The football year 2025 is coming to an end, the opportunity to discuss the first part of the season in the Jupiler Pro League and to draw up certain observations, such as the European Cup.
Even if the Europa League and the Conference League are very often considered as consolation prizes, for Anderlecht, one of the most painful moments of 2025 undoubtedly remains its European elimination.
The subject was much discussed on the set of the show 90 Minutes (Sporza), where Steven Defour, Filip Joos and other analysts discussed the interest of these competitions: “For a team like Mechelen, playing it would be a very good thing, including for the supporters,” said the former captain of Standard.
For Filip Joos, Club Bruges would benefit more from the Europa League or Conference, because they would have a better chance of winning it than the Champions League: “It’s a competition for the Belgian teams, but more for Bruges. If they participate one day, it’s because they had huge problems the previous season.”
Anderlecht could have made it through the European winter
“It’s a real disaster for Belgian football, Anderlecht should have been there. They were eliminated by Häcken, who is in bad shape at the moment,” declared analyst Filip Joos, still disappointed by the elimination of the Mauve et Blanc.
Indeed, there are regrets to be had seeing that Häcken occupies 32nd place with 3 points out of 18 and is therefore eliminated. AEK Athens finished third, but Anderlecht should never have faced them if they had managed to eliminate the Swedes. “I’m not saying they were going to win the Europa League, but they could have made it through the European winter.”
