They returned after 48 years and are a sensational leader. The giants are watching his back

This is an updated version of the text that was written on October 30, 2021.

In recent years, it has been dominated by, Club Brugge and Genk, but in the current season all of these teams are behind a great newcomer. Royale Union Saint-Gilloise is 46 points ahead of Royal Antwerp by six and nine rounds after 20 queues. What is the phenomenon of the club from the Brussels-Capital Region?

– The club has an amazing history. He is an old giant because he once won many titles, competed in Europe and provided players for the national team. He was considered one of the biggest clubs in Belgium, emphasizes Royale Union Saint-Gilloise center-back Christian Burgess on goal.com.

The most titled Belgian club in the pre-war period made a sensation in the league

The sensational leader of the table has an extremely rich tradition in Belgian football, and was most successful in the pre-war years. The team, founded in 1897, won national titles in the years 1904-1913, seven in total. Later, he added four more championships – in the 1922/23 season and three times in a row in 1933-35, becoming the most successful Belgian club in the pre-war period and setting an unbeaten record to this day – 60 league matches in a row without a single defeat. However, over the years, it began to gradually lose its position.

The team also made a mark in the history of European cups. He took part in five editions of the Fairs Cities Cup in 1958-65, competing against, among others, with bands such as Birmingham City or. In the 1958/1960 season he reached the semi-finals of the tournament, beating on aggregate first Leipzig XI (6: 1 and 0: 1), and then AS Roma (2: 0 and 1: 1), only eliminating Birmingham City (two times 2 : 4).

Currently, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise is the third most successful club in the history of Belgian football. The sleeping giant last played in the top league 48 years ago. Since then, he has wandered in the third and second league, unable to return to the Belgian elite. In the 2020/21 season, it was finally achieved. Royale Union won the reins of the second division, 18 points ahead of the second team in the table, RFC Seraing at the end of the season.

It was possible thanks to a change of tactics to 1-3-5-2 and aggressive pressing. The team led by Felice Mazzu was able to achieve the perfect balance between attacking and defensive formation, scoring a lot of goals and conceding the least of all.

This pattern is also used by Union Saint-Gilloise in the top division. It is a real challenge for every rival. – When it comes to the philosophy of football, the coach wants to build each action from behind and play a ball in which aggressive pressing plays an important role. We have had to adapt a bit to move to a higher league, but we still play really good football. We are very dangerous in the counterattack, explains Burgess. Currently, Royale Union has by far the most goals scored in the league (as many as 50) and the least conceded (only 20), two less than the second-in-one Kortrijk.

The architect of the great season of Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. “He knows how to instill in them a winning mentality”

Felice Mazzu is one of the architects of the great season of the Royale Union. The 55-year-old coach gathered a group of players with different characters into one whole and proved that his premature dismissal from KRC Genk in November 2019 was just an accident at work.

The team led by Mazzu has an unbelievable balance in the 2021/22 season – 15 wins, 1 draw and only 4 defeats in the league, which is an amazing average of 2.30 points. for one match. – He’s an exceptional trainer. Knows how to motivate a group. He knows how to instill in them a winning mentality. He made every player of the club want to be the best in every training session. Most importantly, he adopted the club’s values ​​- says Royale Union sports director Chris O’Loughlin in only superlatives about the coach in Sky Sports.

If Mazzu won the Belgian championship against the Royale Union, it would certainly be one of the most unlikely football stories in Europe this season. The dramatic victory over Cercle Brugge 3-2 in the league on Saturday after making up for a two-goal loss allowed the newcomer to increase their lead over the runner-up to six points.

The arrival of the new owner changed everything. Great transfer policy and detailed scouting

From 2019, the owner of the team based in the Forest district in southern Brussels is Tony Bloom, who is also the CEO of & Hove Albion since 2009, acting in. It is the 51-year-old Englishman who is also a professional poker player who is behind Royale Union’s return to his rightful place in Belgian football. Appropriate management consisting in making cheap transfers to the club, as well as the ability to quickly match new players to the team and choosing the right tactics make the game of the team from the Brussels Capital Region a great pleasure to watch.

– I think we got a little lost, but now under the leadership of the new owner, we are trying to use our potential. Last year, the goal was to win a promotion. This year, me and many others at the club were excited to see how we perform in the top division, adds Burgess.

An important factor in building a club is also the issue of transfers. The amounts for which new players are brought in are extremely low or cashless, and the players themselves are not big stars, but they can fit perfectly into the tactical framework of the team. Two names in particular are a great example – the German Deniz Undav and the Belgian Dante Vanzeir, who probably say little to people who are interested in football on a daily basis.

The club made a great deal on them, because according to the Transfermarkt portal, it did not spend even one euro on them last summer. Today their value is constantly growing. Both are valued at EUR 2.2 million and EUR 3 million, respectively. In total, they scored 29 goals together for the club in the current season and they added 16 assists.

As a reward, Vanzeir was called up to the national team of Belgium and made his debut in its squad in the el. The World Cup in Wales (1: 1), when he appeared on the pitch in the 59th minute, replacing Divock Origi.

Recently, promising young English players Marcel Lewis and Matthew Sorinola from Chelsea U-23 and MK Dons respectively fit in perfectly with Saint-Gilloise’s transfer policy. “I try to give them good advice and help them, because not every 19-20 year old goes overseas right away,” says Burgess.

The club’s sporting director Chris O’Loughlin talks about the phenomenon of scouting. – The amount of work we do with player transfers is amazing. We spend hours watching the players and producing reports. We put our whole heart into it because we want to bring in good players and good people. This is very important to us, explains O’Loughlin, who has also worked in South Africa, Australia and England, and attaches great importance to every detail.

“There is not much ego at the club and I think that has a positive relationship with the success we have had over the past year.” We want players who work hard and are selfless. We have created a group in which we support each other in every situation – explains Burgess.

Despite the Royale Union Saint-Gilloise and Brighton having the same owner, transfer moves between the two clubs are rare. So far, they have only happened four times. In recent years, the Belgian team has brought in from the Premier League team on a loan basis – Japanese Kaoru Mitoma, Alex Cochrane, Percy Tau and Soufyan Ahannach, but only the former is currently in the Belgian team.

– We have our own completely separate vision, strategy, transfer goals and ambitions. We are two separate clubs, we are not sister or satellite teams. We are Union Saint-Gilloise, the third team in history with titles in Belgium’s premier football league, emphasizes the sports director.

Brussels derby above all else. Great rematch in January

The highlight of the season for Union Saint-Gilloise now is the derby match with Anderlecht, who is located just 5 km from his rival. For the inauguration of the current season, the newcomer sensationally beat Anderlecht away 3: 1, which gave the club a positive kick for the rest of the season. Union thus repaid a painful defeat 0: 5 in February 2021 in the 1/8 finals of the Belgian Cup. On January 30, 2022, another league match against Anderlecht will take place at the small stadium of the newcomer.

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Royale Union players perform at the stadium, which can only enter 8,000 fans. The Stade Joseph Marien is one of the oldest in Belgium and is steeped in history. The venue was opened in 1919 and die-hard fans create a magical atmosphere there.

– The atmosphere is so unique that many people from European institutions around Brussels are looking for an authentic football experience. It’s the DNA of the Union Saint-Gilloise, O’Loughlin admits. And he emphasizes: – It’s very easy to fall in love with this club.

– USG fans come almost exclusively from Brussels, mainly from the south of the city. Their ultras are called Union Bhoys and they can bear witness to the club’s history in a unique way, adds Belgian football expert Scott Coyne.

There are still wooden benches on the main stand at the stadium, and its historic interior, with paneling, historical photos and the club’s coat of arms on the stained glass window, provide a unique setting for home meetings. “The stadium looks like it is from Roman times, a bit like an amphitheater,” admits Union footballer Christian Burgess.

One of the poorest Belgian clubs in the elite. “We try to do it step by step”

Royale Union Saint-Gilloise is one of the poorest clubs playing in Belgium’s top division. According to Transfermarkt, the value of the entire team is less than EUR 21 million, which gives it only 15th place out of all 18. For comparison, the most expensive Belgian club is Club Brugge – EUR 166.75 million, before KRC Genk – over EUR 134 million and RSC Anderlecht – 89 , 5 million euros.

An important factor in the strategy of building the Union of Saint-Gilloise is the lack of rush. – We will try to do it step by step and not to press the fast forward button and not to skip any actions. The goal in the first place was to get back to the premier league by playing good football. In the long run, the club wants to compete on all fronts, O’Loughlin concludes.