Things to know about Westerlo
Last season: 8th in the league, won Play Off 2
Qualified through: Play Off 2 winners / cup runners up
Coach: Jan Ceulemans
Star: Jan Ceulemans is still the star, after him maybe Elrio van Heerden or long-serving captain Jef Delen.
Links to Örebro: Almost every player in Sweden is now linked to the Belgian league, but so far not to little Westerlo.
Comment: The big surprise of Belgian football last year, tiny Westerlo (7,000) inhabitants lead by the great Ceulemans qualified for European play in the weird Belgian system: When the league was done after 30 round, Westerlo was 8th and thus not in the championship Play Off (the top 6 teams qualify). But Westerlo did well in the second tier and made it to a second tier play off (Play Off 2) which they won against Cercle Brugge. Then they were meant to play a Europa League play-off game against FC Brugge but since the Belgian Cup spot was open (Westerlo lost the final to Standard) that game was never played. Brugge qualified for the 3rd round, Westerlo to the 2nd.
This is how we beat them: My source describe the team as a team with a “nothing-to-lose” attitude that has taken them a long way. A nice little team but far from a powerhouse in Belgian football. A mid-table team that had a happy ending to the season, not scarier than that. And large reason behind Westerlo’s success is gone: Brazilian loan Paulo Henrique has now signed for Red Star Belgrade. The team has now a new Brazilian Lilu, and Peruvian national team player Chavez, who on the other hand has not proven very effective in front of the goal. But before we dismiss Westerlo as hopeless farmers, let’s remember that the team has a turnover of about 1 million Euro more than Örebro. Still, I would consider us as slight favourites, in particular the defence does not look impressive.
Chance of Örebro winning: 55%
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