In recent years, Belgian clubs have been beating Dutch opponents far more often than the other way round. They are performing better in Europe anyway, not least thanks to Club Brugge, the biggest accumulator of coefficient points in the Low Countries and PSV’s opponent in the Champions League on Wednesday evening. “Club Brugge has been implementing a brilliant policy in recent years,” notes Ruud Vormer, who played more than 350 matches for the club and has been living in Belgium for twelve years. ‘They often sign young, unknown foreign players and sell them on for large sums. Take that Greek player, Christos Tzolis, for example, whom they sold on to Arsenal. Now Nicolo Tresoldi is the man of the moment. He scored a hat-trick against Inter. Not many people knew who he was before that.’ ‘Typical “Club” again. There are capable people at the helm there. The fact that Feyenoord have brought in Dévy Rigaux as technical director speaks volumes.’ That doesn’t just apply to Club Brugge, according to Aad de Mos, who enjoyed years of success in Belgium and managed three clubs there. “They all know where to find players. Tolu from Ajax was spotted by Genk in Latvia. And they also had that great talent, Karetsas. He’s now playing for Dortmund.” De Mos also praises Club Brugge’s youth academy. “They’ve got that left-back again, Joaquin Seys. He’s top-class. With Brandon Mechele and Hans Vanaken, they’ve got a solid backbone. They’re dangerous on the counter-attack with Carlos Forbs. I didn’t think much of him at Ajax. But at ‘Club’, he’s really coming into his own.” According to De Mos, the Belgian league is tougher than the Dutch one. “You don’t see 7–0 or 9–0 results very often there, as you do here. They prefer to play a 5–4–1 formation rather than a 4–3–3. Try beating them at that.” Imke Courtois has noticed this too. The Belgian has been analysing the Eredivisie for the NOS since the start of this season and sometimes watches teams like Excelsior and Willem II with growing amazement. “I’m having a great time, because there are plenty of goals. But there’s hardly a single club that says: ‘This far and no further.’ No team that digs in.” Last 5 matches between Dutch and Belgian clubs - 22 January 2026: FC Utrecht v RC Genk 0–2 Europa League - 16 September 2025: PSV v Union SG 1–3 Champions League - 20 February 2025: Ajax v Union SG 1-2 Europa League - 13 February 2025: Union SG v Ajax 0-2 Europa League - 28 November 2024: FC Twente v Union SG 0-1 Europa League Courtois thinks highly of Club Brugge, but also praises the way Union Saint-Gilles play. “I think they have a style of play that Dutch clubs find very difficult to cope with. Intense, physical football and rock-solid organisation.” The fact that this style of play doesn’t suit Dutch clubs is evident from the results of recent years. Union Saint-Gilles, which has risen spectacularly in recent years, has already beaten PSV, Ajax and FC Twente. “It starts with pushing yourself to the limit,” says Vormer, who won the league title five times with Club Brugge and was instrumental in the rise of the ‘Blue and Blacks’. “They understand that all too well in Belgium.” The former AZ and Feyenoord footballer recently took his eight-year-old son to a Cercle Brugge training session and noticed that things are really quite different from when he played in AZ’s youth academy. “There, it’s all about winning the ball back. Or, as they say: ‘Win your duel!’ Back in Alkmaar, technique was the main priority.” De Mos suspects there is yet another reason why the Belgians perform better. “When they have to play against the Dutch, they’re still a bit more motivated. It’s that underdog position they like to adopt. They still see the Netherlands as a bigger footballing nation. Against the Netherlands, they go the extra mile.” Nevertheless, De Mos does not think his former club, PSV, is any worse than Club Brugge. “It’ll be a thrilling battle between those two.”   submitted by   /u/Roller95 [link]   [comments]