Crowned Belgian champion for the first time in 90 years, Union Saint-Gilloise, which is discovering the Champions League this season, welcomes OM on Tuesday evening.
The champion is confident
Union Saint-Gilloise is riding the momentum of its latest Jupiler Pro League title. David Hubert’s men occupy first place in the championship with 37 points thanks to a thunderous attack (32 goals in 17 matches) and an iron defense (10 goals conceded). Nobody does better on both ends of the pitch in Belgium.
In the Champions League, the Belgian team is on the verge of the play-offs (25th, 6 points) thanks to two victories respectively against PSG Eindhoven (1-3) and Galatasaray (0-1). Union Saint-Gilloise could get back in front of Olympique de Marseille (21st, 6 points) in the event of success on Tuesday, but if the Brussels residents are moving rather well in the European Cup (Two victories, 1 defeat) they are struggling at home (2 losses, 0 success).
Skip the ad
Sébastien Pocognoli, a deserter hero
Union Saint-Gilloise was shaken at the start of the season by an unexpected turn of events. His coach Sébastien Pocognoli, who allowed his team to win their 12th Belgian championship title, 90 years after the last coronation, left the Union ship after 10 days of the championship to fly to… AS Monaco.
The former Red Devil (13 caps) will have managed a total of 69 matches for the Unionists for a record of: 39 victories, 15 draws and 15 defeats. He will also go down in the club’s history by becoming the first coach to qualify the Brussels team for the Champions League.
“The Daydream” by Kevin Mac Allister
In the shadow of his brother Alexis Mac Allister, world champion with Argentina and England champion with Liverpool, Kevin Mac Allister lives “a waking dream” since the start of the season with Union Saint-Gilloise and Albiceleste, whose jersey he wore for the first time in November. The eldest of the siblings has established himself as a centerpiece of the Brussels defense. Even as a providential scorer as when he allowed the Yellows and Blues to snatch the equalizer on Saturday against La Gantoise (1-1), thus allowing his team to remain at the top of the Jupiler Pro League.
Mac Allister should follow in the footsteps of elements who left the Belgian championship to join more exclusive championships in recent seasons after seeing their market value explode. Acquired by the Union for 1.5 million euros, the Argentinian was valued at 7.5 million last June by the reference site Transfermarkt. His rating undoubtedly exploded after his first outing in the national jersey alongside Lionel Messi on March 14 against Angola (2-0).
A unique business model
Only four seasons after returning to the elite after a 48-year purgatory in the lower series, the USG serves as an example in Belgium, in terms of financial management and recruitment of players with high potential. Its main shareholders, Alex Muzio and Tomy Bloom, the owner and president of the English club Brighton, also aim to take all of its players to the next level.
Skip the ad
The “business model” of the Belgian club, whose balance sheet is in the green, a rarity in Belgium, allows the USG to be in constant progress sportingly and financially. The Union targets elements with great footballing potential, but who also correspond to the five values displayed within its training center: courage, commitment, passion, integrity and modesty.
Its stadium is not yet up to standard
The next step will be to have a new stadium meeting UEFA standards while currently, the Marien enclosure with its rural setting and Art Deco facade cannot host C1 matches. Unionist supporters must therefore encourage their players at Lotto Park in Anderlecht: the Brussels sworn enemy. Which should not prevent the team which has dominated PSV and Galatasaray this season from being tough on Tuesday evening against Marseille. “The C1 transcends us”warns Mac Allister. OM is now notified.
