In the round of 16, Union Berlin had no chance against the small club Union Saint-Gilloise. Bayer Leverkusen now have to prove themselves against the Belgians in the quarter-finals. Game one kicks off on Thursday (9 p.m., live ticker at sportschau.de) – and Bayer has been warned.
Belgium national coach Domenico Tedesco sees a difficult task for Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League quarter-finals against Union Saint-Gilloise. “Big compliments to Saint-Gilloise for the European Cup season so far”said the German-Italian: “They have only lost one game in the Europa League so far and knocked out Union Berlin. I think that says a lot. I’m really looking forward to the two games.”
Former Schalke and Leipzig Bundesliga coach Tedesco (37) has seen every Belgian club several times since taking office at the beginning of February and is particularly impressed by the club from near Brussels because of the collective. In the round of 16, Saint-Gilloise defeated Union Berlin, third in the Bundesliga, 3-3 and 3-0.
Bayer Leverkusen coach Xavi Alonso has respect for the Belgians: “They have a top team. We expect two intense games.”
The big successes are long gone
The team, which was only promoted to the Belgian Pro League in 2021, sniffed at the championship title for a long time last season, but had to settle for second place behind Club Brugge. As a consolation, the entry into the Europa League followed, the second international participation in international business after the trade fair cup in the late 50s, in which Saint-Gilloise only took part because of its location as a trade fair location.
So the successes of the club are long ago. Union was Belgian champion eleven times, but the last title so far was celebrated in 1935. The club has also won the Belgian Cup twice, but the last triumph there was a long time ago – even more than 100 years (1914).
Stadium: charm of days gone by
The Belgians have been playing at Stade Joseph Marien since 1919, a year longer than Union at the Alte Försterei. The stadium is known for a good atmosphere and a lot of standing room. It lies between a working-class neighborhood and a grove of trees on the outskirts of Brussels, in a neighborhood called “Forest” in French and “Vorst” in Dutch.
However, it is in such a dilapidated state that RUSG has to play the home games in the European Cup away from home. While the group games took place in Leuven, 32 kilometers away, RUSG switched to the larger stadium of local rivals RSC Anderlecht for the knockout stages. This was also the case in the second leg against Bayer on April 20th.
Karel Geraerts promoted to manager
Current manager Karel Geraerts was assistant to Felice Mazzu and witnessed the club being promoted to second place. In the summer of 2022, successful coach Mazzu signed on at RSC Anderlecht and Geraerts was promoted to boss at Saint Gilles – to continue the success story.
Second in the league
In the Belgian league, Union are second behind KRC Genk with two games to go. Two points are missing from the leader of the table. In Belgium there is still a playoff round. In the dress rehearsal for the Leverkusen game, it was only enough for a 1-1 draw in Gent. Then there are still two matchdays in which Saint-Gilloise has to complete what is on paper a much easier program than the current leaders.
After the game in Leverkusen, RUSG host bottom-placed RFC Seraing, while Genk hosts Anderlecht. And after the difficult second leg against Bayer, Saint Gilles will have to move to Kortrijk from the bottom half of the table, while Genk will play eighth-placed Sporting Charleroi. So it’s quite possible that Union Saint-Gilloise will also become champion as a Europa League semi-finalist.