free the forwards. Now that Haydock has left the club and Baseggio is past his sell-by date (once again injured at the time of writing) it’s hard to see how our next opponent will improve their tally of a meagre 41 goals in 36 games from last season. Similarly, a tad more creativity and penetration should be introduced to central midfield where Brazilians Montagna and Camargo helped by Kwembeke and Villano can all be relied on to do fundamentals diligently but they do not possess the ingenuity to inspire Tubize into the top half of the table. A good cup run is also not on the cards because in the first round they were knocked out by the mighty Peruwelz. Unless chairman Langendries and his sporting advisors can lure upgrades before the transfer window closes there seems little hope of Tubize making a great leap forward. Although it has to be said that despite the above concerns we should not exclude that possibility because our next opponent is famous for landing some last-minute deals because they are proud to be a crafty operator when the market enters it’s business end. Nor, however, does there seem any likelihood of them significantly regressing. Despite some debaggings at the end of last season and with Gilis and Neels on board, Tubize should remain a generally well-organised, highly driven defensive unit who will not concede ground lightly.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16/08/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
EXQI LEAGUE LOWDOWN PART TWO | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
We are a football-crazy club, with passionate fans who follow their team no matter what. Even to the Scottish Highland outskirts of Inverness we have a travelling contingent of 200 mad, vocal and loyal fans. Anyone in a Royal Antwerp shirt is extremely lucky to play in front of people who care about their team so much.
However, a lot of clubs are in financial trouble water and I think that is down to unrealistic expectations and the pressure put on people to succeed. There is different pressure at every club. Some pressure on managers is deserved because they have had an opportunity and wasted it (Mancini anyone?), whereas other managers can set the bar too high and leave themselves with nowhere to go other than down. Fans need to have understanding of the size and scope of their club, but primarily they need to understand the budget. In the Belgian lower leagues we do not know all the budgets a lot of the clubs are working with. It would be nice if budgets (ours will be something about 2 million euro) were more transparent so fans knew where there club should be finishing and then adjust their expectations accordingly. But that can only happen in an ideal world, can’t it? And it’s lower down the football tree that the disastrous effect is most evident. Exqi League teams take sometimes crazy financial risks to reach the top flight. Others must run the risk of bankruptcy simply to stay there, relying on benefactors to subsidise quite staggering losses. To describe this as a league is misleading: this is a free-for-all. And the result is an extreme competitive imbalance both within the Jupiler Pro League (first division) and between the top flight and the lower leagues. Can a team from the Belgian Third Division make successive promotions to win the title in the highest tier in Belgian footie? Think not, mission impossible. A small cadre of pundits regularly tell us that all is rosy in the garden of Belgian football. Think not, luckily some teams (like Royal Antwerp) invest in youth development because the future could be one day very rosy indeed for the red half of the City of Antwerp. Here’s my take on the new season : the Exqi League is as open as it has ever been, there aren’t many sides who will think they have no chance of going up. From the side that came down from the Jupiler Pro League, the newcomers, the also-rans and teams who will compete for the best places at the upper echelon in the second tier of Belgian football. I think it’s easy to predict that R.A.E.C. Mons, K.S.V. Roeselare, Lommel United, F.C. M. Brussels S., O.-H Leuven and off course our beloved colours will do well but all depends on the fact whether players could handle that pressure from the board, supporters and so on. For us, no gruelling pre-season boot camp but it has to be said that our recent crop of players have had a decidedly impressive run of pre-season results to date (P11 W10 L0 D1 GM 40 GA 6) including ties with local bragging rights at stake and the juicy encounter at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium against SPL new boys Inverness. Let the action begin! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13/08/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
EXQI LEAGUE LOWDOWN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The second tier of Belgian football has established a reputation down the years for being ultra competitive, with it becoming increasingly difficult to call how any given season will play out. The likes of Royal Antwerp Football Club, KVRS Waasland – SK Beveren (merger) and F.C. M. Brussels S. have found the going tough at this level in the not too distant past, while unfancied outfits such as F.C.V. Dender, AFC Tubize and K.A.S. Eupen have enjoyed or are enjoying fairytale (?) adventures which have led all the way to the Jupiler Pro League, the Belgian first division. The 2010/2011 campaign promises to offer more of the same, with any number of sides harbouring realistic promotion aspirations ahead of the big kick-off on Aug 18. Among those expected to lead the charge are big spenders R.A.E.C. Mons, with Geert Brouckaert given chairman Leone’s chequebook another hammering in order to acquire the services of tried and tested performers such as Berthelin, Blondelle, Cardon, Verbrugghe, Matthijs and Vandamme of whom the latter will be a long-term absentee (injury ankle ligaments). We predicted last year that big spenders K. Lierse S.K. (backed by Egyptian investor group Wadi Degla) and K.A.S. Eupen (backed by Italian investors) would have their say in the promotion battle and we were damn right. So, last year R.A.E.C. Mons went close and they will be looking to go all the distance this year in their shiny new Tondreaustadium. With the influential backing of would-be Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo everything seems possible in the Walloon part of Belgium. Relegated from the Jupiler Pro League are K.S.V. Roeselare - who didn’t perform in the dreaded play-offs with Lommel United, K.A.S. Eupen and R.A.E.C. Mons - must be given some credit by offloading the well-travelled manager Van Wijck (ex-player from Norwich City) and replacing him with his assistant Nico Vanderdonck. A young vibrant manager but will that be enough to bounce back at the first time of asking, knowing that all their best players have found pastures new bar Dissa! On the other side the feel-good factor carried into the campaign by R.C.S. Visé, K. Rupel Boom F.C. and K.S.K. Heist, all of them promoted from the Belgian Third Division shouldn’t be underestimated either, with the success of K.S. Wetteren last season proving the Exqi League should hold no fear. It may be asking too much of the promoted trio to mount a sustained promotion push, but due to a close-knit atmosphere in their camps, they all appear to have enough about them to avoid an immediate return from whence they came. That’s if we can believe the pundits from the press! However, as previously alluded to, the Exqi League has a habit of producing the unexpected, so there is every chance the form book will be thrown out of the window, Royal Antwerp Football Club gain promotion together with an excellent cup run and all pre-season predictors will be made to look very foolish! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12/08/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
INVERNESS WAFFLE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
While our former players John O’Shea and Jonny Evans enjoyed a vintage day out at Wembley as Manchester United lifted the Community Shield for an 18th time with a 3-1 victory over Chelsea our recent crop of players have been held to a 1-1 stalemate at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium in Inverness. In front of an estimated 1,000 crowd figure in the Highlands both teams had opportunities to win the game, but with goals from Oris and a spot-kick from substitute Moran a fair result was the outcome of this European friendly. This is what Caley Thistle Online had to say about our famous, vociferous contingent of 200 travelling fans: "My man of the match award would be shared amongst the 200 or so away fans, who seemed to have as good a day out as we had a few times last year by constantly creating a racket in perfectly english throughout. They made the game in many ways by creating their own good atmosphere, and it turns out that their club was founded by english students at University in Antwerp, so they sing all their songs in english. You can’t beat that kind of history. It was a pleasure to host them, and I for one would relish a return fixture in Antwerp. Nice conga lads." Once again our fans deserve praise for their behaviour and playerwise in the ICT matchreport Van Zundert and marksman Oris got a lot of accolades, the former for his tackling abilities, the latter for his aerial prowess. First and foremost we can say we have a decidedly impressive run of pre-season results to date (P10 W9 L0 D1) with a goals tally of 38-5 in our favour. The highlights, for want of a better word, were wins over local rivals K.F.C.Germinal Beerschot, K Berchem Sport and R. Cappellen F.C. so the bragging rights of the City of Antwerp belongs to us. Please let it continue and no more injuries (Jasper Vermeerbergen the latest one) would be nice for starters… | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 09/08/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PROFILE OPPONENT * INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Our next opponent was formed in 1994 following the bitter merger of Caledonian and Inverness Thistle, both members of the Highland Football League. When the Scottish Football League restructured to four divisions of ten teams each (SPL + Div 1 + Div 2 + Div 3) the Highland club was elected to take part in the lowest division. In 1996/1997 they won the Third Division Championship, two years later a new promotion campaign was on the cards when they finished as runner-up to Livingston giving them the opportunity to play in the First Division. And off course, never say two promotions with a third in striking distance, in the club’s most successful season to date (2003-2004) promotion to the big boys in the Scottish Premier League was a reality.
So, the Calley Jags were eligible to play in the SPL, but the FA rules at that time stated that all participants of the SPL must have a stadium with a minimum capacity of 10,000 seats. Caledonian Stadium didn’t and this left the club’s board the choice to remain in the First Division or to play at Pittodrie (groundshare with Aberdeen) meaning a round trip for the supporters of 200 miles! For one season, ICT played at Pittodrie until the SPL rules reduced the requirement to only 6,000 seats and with rebuilding work rapidly going in the right direction, Caley Thistle returned to Inverness and made a winning start defeating Dunfermline 2-0. How did they fare later on?
Season 2005-2006 Season 2006-2007 Season 2007-2008 Season 2008-2009 Season 2009-2010
Ground Name : Tulloch Caledonian Stadium
GLORY GLORY ROYAL ANTWERP…OVER LAND AND SEA…VICTORIOUS IN BATTLEFIELD…ROYAL ANTWERP THE BRAVE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 05/08/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
REINFORCEMENTS FOR ROYAL ANTWERP FOOTBALL CLUB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thus far, it has been a frustrating summer in the transfer market for Manchester United and the general feeling is that they need at least two more players if they want to contend for silverware this season. But does Royal Antwerp have enough ammunition to reach the upper echelon of the Exqi League ranking? Although for instance Manchester City continue to splash out their money from their millionaire owners and distorting the market and pushing up prices, clubs from the Belgian second division are getting scared of spending money as the financial reality of the economic downturn starts to bite – particularly for those clubs in debt. But our club did remarkably well in the wheeling and dealing and are proud to announce the following incoming transfers : Jasper Vermeerbergen, Thomas De Corte, Bart Van Zundert, Washilly Tshibasu, Stavros Glouftsis, Ahmed Sababti and Kerem Zevne. Vermeerbergen is a 22-year-old central defender who played under stewardship from ex-Stoke boss Jan Boskamp at KSK Beveren last season and proved in the friendlies to be a reliable reinforcement and forms with Phibel a solid central pairing. De Corte is a 22-year-old right back and will be used as back-up for versatile defender/midfielder Van Zundert who did play for first division outfits YR KV Mechelen and Zulte Waregem and the expectance around his person and football abilities is huge. As a 29-year-old he will give our vibrant young team the necessary experience and Bart is also a specialist free-kick taker but his main task will be to deliver clean sheets in what was a sometimes leaky defense last season. Do we have to introduce Glouftsis? He had a previous spell at our club. The Greek Glouftsis was topscorer at promoted KFC Rupel Boom, but when a transfer to the States didn’t capitalise he chose Belgian FA number one to continue his career. Sababti is the king of the five-a-side championships, he was elected player of the year at Chase Antwerpen and as a lifelong Antwerpfan he will give it a go after previous field experiences at KSK Beveren and KFC Rupel Boom didn’t come to fruition. Last one in an impressive row of newcomers is Zevne, a 20-year-old-winger with even experience at national sides of Belgium and Turkey (under -20). With his runs combined with a good control of the ball he hopes to be a crowd favourite this season. For Manchester United, Wayne Rooney won several games almost single-handedly last season, and it’s neither fair nor realistic to expect the same again this season but can one of the abovemantioned players guide Royal Antwerp to dreamland (Belgian Jupiler Pro League – First Division) this upcoming season? Wait and see but we give all the reinforcements a warm welcome at De Bosuil and wish them a enjoyable stay in the traditional surroundings of Belgian FA number one! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 02/08/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
THE PRE-SEASON THINK TANK | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Don’t worry about it Kevin Baert and Yannick Put, you’re in good company when it comes to getting injured during pre-season in a Royal Antwerp shirt. Just ask for instance Roel van Hemert. About Kevin Baert you have read everything in a previous article but also our most promising youngster Yannick Put had to leave the field in a friendly at KSK Schoten FC, it just never seems straight forward in the world of Royal Antwerp Football Club does it?
I don’t usually wake up on a morning after a friendly, open the curtains and look out to the scene of the crime - but when it comes to the lacklustre performances in the last three outings after the memorable derby day win – you don’t have much choice. The pre-season friendly argument certainly came into play once again against teams from the lower divisions such as KFC Lentezon Beerse, K Antonia FC and to a lesser degree K. Berchem Sport but what are your expectations of such contests? At this stage of the season, expecting players to be at full throttle and a perfect performance is asking a bit much amidst an environment of multiple substitutions and younger players coming through ranks is unrealistic. The overwhelming call from the Royal Antwerp camp after those friendlies was that fitness was the primary concern at this stage. The friendlies if anything underlined that Royal Antwerp still lack strength in depth and with particularly Wauthy and Phibel being the only defensive stalwarts of last season, the lack of any available senior defenders going into the weekends game and the upcoming mouthwatering trip to the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium to face SPL newcomers Inverness Caledonian Thistle is a fact. The lesson from last season was that our beloved colours conceded to many sloppy goals so it’s a reason for concern that the case of the defence raised its ugly head again in the aftermath of the three heavily contested friendlies. So, if the gaps in defense will be filled and with plenty of options in midfield and attack there is some reason for optimism before the season gets underway for real. With Kevin Baert sidelined for at least seven months and Yannick Put struggling to make the big kick-off opener at the Stade Leburton on Wed Aug 18, perhaps the best results of the three ties was the fact that gaffer Colin Andrews had no fresh injury problems. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 28/07/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DERBY DAY: WHEN LOVE & HATE COLLIDE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
It’s like a scene on the French Riviera. Although the Tall Ship Race is a week gone,expensive yachts, drenched in sunshine, bobbing up and down in the bay in front of the promenade with its packed cafes and their overworked espresso machines. But this isn’t the Cote d’Azur, it’s the Scheldt in Antwerp, a cheaper, less pretentious version of France’s Mediterranean coast. Take a closer look at the people sipping cappuccino, drinking bears and you’ll notice that an inordinate number are wearing football shirts: Royal Antwerp shirts with Belgian FA number 1 on it to be precise. From pensioners walking their dogs to babies in prams, the crisp jersey with the club’s distinctive red-and-white crest is everywhere. Not many of the people enjoying their Sunday afternoon on the Scheldt will be going to the big derby at the Bosuil between the two powerhouses in the Antwerp region. It’s a sunny Sunday afternoon in Deurne and it’s two hours before kick-off, there’s an uneasy atmosphere brewing. Blue flashing lights pierce the midday air as the few hundreds or so riot police make final adjustements to their ample body armour. A helicopter hover as armoured vehicles and water-cannon trucks are parked in the cordoned-off streets preparing for the worst. Are their fears well-founded? Matches between Royal Antwerp and Germinal Beerschot have a violent history. Whereas the introduction of all-seater stadia throughout much of Belgium has diluted the atmosphere at some of Belgium’s more intense derbies, even today at this’friendly’, clashes between Antwerp’s two most successful clubs have a nasty habit of spiralling into open hostility both on and off the pitch. The arrival of 236 or so Germinal Beerschot fans in four specially-chartered buses is predictably greeted with jeers by the Royal Antwerp fans followed by the chant "Kielse Rats run away". There’s a seriously tooled-up police line and a good 100 yards between both sets of supporters, but the abuse is loud enough for the visiting fans to hear. Germinal fans are penned into the standing terrace (36 of them) and seating area above (all 200) in a corner of the ground with perimeter fencing making sure they stay there. At 4 pm referee Verbist leads out 22 players and as far as both sets of fans are concerned life resumes to normal service in a packed to the rafter Bosuilstadium, an estimated attendance of 11,236. Of course, the chips are crap and you will pay over the odds for food that you can pick up for less than a quid in other food emporiums and if you do drink (as if often needed in the world of Royal Antwerp) every possible step to make sure you can’t drink will be made after the match has finished because all the barrels have gone missing… More importantly, our beloved Reds won with the smallest margin and there was bar a little incident when the visiting buses left (very late indeed) the stadium there were no riots or trouble of any importance so we could go berserk if it wasn’t for the horrible career-threatening injury to one of our homegrown players, Kevin Baert (read other article)! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19/07/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL IMMINENT FOR TRUE ROYAL ANTWERP LOVERS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
If supporting a football team is about the joy of seeing your team lifting major trophies and drumming up tense rivalries with the Anderlechts and Standards of Belgium then you’re clearly no Royal Antwerp fan. But as far as our fanbase are concerned life resumes to normal service yesterday at De Bosuil. More than 11,000 spectators who didn’t choose to watch the stage in the Tour de France or departing on holiday, no, just attending a ‘friendly’ against our local rivals at the holy ground. We saw a range of new haircuts/sun tans/weight loss and weight gain from the players, multiple substitutions in the second half, high energy goalscoring celebrations between Kevin Oris (assist) and Yannick Put (scorer only goal in the 27’), a new Sunweb/Mc Donalds kit and most certainly an airing of “Kielse Rats run away”,”Lehnhoff” and the monstrous summer hit from lifelong Antwerpfan Tom Waes “Dos Cervezas por favor” so in reality this was a Sunday when football returned to our lives properly after the World Cup for many filled in the gaps this summer and nothing more. Maybe I’m biased but the sound of the Antwerp masses is not only a comforting one but also makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. It was pretty much a tribal affair that non-Antwerp supporters could only really look at and envy. You can draw the conclusion that our support never really waned away at our stadium and the attendance statistic speak for themselves given relegation 6 years ago and the fact that the club was facing an uncertain future just a few months earlier. There is no mass exodus, just Trenson, Verbiest and Jelicic jumped ship so we’re not left for dead in the second-tier of Belgian football and a scenario like Leeds had going backwards in the leagues is no option. With Colin Andrews in charge there is a gaffer in place who is content with the circumstances and the constraints around him and pretty much just want to manage until his heart is content. In his first big derby he saw some big characters in the dressing room (Alex Di Gregorio anyone?) that won’t accept anything less than 110% and there are some fine young players we can start to think about hanging our hat on in the shape of Marvin Peersman, Jef Vogels, Kevin Baert, Franky Pelgrims, Niels Martin and Yannick Put. Below that you have youngsters like Saïd Abbou, Mike Vanderlinden and Karim Zevne thriving for life in the first team. So, far from a hopeless situation and at least there are signs that there is some investment. Nobody is going into the season (opener at AFC Tubize on Wed Aug 18) expecting miracles but surely if the attitude from the players stays the same as last season and draws could be converted in much needed wins certainly if they can feed off such great home crowds as on Sunday we have got a fighting chance of reaching the upper echelon of the Exqi League. But for now, many of us are just delighted that something that means so much to so many is back in our lives for another 10 months. So, now we are crowned as the team of the City of Antwerp for at least one year but we can’t be satisfied entirely due to the injury of our lively right-midfielder and homegrown player Kevin Baert. In the 32nd minute on a through ball from skipper Alex Di Gregorio he ran away from his marker and stretching his leg so unfortunately in a duel that he broke his ligaments. We wish Kevin all the best in what will be a nerve-wrecking recovery. A seven month spell at the sidelines is expected at least but the whole red and white half of the city is with you, Kevin! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19/07/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PROFILE OPPONENT * K.F.C. GERMINAL BEERSCHOT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In 1899, Beerschot V.A.V. was founded in a southern outskirt of Antwerp and in 1920 F.C. Germinal Ekeren was founded in a northern suburb of Antwerp. The first was successful in the twenties because they could build on a shiny new stadium at Het Kiel where also the 1920 Olympics had been held. The latter promoted year after year and reached the dizzy heights of the Belgian first division in 1989. They achieved a third place in 1996 and 1998 giving them the opportunity to play European ties at Het Veltwijckpark. But due to environment reasons and very poor attendances chairman Jos Verhaegen called it a day in 1999. Beerschot who were playing in the third division and under severe financial clouds then set-up what was proven as a win-win situation. They kept the Belgian FA number 3530 of Germinal Ekeren to keep their place in the highest tier of Belgian football and a well talked about merger was a fact. At the honours list of the new club K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot you can see that the ambitions of the club are always sky-high when the season starts but the results since 1999 are mixed. With gaffer Marc Brijs at the helm they managed to win the Belgian Cup in 2005 and in doing so secured a European Uefa Cup ticket. But The Mauves would only last one round when they were knocked out in Stadium Vélodrome against Olympique Marseille after taking spot-kicks. More embarrassing was the elimination in 2008 out of the Intertoto Cup when the mighty Neftchi Baku PFC of …Azerbaijan held on for a 2-1 aggregate scoreline!!! Former managers include Franky van der Elst (1999-2003), Marc Brijs (2003-2005 & 2006-2007), Jos Daerden (2005-2006 & 2009-2010), Harm van Veldhoven (2007-2008) and former Belgian national coach Aimé Anthuenis (2008-2009). All of them have gone to pastures new as Lommel United (FvdE), KV Mechelen (MB), FC Twente Enschede (JD -Netherlands, assistant), Roda JC Kerkrade (HvV - Netherlands) and K. Lierse S.K. (AA). The new gaffer in the southern outskirts of Antwerp is Glen De Boeck who collected 36 A-caps for the Belgium national team during his playing career, his only managerial experience coming from a rather successful stint at Jupiler League outfit Cercle Bruges. The new manager has the choice of playing Macedonian international goalkeeper Pacovski or maybe he will give young starlets Maes or Kaminski a chance between the posts. Rightback is Maarten Monteyne, the central area of defence comprises Van Dooren (club will listen to offers), Clement and Mikulic who aren’t the quickest but rely a lot on their positional sense and experience and to complete the back-four at the left Pieterjan Monteyne is a reliable but unspectacular back. Holding midfielders are De Decker and Wamfor with Haroun as star player bombing and penetrating at wil in enemy defenses with a lot of goals as outcome and good-old Bart Goor isn’t making up the numbers because he want to give a major contribution mainly through delivering pin-point crosses for the forwards. In midfield Wanyama, Cruz and the new star on the horizon Mats Rits will have a lot of playing time in the upcoming season. Up front a lot is expected from Mac Donald (but out for 2 months), Tosin Dosunmu hopes to find back his killer capabilities that made him once the top goalscorer in the ranking while new strikers partnership François and Janczyck will give De Boeck a valuable potent attacking force. Did you know that Belgian internationals such as Moussa Dembelé, Thomas Vermaelen, Jan Vertonghen, Tom De Mul and Toby Alderweireld all started their career at K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot before Dutch teams Willem II (Dembelé) and Ajax snapped the latter 4 youngsters to give them education in their much renowned youth academy. AFC Ajax was in the beginning a partner for our next opponent but nowadays there’s only small business done with The Cottagers (Fulham F.C.) and The Addicks (Charlton Athletic ), both teams are currently affiliated with The Rats. If we can believe the media coverage about K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot then there are two camps in the mauve half of Antwerp making life for each other as complicated as possible. One camp comprises the tandem Jos Verhaegen (honorary chairman), Jos Snelders and sporting director Gunther Hofmans (whose 5 goals in a 2-8 defeat as a Germinal Ekeren player still make me sick) and the other camp comprises the new chairman Herman Kesters and new businessman Vanoppen. Wait and see how manager De Boeck can find a solution to make everybody happy at Het Kiel!
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15/07/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
GLORIOUS DERBYFEUDS AGAINST KFC GBA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
You never forget your first derby. Nothing prepares you for the frenzy that envelops spectators and participants. Local bragging rights and a high position in the Belgian first division were at stake when the Reds did meet the Mauves at the holy ground at the Bosuil on Sunday October 21, 1973. It was as local as it could get and as a 10-year old the passion coming from the 14 000+ crowd was a joy to watch and needless to say the red half of the city ended in delirium after thumping the Rats with 3-0 courtesy of Austrian maestro Kodat, versatile midfielder Vermeyen and exciting winger Eklund masterstrokes. Yes, a tie between the two big sides in Antwerp had all the classic elements such as in Deurne North that was a largely residential area populated by the working class made good while for the mauves counterparts, our enemies lived in a place which literally smelt of shit but refurbishments at the end of the 20th century and also in this decade made the social conflicts and economic inequalities fade away in media coverage of this high-profiled derbygames. No more talk of a deprived overspill estate beset by unemployment in the Southern boroughs of the city and therefore also less talk about the pretentions and snobbery on the other side but still on Sunday 18th July at 4 pm a sell-out(?) crowd will go stuck in from the opening whistle. Pinning down a precise definition of a derby is not easy. The term covers a range of games, between teams which are in close geographical proximity (as Royal Antwerp and KFC GBA) to those which represent different regions of a country (such as Feyenoord Rotterdam vs Ajax Amsterdam and ‘el gran clasico’ between Real Madrid and CF Barcelona). It is therefore wrongly assumed that a derby was originally a cross-city match. The origins of the word ‘derby’ are derived from horse racing when in 1780 The Epsom Derby Stakes became established as the high point of the racing season. By the 20th century, ‘derby’ came to be applied to a fixture between two local sides. Although the passion and prejudices of fans is at the heart of the hyper-excitement of derbies, the actions of the players can also fuel the flames. Opinions differ widely about what kinds of derby rivalries are the most authentic, the ones which have the deepest significance for supporters. Ask Celtic fans and they will answer Rangers in The Old Firm, Barcelona want to win against Real Madrid, Boca Juniors will dispute the superclasico against River Plate, another one is the Eternal War of the Ultras between Lazio and AS Roma and in Istanbul the battle of the Bosphorus is the talking point of the season. Well, our derby ranks just behind f.i. the Tyne-Wear fixture or the Revierderby between neighbouring giants Schalke 04 vs Borussia Dortmund. In little tiny Belgium only games between eternal title-chasers Standard de Liège, RSC Anderlecht and Club Bruges are more eagerly anticipated than the local feud between the two powerhouses in the Antwerp region.
So, Royal Antwerp FC vs KFC GBA remains the match where emotion reaches it greatest intensity and highest pitch. Supporters never feel so closely bound together as when they are faced by their closest rivals. Old grievances are rehearsed and revived over and over in well-worn chants and slogans; fresh ones are added to the mix. And there is nothing sweeter than knowing that, if their team wins, fans can rub their despised neighbours’ noses in it for the next few weeks, months, years to come. Which half of the city will be laughing on Sunday 18th July at 6 pm? Just buy a seat and be there… | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 08/07/2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FIXTURE LATEST | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
After Brussels, Antwerp is the second largest city in Belgium and the largest in Flanders. The city has about 470,000 inhabitants and is situated on the River Scheldt, 30 km from the Dutch border. The city has a lot to offer: art houses of old masters (such as the baroque painters Rubens and Van Dyck) but on July 18th all the media attention is going towards the big derby against local rivals KFC GBA to celebrate the 130th anniversary of our club. The full list of friendlies are listed below:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 26/06/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NEW FACES AT R ANTWERP FC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The first friendly of the new campaign saw us thrashing KFC Berendrecht Sport 9-2 with five goals from striker Kevin Oris. More important news is that R Antwerp FC did a triple swoop by drafting in Saïd Abbou, Mike Van der Linden and Victor Lukeba. The first one is a 21-year-old striker who already scored twice in the abovementioned friendly and this in 25 minutes of playing time. Coming from the youth ranks of K Lierse SK and KV Mechelen he played in the first team of KFC Duffel before switching to first division outfit KVC Westerlo. He is renowned for his winning mentality and has clinical finishing capabilities. 18 years old Mike Van der Linden is a nephew of former Antwerplegend Mark Van der Linden and coming from the youth ranks of SC Merksem this striker did climb the leagues until A-level at third division team RFC Cappellen. Lukeba Viktor (° 18/09/1987) did play for Dutch teams ADO Den Haag and RKC Waalwijk and last season he played in a reserve tie for our team. He was on trial at De Bosuil and got the approval of Colin Andrews and will play this season for our beloved colours. R Antwerp FC wish all the best for the three new arrivals in the traditional surroundings of Belgian FA number one! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 26/06/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FIRST INCOMING TRANSFER: MARVIN PEERSMAN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 08/06/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SUMMARY PLAY-OFFS EXQI LEAGUE SEASON 2009-2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The play-offs are brutal, cruel, and nerve-racking. No fan should endure them but we guess they are here to stay as they certainly do keep the season alive for so many teams and earn significant revenue for the teams involved. It’s all about circumstances and experiences as f.i. your prolific striker missing a sitter to change the game and it can haunt the club for years to come. As a Royal Antwerp fan I know the feeling of losing in this dreaded round-robin adventures but this Exqi League play-offs were from a high standard although the visiting travelling contingents never passed the 300+ mark. Indeed, most of the games were played for an attendance less than 5 000, only for the decisive game at the Kehrweg against RAEC Mons to be played in a packed to the rafters Kehrwegstadium in the Eastern part of Belgium. Romance, reinvention and riches – K.A.S. Eupen’s promotion to the highest tier of Belgian football is a story that has it all. Having one of the lowest average attendances in the Exqi League, a pitch that has been heavily criticised certainly in winter and early spring and very cramped surroundings in the four developed sides, record signings costing nowt because of the input from Italian investors and several players regarded as surplus to requirements at previous clubs it was no wonder we heard one Eupen fan remark that his side won promotion with a team of “misfits”. Yet, inspirational gaffer Dany Ost made five changes after the opening day loss at the Tondreaustadium drafting in Mombongo, Saglik, Vinamont, Kocabas and midfield dynamo Colinet which proved to be the decisive tactical change during this six encounters. The Pandas outclassed Jupiler League outfit KSV Roeselare with a hattrick of French lynchpin Lepiller and never looked back after a 6 out of 6 possible points against a lacklustre KVSK United side managed by Franky Van Der Elst. So, the Pandas boss must be applauded for the bold and courageous manner in which he has taken relegation bound Eupen with modest aspirations to their first ever season in the Belgian first division. He stated : “It will change the lives of the people in the area. I hope that the investment and interest aroused by his team’s promotion will resonate for the whole town, not just the football club. We have done something that I do not think will be done again given the size of our budget. I must pay rich tribute to my players because my players believed me when I persuaded them to truly believe that they could achieve great things.” At the decisive game there were banners such as “Lass uns geschichte schreiben” and “Nie mehr 2. Liga” but it has to be said that the government of the German speaking part of Belgium must now take their responsability by shelving out 60% of the money needed for rebuilding work on this tiny stadium for new stands and undersoil heating that has to be in operation by mid October. Meanwhile for the play-downs we have now the final encounter with Rupel Boom and URS du Centre from the third division and Poorters with a header past a helpless Ristovic has given the side from Flanders a 1-0 advantage to take to our former goalkeepers’ home ground. Further KSK Heist and CS Visé have abandoned the mediocrity of the Belgian Third Division and are ready to prove themselves at Exqi League level. They won the title in their respective league. Hurrah!!! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 01/06/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
REVIEW OF OUR 2009-2010 EXQI LEAGUE SEASON | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best match K. Lierse S.K. 2-2 Royal Antwerp. Played in front of 9,000 spectators at the Lisp we played the champions from the park resulting in a well-deserved 0-2 lead but the home side could nick a very fortunate point at the end through their talismanic forward and captain Cavens.
Worst match K.V.K. Tienen 4-3 Royal Antwerp. With three minutes to go Royal Antwerp should hold on for an improbable win after trailing 2-0 and leading 2-3 in the dying minutes but fail to do so in spectacular fashion. Well into stoppage time Degeling works his way past Trenson to score the decisive goal. From hell to heaven and back to hell. Fantastic drama, great goals and plenty of spite from two sides committed to attack after the interval. Only for the result…
Royal Antwerp 0-3 K.V. Ostend. The home fans, bolstered by over 2 000 Opel workers and with influential local politicians also present have high expectations in front of a season-high crowd. But we lose by playing without passion and pride. There will be some changes to bring some spark into the team when our former goalkeeper legend and gaffer Ratko Svilar leaves his post and Colin Andrews needs to steady the ship and will field from then onwards a young, vibrant team which can defend the honour of our club.
Favourite moment: August 26th, Tibor Tisza (10), our Hungarian miracle worker and forward maestro then shows why he is likely to be one to watch this season. He gets the ball from Pivaljevic on the right, he turns inside three defenders and pushes on into the area and shoots powerfully under the helpless diving Kujovic to give our colours a well-deserved lead at the Lisp. The travelling contingent and the 1 500 crowd following the game at giant-screens at De Bosuil were dancing in the stands. Then we were thinking we’d have a major role to play in the Exqi League. Also the dynamism of young kids such as Martin, Vogels, Baert, De Corte, Pelgrims and Put coming through the ranks and playing a major part at the business end of the season is a bonus for years to come!
Least favourite moment: as most of teams in the Exqi League have noticed is that reading their list of creditors and latest accounts does hamper the ambitions to reach a higher level. Although our club has got their licence from the Belgian FA, it is understood that the financial situation isn’t rock-solid due to a lack of television rights, less gates receipts and others.
Unsung hero Ransford Addo. Had a rocky start in his first season but looks now as a world-beater by putting in first-class performances in a defensive area that shipped over 50+ goals this season. A rock at the back and only in the last couple of months he got the credits from the fans and hopefully the board of the team will let him sign a new long-term agreement.
Villain Roel van Hemert for his inflammatory celebrations after Wahed scored the winner at the holy ground. After the game he continued his staggeringly ill-conceived behaviour. Next year Roel will play in the highest tier of Belgian football but the outspoken defender sometimes make you sick with his comments about the high ambitions of his new club.
Owner of the season Eddy Wauters for his rarely seen, rarely heard comments after being booed by a small section of the crowd but the man who played and supported the club since childhood, carries any debt and adheres to a budget.
Other stats Our goalscorers this Exqi League campaign were Tibor Tisza (15), Kevin Oris (8), Manu Kenmogne (7), Kevin Baert (6) and Yannick Put (5) among others. We scored 55 goals (1.53 gpg) and conceded 53 goals (1.47 gpg). Our gaffer stated after the season ended that a fifth place in goals made is okay but in a league where it is important to get a clean sheet (we only managed six of them) we shipped in to many goals to reach the play-offs. Also the fact that we drew 17 times didn’t make Colin Andrews a happy gaffer. Further we had Phibel and Tisza ending with 6 yellow cards during this season. Addo, Oris, Phibel, Pivaljevic, Vervaeke and Vogels were sent off once. Although Colin Andrews did a great job in difficult circumstances, we finished in eight position in the ranking with 47 points out of 36 games.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15/05/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SUMMARY DAY THIRTY-EIGHT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
While Nani ensures Premier League title will go down to the wire, the only decision left on the final day of this Exqi League campaign was who would finish in the dreaded play-downs with Belgian Third Division outfits having plenty of momentum because of them securing more wins than losses in the current campaign. And the answer is … K.S.K. Ronse. Our bogey team did manage to lose the final game at fellow relegation strugglers K.V. Turnhout in the cramped surroundings of the Stadsparkstadium with 2-1 in front of a meagre crowd figure of 1,200! Turnhout fans may have spent much of a sunny Sunday afternoon mocking gaffer Luc Beyens’s claim to be a football genius, but the former Club Brugge player did not have to dig too deep into his tactical reserves here to live up to his boast that he always outwits Dirk Geeraerd, the manager of visitors K.S.K. Ronse. Nice footballing skills from Thiam and Owusu plus poor goalkeeper Mrabet equals beating Ronse - whose talismanic goalscorer De Broyer wasn’t firing on all cilinders this important game - with as result that our former trialist Ciani’s close range header who had given the visitors a lead as early as the 20th minute was only good for the statistics!
Our beloved colours secured a 17th draw of the season, this time at the Florent Beeckmanstadium against former Jupiler Pro League team FCV Dender EH. But with a estimated debt of more than a million euro, the future appears bleak for the home side, but the club does at least possess a crop of promising youngsters and Exqi League newbie manager Vital Borkelmans opted to offer the likes of De Raes, Muylaert, De Vinck and others the opportunity to boost their experience ahead of a campaign in the second tier next season if off course they manage to secure a licence from the Belgian FA!
At the same time champions K. Lierse S.K. signed off their season in some style by thrashing coastal team K.V. Ostend in the Albertpark 4-0. An estimated travelling contingent of 2 500 supporters made the trip and ensured that there was a carnival atmosphere in the town from midday onwards. Our former player Garry De Graef was voted man of the season but on the day it was again former Fulham and Everton Canadian star Radzinski grabbing all the headlines with a brace and an assist. First division teams, watch out for the ambitious plans of Egyptian owner Maged Samy who wants to go for silverware at the first time of asking! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 03/05/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PROFILE OPPONENT * F.C.V. DENDER E.H. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SUNDAY 2 MAY 2010 - 3 PM (cet) STADIUM FL. BEECKMAN
Referees: Geert Barbry - Bart Vandeweghe - Edwin Rys
In recent history we met our next opponent two times in the regular 2006-2007 second division. At a packed to the rafter Bosuil Stadium in the last competitive game of Simpson, Evans and Dong we brushed FCV Dender aside with a convincing 3-0 scoreline. Despite this win F.C.V. Dender E.H. held on to win the Championship and won the return leg against a lacklustre Royal Antwerp’s side who only had one target namely to make Fraizer Campbell topscorer in the goalcharts but local hero Gunther Thiebaut pipped him. Whereas F.C.V. Dender E.H. achieved a miracle by staying in the highest tier of Belgian footie the year after this season proved to be difficult because in the last game of the regular season they could avoid to enter the play-offs by winning at home against mid-table Charleroi and some defensive howlers led to a defeat and nail-biting play-offs. One of the reasons for this is the lack of communication between the board, the technical staff and the sportive and commercial manager. CEO De Doncker, who threatened to leave his post finally made the decision to sack former Stoke City manager Jan Boskamp and gave all the powers to the family Asselman who were running the show at the Florent Beeckmanstadium. Patrick Asselman. Clearly a very good manager, but the problem is that at the moment he just doesn’t appear as if he wants to be at Dender. And as a fact he isn’t no longer the gaffer of the blue and blacks. On 28th January 2010 FCV Dender EH sacked him and appointed newbie Vital Borkelmans at the helm of the team. Vital is an ex-Belgian international who played for the Red Devils during the 1994 and 1998 World Cups. The left fullback mainly played for Club Brugge at club level and offers little managerial experience, he only managed K.F.C. Evergem-Center in the lower divisions. FCV Dender EH have financial constraints and are not a yo-yo club and probably don’t have enough players equipped for this level. In the summer transfer window our next opponent had more than ten outgoing transfers and due to parachute payments out of the Jupiler League they could afford fifteen incoming transfers. First-team stalwarts De Petter, Destorme, Deflandre, Berthelin, Sylla, Smajic, Vanderbiest and during this winter break Van Den Eede have all chosen other horizons. Mollez and De Boodt are the new goalkeepers, defenders Simov and Essikal, midfielders Imschoot, De Meersman, Van Den Brandt and Ngolok (who scored the winner in our Cofidis Cup defeat) and strikers Somé and Laurienté did strengthen the squad. With the results before the winter break it seemed as a season of transition looms although the abovementioned incoming transfers suggested that fees, wage demands and other factors won’t prevent FCV Dender EH to play their role in the competition and so they should with a whopping budget in the Exqi League of 3.2 m €!!! FCV Dender EH must say thank you for the parachute payments they received this season as a relegated Jupiler Pro League team last term. With more than 10 incoming and outgoing transfers they gave the wheeling and dealing procedures a new dimension. Now they are looking for money of their local council to stay afloat. Nevertheless without potent strikers partnership Oris and Tisza (both suspended) a difficult task awaits us in the Florent Beeckmanstadium on Sunday. Can we finish the season on a high note?
Founded : 1952 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 01/05/2010 - Frank Nicola | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consult our archive for older items |
+ 
= 
Royal Antwerp Football Club first acquisition for the coming campaign is a fact. Despite a lot of interest from Jupiler Pro League outfits our club reached an agreement with Marvin Peersman for 3 years. He played in the youth ranks of local rivals KFC GBA before switching to Exqi League outfit KSK Beveren. At the yellow-blues the former Stoke gaffer Jan Boskamp gave Marvin his first taste of competitive football at Exqi League level. Last season he played 21 times for the Waaslanders and managed to score the decisive goal in the home leg vs AFC Tubize. Further more the nineteen year old starlet is a regular starter for the Belgium U19 team and made his debut in a 4-0 thrashing of Andorra on Nov 13, 2009. Royal Antwerp Football Club gives a warm welcome to ‘Peers’ (his nickname given by his colleagues) and hopes he will give a boost to a sometimes leaky defence in delivering clean sheets for our team.
