2009–10 in Belgian football


The 2009–10 football season in Belgium, which is the 107th season of competitive football in the country and runs from August 2009 until July 2010.

Promotion and relegation

Team promoted to 2009–10 Belgian First Division
Teams relegated from Belgian First Division 2008–09
Teams promoted to 2009–10 Belgian Second Division
Teams relegated from 2008–09 Belgian Second Division
Teams promoted to 2009–10 Belgian Third Division
Teams relegated from 2008–09 Belgian Third Division

League competitions

Belgian First Division

Europa League playoff final

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Genk won 5–2 on aggregate.

Testmatches Europa League

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Genk won 5–3 on aggregate.

Belgian Second Division

Belgian Third Division

Belgian Third Division A

Belgian Third Division B

Transfers

Notable transfers

With the shrinking of the Belgian First Division from 18 to 16 teams, only few players of relegated teams were able to stay in first division, with Sulejman Smajić arguably the most important one as he moved from Dender EH to Lokeren. After an impressive season, Bryan Ruiz decided it was time to move as the Costa Rican international signed a contract with Twente and thereby left Gent.
At Standard Liège, Oguchi Onyewu moved on a free transfer to AC Milan. To replace him, four Portuguese speaking players were signed, with Ricardo Rocha from Tottenham Hotspur being most known. Club Brugge made some impressive signings as they bought Belgian international Carl Hoefkens together with striker Ivan Perišić who had just helped Roeselare to avoid relegation. Under influence of Dutch coach Adrie Koster, central defender Ryan Donk was also signed.
Most noted signing for Anderlecht was Ondřej Mazuch from Fiorentina. Mouscron was noticed for signing several unknown players from France, Italy and especially Spain, mostly coming from teams in third and fourth division. A few minutes before the deadline, Cercle Brugge and Genk finished negotiations as they formed a deal which meant Thomas Buffel moved from Cercle Brugge to Genk with Hans Cornelis making the opposite move. On top of that Jelle Vossen was loaned out by Genk for a season to Cercle Brugge.
During the first half of the season, Standard signed former French international Olivier Dacourt to replace the injured Steven Defour.
In the winter period, the bankruptcy of Mouscron caused all their players to be contacted by several teams as they were all free to sign new contracts. Club Brugge managed to sign youngsters Maxime Lestienne and Daan van Gijseghem although there was a lot of interest by many clubs, especially for Lestienne. Standard bought Belgian internationals Sébastien Pocognoli and Koen Daerden, while Anderlecht signed a player from fifth division named Paul Taylor and then loaned him to Charleroi. Also returning Belgian internationals were Luigi Pieroni, the 2003–04 Belgian League top scorer, who signed for Gent and Peter Van Der Heyden who signed for Club Brugge.

European Club results

Note that the Belgian team's score is always given first.
Champions Standard Liège were directly qualified for the Champions League while Anderlecht had to start in the qualification rounds. Starting in the new UEFA Europa League were Club Brugge, Gent and Genk.
The Belgian teams had one of their best seasons of the final decade as both Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Standard were not eliminated before winter and played on far into 2010:
DateTeamCompetitionRoundLegOpponentLocationScore
16 July 2009GentEuropa LeagueQual. Round 2Leg 1, Away NaftanAtlant Stadium, Navapolatsk1–2
23 July 2009GentEuropa LeagueQual. Round 2Leg 2, Home NaftanJules Ottenstadion, Ghent1–0
28 July 2009AnderlechtChampions LeagueQual. Round 3Leg 1, Home SivassporConstant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht5–0
30 July 2009Club BruggeEuropa LeagueQual. Round 3Leg 1, Home LahtiJan Breydel Stadium, Bruges3–2
30 July 2009GentEuropa LeagueQual. Round 3Leg 1, Away RomaStadio Olimpico, Rome1–3
5 August 2009AnderlechtChampions LeagueQual. Round 3Leg 2, Away SivassporSivas 4 Eylül Stadium, Sivas1–3
6 August 2009Club BruggeEuropa LeagueQual. Round 3Leg 2, Away LahtiLahden Stadion, Lahti1–1
6 August 2009GentEuropa LeagueQual. Round 3Leg 2, Home RomaJules Ottenstadion, Ghent1–7
19 August 2009AnderlechtChampions LeaguePlay-off RoundLeg 1, Away LyonStade de Gerland, Lyon1–5
20 August 2009Club BruggeEuropa LeaguePlay-off RoundLeg 1, Away Lech PoznańStadion Miejski, Poznań0–1
20 August 2009GenkEuropa LeaguePlay-off RoundLeg 1, Home LilleFenix Stadion, Genk1–2
25 August 2009AnderlechtChampions LeaguePlay-off RoundLeg 2, Home LyonConstant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht1–3
27 August 2009Club BruggeEuropa LeaguePlay-off RoundLeg 2, Home Lech PoznańJan Breydel Stadium, Bruges1–0
27 August 2009GenkEuropa LeaguePlay-off RoundLeg 2, Away LilleStadium Lille-Metropole, Villeneuve d'Ascq2–4
16 September 2009Standard LiègeChampions LeagueGroup StageMatchday 1, Home ArsenalStade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège2–3
17 September 2009AnderlechtEuropa LeagueGroup StageMatchday 1, Away Dinamo ZagrebMaksimir Stadium, Zagreb2–0
17 September 2009Club BruggeEuropa LeagueGroup StageMatchday 1, Home Shakhtar DonetskJan Breydel Stadium, Bruges1–4
29 September 2009Standard LiègeChampions LeagueGroup StageMatchday 2, Away AZDSB Stadion, Alkmaar1–1
1 October 2009AnderlechtEuropa LeagueGroup StageMatchday 2, Home AjaxConstant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht1–1
1 October 2009Club BruggeEuropa LeagueGroup StageMatchday 2, Away ToulouseStadium Municipal, Toulouse2–2
20 October 2009Standard LiègeChampions LeagueGroup StageMatchday 3, Away OlympiacosKaraiskakis Stadium, Piraeus1–2
22 October 2009AnderlechtEuropa LeagueGroup StageMatchday 3, Away TimișoaraStadionul Dan Păltinişanu, Timișoara0–0
22 October 2009Club BruggeEuropa LeagueGroup StageMatchday 3, Home Partizan BelgradeJan Breydel Stadium, Bruges2–0
4 November 2009Standard LiègeChampions LeagueGroup StageMatchday 4, Home OlympiacosStade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège2–0
5 November 2009AnderlechtEuropa LeagueGroup StageMatchday 4, Home TimișoaraConstant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht3–1
5 November 2009Club BruggeEuropa LeagueGroup StageMatchday 4, Away Partizan BelgradePartizan Stadium, Belgrade4–2
24 November 2009Standard LiègeChampions LeagueGroup StageMatchday 5, Away ArsenalEmirates Stadium, Holloway0–2
2 December 2009AnderlechtEuropa LeagueGroup StageMatchday 5, Home Dinamo ZagrebConstant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht0–1
3 December 2009Club BruggeEuropa LeagueGroup StageMatchday 5, Away Shakhtar DonetskDonbass Arena, Donetsk0–0
9 December 2009Standard LiègeChampions LeagueGroup StageMatchday 6, Home AZStade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège1–1
16 December 2009Club BruggeEuropa LeagueGroup StageMatchday 6, Home ToulouseJan Breydel Stadium, Bruges1–0
17 December 2009AnderlechtEuropa LeagueGroup StageMatchday 6, Away AjaxAmsterdam Arena, Amsterdam3–1
18 February 2010AnderlechtEuropa LeagueRound of 32Leg 1, Away Athletic BilbaoSan Mamés Stadium, Bilbao1–1
18 February 2010Club BruggeEuropa LeagueRound of 32Leg 1, Home ValenciaJan Breydel Stadium, Bruges1–0
18 February 2010Standard LiègeEuropa LeagueRound of 32Leg 1, Home SalzburgStade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège3–2
25 February 2010AnderlechtEuropa LeagueRound of 32Leg 2, Home Athletic BilbaoConstant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht4–0
25 February 2010Club BruggeEuropa LeagueRound of 32Leg 2, Away ValenciaEstadio Mestalla, Valencia0–3
25 February 2010Standard LiègeEuropa LeagueRound of 32Leg 2, Away SalzburgRed Bull Arena, Salzburg0–0
11 March 2010AnderlechtEuropa LeagueRound of 16Leg 1, Away HamburgHSH Nordbank Arena, Hamburg1–3
11 March 2010Standard LiègeEuropa LeagueRound of 16Leg 1, Away PanathinaikosOlympic Stadium, Athens3–1
18 March 2010AnderlechtEuropa LeagueRound of 16Leg 2, Home HamburgConstant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht4–3
18 March 2010Standard LiègeEuropa LeagueRound of 16Leg 2, Home PanathinaikosStade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège1–0
1 April 2010Standard LiègeEuropa LeagueQuarter FinalsLeg 1, Away HamburgHSH Nordbank Arena, Hamburg1–2
8 April 2010Standard LiègeEuropa LeagueQuarter FinalsLeg 2, Home HamburgStade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège1–3

European qualification for 2009–10 summary

National teams

Belgium

As interim coach Franky Vercauteren chose to resign after the loss in Armenia, prompting already signed Dick Advocaat to start already, although his contract started only on 1 January 2010. Advocaat however simply resigned in April 2010 to sign a new contract at Russia where he could earn a lot more. The Royal Belgian Football Association reacted disappointed and angry at the same time, whereas Advocaat claimed he "did not feel guilty at all". On May 11, Georges Leekens was appointed the new coach, who had already managed the 'Red Devils' between 1997 and 1999.

Friendly matches

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World Cup qualifiers

Belgium was in qualifying Group 5 for the 2010 FIFA World Cup but did not manage to qualify.
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Belgium U-21

Friendly match

U-21 Championship qualifiers

The Belgium under-21 squad is currently in Group 8 of the qualification process for the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.
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This leaves two matches, away to Slovenia and away to France to be played in the next season.

Belgium U-19

Friendly matches

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U-19 Championship qualifiers

The Belgium under-19 squad managed to qualify for the elite round qualification process for the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship after successfully passing through the first stage of qualifying. However they did not manage to qualify for the tournament proper as they ended second to Croatia in group 1.
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Women

Friendly matches

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World Cup qualifiers

Belgium was in qualifying Group 8 for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, but failed to qualify.
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