For Unionist supporters, facing their Brussels neighbor has become a custom. But this Sunday's poster is certainly the most important clash in recent years, given the position of the two clubs in the standings.
The match is also feared by some supporters who fear that certain Anderlecht hooligans will infiltrate the Unionist side. The police are on alert and we have paid the price.
“What are you doing here?”: police on alert
Posted in front of the “Club House”, a beer in hand and without any distinctive sign that could suggest a certain support for the USG, we see two plainclothes police officers coming to meet us. “Hello, this is the police, can we know what you are doing here?” We explain to them that we are simply press, to which the two police officers retort: “Oh okay, it's because some fans found you suspicious and thought you were from Anderlecht. But no worries then, plus you don’t look like suspicious people.”
It's 5 p.m., more than an hour before kick-off, the area around Parc Duden is already crowded. The supporters meet in front of one or another bar to drink with their friends while talking about the week they have just had. A few “Union Bhoys” launched chants in praise of the club but the many supporters nearby preferred to reserve their voices for the meeting.
We take the opportunity to chat with them. Often considered as “new supporters” by opposing clubs, certain Unionists do not hide it. “I came to see my first match 4 years ago”, Gaspard tells us. “Since then, I don't see myself missing a single home game. It’s my weekend appointment every 15 days”.
When asked what the Union meant to him before this very first, Gaspard honestly answers us that he just knew that “it was a historic club in Belgium” and that this one “was playing in the lower divisions at the time”. “But I don't mind being considered a new fan of the club. A lot of things have changed at the Union and a new wave of fans, of which I am part, has arrived and is doing a lot of good for Belgian football. If the club goes badly one day, I know that I will always be there too because I really have the soul of the club in my skin now. In a few years, thanks to the club's various successes, I have experienced incredible moments. With my friends, we crossed Europe to go see them play in the Europa or Conference League. These are memories that will remain forever engraved for me and that we expect to repeat given the good dynamics of the club.
Union relocation becomes essential for fans
At 6 p.m., fans crowd in front of the different entrances to the stadium. In the queue, a Master 2 journalism student asks us if we know how to answer a questionnaire for his studies. The subject concerns the relocation of the stadium to the Bempt site, 1.5km from Parc Duden. Observing the crowds in front of the different entrances to the stadium, which are all next to each other, we say to ourselves that it would indeed be preferable for the club to move to another space to welcome the supporters in a more organized manner. who are becoming more and more numerous with each match.
Going to see the Union even becomes complicated because the matches are almost all sold out. A stadium that meets European standards with a greater capacity therefore seems to be essential for the Union Saint-Gilloise, if the club wants to confirm its revival, even if it means no longer playing in this stadium which smells of local football. 60s.
We head towards the East stand, where the most fervent supporters are gathered, standing, along the entire length of the pitch. Less than half an hour before kick-off, it is still quiet in the aisles of the Joseph-Marien stadium. Everyone drinks their beer quietly and the prediction game is on everyone's lips.
Nobody seems to have predicted the final score of this meeting (0-0), everyone seeing the Union winning with one or two goals difference. The supporters are confident and the Brussels neighbor does not scare the Unionists. “Football-wise, Anderlecht is very weak! There is no photo between Riemer and Blessin tactically”indicates one of our neighbors in the stand to his friends, who all agree with the opinion of this man dressed in Union colors from head to toe.
At 6:20 p.m., the “Capos” take their seats, megaphones in hand, their heads facing the audience. The flags flutter and the first songs are sung. For 10 minutes, we will be treated to a “Chalalalalala go Union”, quite repetitive, it must be said, but which will have had the merit of waking up all the fans for the match.
From Germinal Beerschot to Union Saint-Gilloise thanks to the VUB!
The opportunity for us to go to the bar before the start of the match. We then meet three Dutch speakers who approach us, speaking French. “As the song says, we stay at the bar!” We get to know them and take the opportunity to find out where their passion for the Union comes from. “Basically we come from Antwerp and we support Germinal Beerschot. But, since we started our studies at VUB two years ago, we have been coming to see the Union. We have always been against Antwerp and Anderlecht, so supporting the Union was the right compromise for us (laughs). Next season, we will have to support two clubs in the same championship with the rise of the GBA in D1A, it's difficult to imagine but it will be like that!”.
The meeting begins. The supporters raise their voices and the different songs follow one another. The famous “Brussels, my city, I love you…” is followed in unison by all the unionist forums. Many children sing it with an energy that would break their vocal cords. The moment is pleasant to see and represents the family spirit that reigns in the aisles.
The smell of certain illicit substances also reminds us that in certain stands, everything is permitted and nothing disturbs, except perhaps the vision of these two fifty-year-olds busy “snorting” a line of cocaine in the toilets, shortly before midday. -time. An image that little boys, waiting in line to urinate, did not have to see.
It's the break between Union and Anderlecht. The opportunity for us to go in search of a “historic” supporter of the club. We very quickly come across the phenomenon we wanted to find. Marc is 65 years old. The Union Saint-Gilloise has been running through his veins since he was old enough to walk. “It would be a lie if I said I haven't missed a match since I started supporting the club. For a long time I came to the stadium occasionally because I had other concerns. But, since I have retired, I have time for everything, including supporting the Union in person and not teleworking as I often say”.
The Unionists disappointed after the split against Anderlecht: “We will have to win in Bruges”
When we talk to him about the new fervor that has taken hold of the Union, Marc interrupts us. “Have you seen the people in this stand? There were 300 of us 10 years ago, now there are thousands! It’s nice to see because everyone is nice. The good-natured spirit always reigns when we come to watch a match at Parc Duden.”
“We shouldn’t let everything pass either!”
If our interlocutor appreciates all the excitement around his favorite club, he nevertheless raises a point which exasperates him. “I went home angry as I have rarely been in 65 years, 3 weeks ago. We had one series of defeats and some supporters applauded the players, telling them that it didn't matter! Good God ! I was yelling that it was time to get our act together if we wanted the title! You shouldn’t let everything go either, put pressure on, that’s positive too!”.
We thank Marc for his symbolic testimony and let him say “chin” to his Spanish friend. “I don't speak Spanish and he doesn't speak French. But we can understand each other when we have a beer in our hand”he told us, laughing.
The European Commission, a vector of unionist supporters
The Union is also a multicultural public. Walking through the East Stand, you can hear different languages mixing in conversations. Many people working at the European Commission have found the Union to be the club to support in Brussels. Whether they are Italian, Spanish or German, they all unite their passion for football at Parc Duden, as if yellow and blue were obvious to the expatriates who arrive in our capital.
The match ends. The goalless draw of this meeting does not help either club in this title race, especially following Bruges' victory against Antwerp a few hours earlier. “We better win the Cup final on Thursday otherwise we will end up empty-handed again”relates with a little annoyance a supporter who is heading towards the exit of the stadium.
Who says end of match does not mean “return home” for many fans. This is a great opportunity to end your weekend with a “last” drink and replay the match between supporters. Everyone agrees that goalkeeper Anthony Moris is the man of the match thanks to his double saving save in the second half. But everyone also believes that Alexander Blessin's men deserved better.
A first at the Union thanks to a certain Felice Mazzu
We then meet Bastien. With a yellow and blue scarf around his neck, he explains to us that his passion for the Union has been there for 4 years. “I have always liked football and I always watched the results of Anderlecht when I was little. When people asked me who I supported in football in Belgium, I answered Anderlecht without much conviction. Besides, I have never been to Parc Astrid to see them play. When I moved to Forest, I thought it was an opportunity to go and see the Union play. I especially went to see them because Felice Mazzu was the coach and he is a personality in football that I have always appreciated, I can't even explain why. I immediately joined the club from that day on.”
“When people asked me who I supported in football in Belgium, I answered Anderlecht without much conviction”
We then push Bastien a little to his limits when we ask him if he can name three Union players who played in D1B before the takeover of the club in 2018 by Tony Bloom, the owner of Brighton. “There must surely be players that I know but to name one like that, I won't know… Afterwards I have no complexes in saying that I don't know much about the history of the Union before their rise in D1A. You can see the club running through our veins, even though we’ve only really supported it for 4 years.”
Because yes, this is often a criticism that is made by supporters of other clubs in Belgium. Many say that at the Union, it is an audience of “Footix”, new supporters “of victory” who will no longer be there the day the Union experiences a difficult season. From what we observed this Sunday, we have the impression that all these 'new' supporters will swear loyalty to the club, even if they have only been affiliated with it for a few years.
It is 11:30 p.m., the street returns to the same calm as 10 hours before. The bars are uninstalled, the music is cut off. The supporters present have already arranged to meet this Thursday, May 9 at the King Baudouin Stadium, the stadium where the Union played for a season. It was in D1B, during the 2016-2017 season. A not-so-distant episode which, however, does not speak to these new Union fans, who rather see the King Baudouin Stadium as being their future European residence for next season.
