Author: Victor

FC Twente is still waiting for its first victory in the Europa League. At home against Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, coach Joseph Oosting’s team failed to repair the damage suffered in the completely flopped first half. 

The score became 0-1, which means that FC Twente is 29th in the Europa League standings and the chances of a sequel in the tournament are slim.

Mitchell van Bergen in action against Union.

After three draws and a defeat in the group stage of the Europa League, with which FC Twente had rewarded itself meagerly considering the game they had shown, it had to happen against Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. “It is an important match if we want to pursue our ambition. If we really want something, we have to win,” coach Joseph Oosting had said beforehand.

The Grolsch Veste, which is bubbling on European nights, offered a different view this time, because the largest part of Vak-P had to remain empty after the racist incident during the match against Lazio.

Furious start Union

In advance, FC Twente seemed to be the favorite, given Union’s only ninth place in the Belgian competition, but the Brussels team, who narrowly missed out on the title last season, started the match furiously.

FC Twente was outdone in terms of sharpness, duel power and speed. After Oosting’s team escaped an early deficit, because a goal by Franjo Ivanovic was disallowed for offside after intervention by the VAR, the ball was in the net a little later. Mohammed Fuseini walked through the Twente defense and placed the ball through the legs of goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall.

Physically insufficient from important Twente players

What was already noticeable in the European matches was the large difference in physical ability between most FC Twente players and the opponent. Key players such as Youri Regeer, Sem Steijn and Daan Rots were unable to offer sufficient physical resistance against the physical violence that opponents threw into the battle.

After a terrible first half, FC Twente could count themselves lucky that the score was only 0-1 at half-time, because Union had outdone the home team on all fronts.

Based on the idea of ‘better to turn back halfway than to go astray’, Oosting changed half his team halfway through the match, thereby repairing a few wrong choices. Homegrown players Rots, Gijs Besselink and Max Bruns made way for Sam Lammers, Alec Van Hoorenbeeck and Bas Kuipers. Anass Salah-Eddine moved to the right back position, allowing Regeer to return to midfield, where he had been a driving force in recent times.

The rebuilt FC Twente performed much better and immediately got a big chance via Steijn. Unnerstall, who had played an unfortunate role in the Belgian goal, proved his worth with great saves from chances for Ivanovic and substitutes Mathias Rasmussen and Kevin Rodriguez. 

On the other side, substitute Lammers had the equalizer on his boot, but his shot from the turn went wide. And so the European adventure is not yet a resounding success for FC Twente with three defeats, four draws and still no victory.

Portugal plays this Friday, at 7:45 pm, with the Czech Republic, at Estádio do Dragão, in the first leg of the play-off for qualification for the 2025 European Championship.

The captain of the women’s team admitted today that “it is an obligation” to be at the 2025 European Football Championship and highlighted the team’s enormous desire to achieve it.

Ana Borges assured that the desire is to “be among the best”, even so, she did not underestimate the difficulty they may encounter with their next opponent, the Czech Republic.

“We, as athletes, want to be at the Euros. It’s an obligation because we want to be there, we’ve gotten used to being among the best. We know that the Czech Republic has never qualified. We want to get a good result from here but we never disregard any team.  I always respect”, the athlete began saying in a preview press conference.

Regarding the physical profile of the opponents, the player did not want to highlight it, guaranteeing that it will not be because of this aspect that the Portuguese will be at a disadvantage.

“They are powerful, but we have already faced other teams with the same stature as them and that was not the case. The most important thing is to do what is asked of us, we have shown over the years that we can play against any team, whether they are more physical or technical”, he said.

The Sporting player also revealed that she was pleased with the possibility of breaking the attendance record at Estádio do Dragão in a match for the women’s national team.

“It is an added value for us, as women’s football, to have mass fans, but what we want is to provide the Portuguese with their presence in the final phase, regardless of whether there are 45 thousand, 30 thousand or 5 thousand people”, guaranteed the player.

Portugal plays this Friday, at 7:45 pm, with the Czech Republic, at Estádio do Dragão, in the first leg of the play-off for qualification for the 2025 European Championship.

On Tuesday, December 3rd, in Teplice, the decisive return match of the play-off will be played.

The Coupe de France match between Bolbec amateurs and SM Caen will finally be played in Caen (Calvados), this Saturday, November 30, 2024, for security reasons, instead of a small stadium near the amateur club. The popular spirit of the competition takes a hit.

The biggest match in the history of US Bolbec will be relocated even more than expected. Once scheduled for this Saturday, November 30, 2024 at the Lucien Lécuyer stadium in Pavilly (Seine-Maritime), north of Rouen, the match of the 8th round of the Coupe de France between the Seine-Maritime amateurs (Regional 1, or the 6th French division) and SM Caen will finally be played in the stadium of the professionals of Ligue 2, this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. A decision made this Wednesday, November 27, the latest in a laborious organizational saga that is taking a toll on the magic of the competition and its meetings between pros and amateurs, most often in the stadium of the “little ones”.

“We are stunned,” sighs the Upper Normandy coach Locman Cakmak. “We are told that the match cannot be played in Seine-Maritime because of the rivalry between supporters from Caen, Le Havre and Rouen. The authorities fear there will be disturbances outside the stadium. We are paying the price.” Bolbec dreamed of playing in his stadium, which was not approved. A fallback solution had been found in Pavilly.

“Volunteers had mobilized to do everything necessary, with the help of employees from Le Havre AC, who are used to organizing this type of match. The federal specifications are very demanding. We were ready to mobilize security,” the coach continued. More than 300 places had already been taken and the enthusiasm was growing to fill the 1,400 places. The Seine-Maritime prefecture decided otherwise.

To better understand, you need to get a map and observe the proximity between Bolbec and Le Havre, Stade Malherbe’s rival club. The same fear of excesses between the supporters of the two clubs had caused the cancellation of the friendly match between Caen and Le Havre last summer, while the police were mobilized for the Olympic Games. 

By bringing the 8th round of the Coupe de France closer to Rouen, the red flag of possible disorder with the Rouen ultras was waved, the same one that had caused restrictions on the movement of Caen supporters during matches in Quevilly-Rouen-Métropole in recent seasons in Ligue 2.

In the circle of Malherbe followers, it is assured that there was no rumor of troublemakers in Pavilly. “We went there in a cool mode. I hadn’t heard anything with Rouen”, even if “some from Le Havre want to catch us. There is a risk”, qualifies a Caen supporter. The professional club has indicated that it is adapting to the decision, without further details.

“We’re going to try to cause them problems and make our fans happy”

Despite this climate, the authorities’ decision raises questions, starting with its timing: “Why not say from the start that the match had to be reversed?” asks Locman Cakmak. And he continues: “We’re organising France-Israel with thousands of police officers and we’re not capable of organising an 8th round of the Coupe de France for 1,400 spectators? During the meetings, we felt that the prefecture didn’t want to mobilise a lot of resources for a small match.” 

The coach does not spare the French federation from his wrath: “If it is not possible for Caen to come and play in Seine-Maritime, as we seem to be told, why was Caen in the same pot as us in the draw?” The result of a geographical distribution, even if most of the Haut-Normands were not in this same group for this draw.

The amateur club regrets being left unprepared by authorities that impose a heavy organisation. Bolbec’s disillusionment calls for that of Vire, which, in November 2022, was shocked to learn, 48 hours before the match, that its 8th round against… Caen had been postponed, due to a regulatory imbroglio over a temporary stand.

Bolbec and Caen therefore have three days to organise their match at the Michel d’Ornano stadium. The official inversion exempts Bolbec from the rental costs of the stadium, and the Hauts-Normands are trying to transport as many supporters as possible to Calvados. “At the prefecture, we were told that Caen was not far, that it was easy to get there by car. Bolbec is a working-class town, not everyone has a car and the round trip costs 50 to 60 euros,” the coach tenses. 

Five buses, or even more, should make the journey. The club hopes to save the party by allowing volunteers to enjoy an evening in a 20,000-seat stadium, as well as its young members, who could tread the pitch.

In sporting terms, the dream of an exploit has also taken a hit, the technician analyses: “At home, we might have had a way of teasing them, with an audience close to the pitch, a smaller pitch. Here, it will be very difficult. But we will try to cause them problems and make our supporters happy.” In the self-proclaimed cup of “all possibilities”, it was in any case not possible to offer a party to the Bolbécais at home.