Royale Union Saint-Gilloise

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Royale Union Saint-Gilloise
Royale Union Saint-Gilloise logo.png
Full nameRoyale Union Saint-Gilloise
Nickname(s)Les Unionistes
Union 60
Founded1 November 1897; 123 years ago (1897-11-01)
GroundStade Joseph Marien,
Forest, Brussels
Capacity8,000
OwnerTony Bloom[1]
ChairmanAlex Muzio[1]
ManagerFelice Mazzù
LeagueBelgian First Division A
2020–21Belgian First Division B, Champions (promoted)
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, abbreviated to Union SG or USG, unofficially simply called Union, is a Belgian football club originally located in the municipality of Saint-Gilles, in Brussels, although since the 1920s it has been based at the Stade Joseph Marien in the neighbouring municipality of Forest.

The club is one of the most successful in the history of Belgian football. The club won eleven Belgian championships between 1904 and 1935, making it the most successful Belgian club before World War II. The team colours are blue and yellow and its matricule is 10. The team is traditionally popular with the Flemish- and French-speaking natives of Brussels and both the French and the Flemish speaking free universities.

On 13 March 2021, after defeating local rivals R.W.D. Molenbeek, the club was promoted back to the Belgian First Division A, marking its first appearance in top-flight football in 48 years.

History[]

The club was founded in 1897 and obtained its first of eleven titles as Champion of Belgium in 1904. From 1933 to 1935 the team played 60 consecutive matches undefeated, setting a still unbeaten record in Belgium. In the early 1900s the club also had a dominant spell in some of the very first "European" Cup competitions that took place, prior to officially sanctioned UEFA competitions.

Between 1958 and 1965 the club had a brief spell of European success, playing the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, and reaching the semi-finals in the 1958–60 edition after a two legged victory against A.S. Roma. In 1963, however, the club was relegated to the second division, and in 1980 even fell as low as the Belgian Promotion division.

On 21 May 2018, Tony Bloom, chairman of English Premier League side, Brighton & Hove Albion was confirmed as the majority shareholder.[2] Alex Muzio, the Chairman of Union, was a co-investor with Tony Bloom in 2018 and holds a minority interest in the club.[1]

Supporters and Rivalries[]

Union attract supporters primarily from the Brussels region, especially from the South of the Belgian capital. Their ultras are known as the Union Bhoys, and sit in the all-standing Tribune Est. The Union Bhoys have friendships with RFC Liège and Cercle Brugge supporters.

Union share a Brussels city derby, also known as a "derby of the Zwanze" with Racing White Daring Molenbeek, which stems from their old rivalry with Daring Club Brussels,[3] that has been encapsulated in the Brussels play Bossemans et Coppenolle. However, the two are said to have a love-hate relationship, having both experienced financial difficulty in the modern era, and organised friendlies together in support.[4]

Union also have a rivalry with neighbour RSC Anderlecht, although the two have met even fewer times in the modern era than RWDM and Union have. They met for the first time since 1979 in the Belgian Cup in 2018, with Union stunning Anderlecht 0–3 at the Stade Constant Vandenstock.[5]

Honours[]

Domestic[]

European[]

    • Winners (3): 1905, 1906, 1907
    • Runners-up (1): 1904

Current squad[]

As of 11 August 2021[6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF Netherlands NED Bart Nieuwkoop
4 DF Denmark DEN Jonas Bager
6 MF Denmark DEN Casper Nielsen
7 MF England ENG Matthew Sorinola
8 MF Ivory Coast CIV Jean Thierry Lazare (on loan from Charleroi)
9 FW Germany GER Deniz Undav
10 MF England ENG Marcel Lewis
11 MF Italy ITA Lorenzo Paolucci
13 FW Belgium BEL Dante Vanzeir
14 MF Japan JPN Kaoru Mitoma (on loan from Brighton)
16 DF England ENG Christian Burgess
17 MF Malta MLT Teddy Teuma
19 DF Belgium BEL Guillaume François
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF Belgium BEL Senne Lynen
21 GK Belgium BEL Lucas Pirard
22 FW Angola ANG Pedro Lubamba
24 MF Belgium BEL Ilyes Ziani
25 MF Belgium BEL Damien Marcq
26 GK Belgium BEL Kerian Atheba
33 GK Belgium BEL Tibo Herbots
44 DF Belgium BEL Siebe Van der Heyden
49 GK Luxembourg LUX Anthony Moris
59 DF Morocco MAR Ismaël Kandouss
90 FW Uruguay URU Felipe Avenatti (on loan from Standard Liège)
94 MF Madagascar MAD Loïc Lapoussin

Staff[]

Sports director
Head coach
Assistant coach
Assistant coach
  • Poland
Goalkeeping coach
  • Belgium
Fitness coach
  • France
Video analyst
  • Belgium
Team manager
  • Belgium Annelies Menten
Kit manager
  • Slovenia Rok Grilec

Medical[]

Doctors
  • Belgium Koen Pansaers
  • Belgium Axel Marlaire
  • Belgium Gert Vandeurzen
Physios
  • Belgium Stephen Van den Berg
  • Belgium Ivan Del Molino

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "En Stoemelings : Pack Royale Union Saint-Gilloise". 20 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Done deal: Albion chairman completes Belgian club takeover". The Argus.
  3. ^ "Historische derby's (2): het einde van de legendarische Union 60". bruzz.be. Bruzz. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  4. ^ "Un partage pour clore le gala entre le RWDM et l'Union". unionistes.be (in French). Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  5. ^ "0–3: Union vernedert Anderlecht in Brusselse bekerderby". BRUZZ.be. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Noyau A". Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. Retrieved 29 October 2019.

External links[]

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