Football Season Guide

Club Brugge start a new era with lots of uncertainly and trepidation as to whether they could be the force that they were just a year ago. Back then they were the reigning champions and, with their big rivals Anderlecht seemingly on the wane, looked the team to beat. Yet they struggled to maintain the pace in the race for the title and finished deservedly as runners-up, just about hanging onto second spot ahead of Gent. It was not a disaster but the team failed to meet the expectations and much-liked manager Michel Preud'homme decided that he has given all he could and left the job. Brugge struggled to replace their former boss quickly but eventually settled on a rather underwhelming choice in Ivan Leko. The Croatian has done little of note in his nascent managerial career that spans just over three years. He did a reasonable job at Sint-Truiden last season but hardly set the world alight and a move to such a big club seems like a big step for someone who was an active player in the Jupiler League until 2014. Leko will be going to fill some pretty big shoes and he faces some massive games early on his tenure as the Black & Blue look to progress in the Champions League qualifiers and into the group stages. The club have acquired some mostly young talents in the summer and their two more established new additions are Vitesse midfielder Marvelous Nakamba and experienced striker Jeremy Perbet. Some players are expected to leave soon as the squad is huge, with Bjorn Engels the most sought-after at the moment. Despite the squad looking good in terms of depth, there does not seem to be enough match-changing quality and, at the moment, Anderlecht look like the much stronger side of the two giants.