Next weekend there will be some interesting posters on the program on the 26th matchday of the Jupiler Pro League. The absolute eye-catcher is on Sunday at 1:30 PM, because then the Bruges derby between Cercle and Club is on the program. It gets some extra cachet due to the excellent performance of the Association this season.
Five matchdays from the end of the regular competition, Cercle is still on course to qualify for Play-Off I. In recent weeks, it has taken full advantage of the slumps at KRC Genk and AA Gent to pass the two top clubs to within fifth place in the rankings. The city rival is two places higher with five points more.
Rush for the Bruges derby
It ensures that Bruges is a storm for the derby. Het Laatste Nieuws knows that around 17,000 spectators are expected. Since 2012, so many people have never turned up for a derby with Cercle as the ‘home team’ – last season there were only 12,000 supporters.
There will be great rivalry in the stands and on the field, but this is much less the case in the boardrooms these days. “That relationship is now very good. The stadium file previously hung over the daily operations and that has now been removed by very clear agreements between both teams and the City of Bruges,” says Alexander Vantyghem, CEO of Cercle, in The newspapaer.
Cercle and Club smooth out wrinkles
Nowadays, in some situations, neighbors even reach out to each other. “Every small issue is quickly resolved. Just to give an example. Our prospects occasionally train on a Club Brugge field if necessary. That was unmentionable three years ago.”
The stadium issue caused tensions between fellow citizens for years, but that now seems to be over. For the time being, they still share the dilapidated Jan Breydel Stadium, but in the future they will each go their own way. Club wants to build a new stadium next to the current one, while the Blankenbergse Steenweg will probably become the new home base for Cercle.
