They still play in the Pro League
If only Francis Amuzu and Yari Verschaeren remain active with Anderlecht, this does not mean that former players of the club do not continue to play in our championship. In fact, there are still five of them: Thomas Didillon, currently goalkeeper at Cercle de Bruges since his departure from Anderlecht in 2020. Adrien Trebel and Ryota Morioka found themselves in Charleroi even if the Frenchman has since left. The other two players on this list, Pieter Gerkens and Sven Kums, also play together, playing under their former coach at Anderlecht, Hein Vanhaezebrouck, at La Gantoise.
They were the future of Sporting Anderlecht
Sebastiaan Bornauw and Alexis Saelemaeckers were the two prodigies of the training center. They were 18 (Alexis) and 19 (Sebastiaan) starters under the orders of Hein Vanhaezebrouck. The two young Neerpede shoots are now playing in the biggest championships in the world. Alexis Saelemaeckers plays in Serie A where he is on loan from AC Milan to Bologna.
Defender Sebastiaan Bornauw is having a blast in the Bundesliga. After his departure from Anderlecht, the Belgian joined Cologne where he performed well, allowing him to land a transfer to Wolfsburg. Two and a half years later, Bornauw managed to make its mark.
Landry Dimata had gone a bit in the opposite direction when he belonged to the German club, he was loaned to Anderlecht for the 2018-2019 season. He started during Sporting's good start to the season. The young Belgian player even made a flamboyant debut by scoring 5 goals in his first four matches in the league. The rest of the season, however, would turn into a nightmare for Dimata after a mysterious hyaline cartilage injury. The former hopeful is now trying to revive his career in Türkiye at Samsunspor.
They had not confirmed the expectations placed on them
Antonio Milic and Knowledge Musona arrived together in the capital in the summer of 2018 from Ostend. They both came out of a full season in the coastal town and arrived in Anderlecht with the desire to confirm. But only a year after their arrival at Sporting, the two players were asked to find a new club. Musona will make successive loans to Lokeren then to Eupen before leaving the Pro League permanently for Saudi Arabia, where he still plays.
Antonio Milic will leave the Anderlecht club permanently in 2019 to join Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish second division. From then on, the Croatian defended the colors of the Polish club Lech Poznan where he started.
Return to the country or visit the world?
The rest of the players in the championship-leading squad in 2018 have made very different career choices.
Croatian striker Ivan Santini has traveled a lot since his departure from the Belgian championship in 2019. After his adventure ended in Anderlecht, the center forward successively left his bags in China, Croatia and Saudi Arabia. At 34, the Croatian striker who also played for Standard now plays for FC Zurich.
Midfielder Makarenko also played in little-known championships. Following his departure from the capital, the Ukrainian player opted for the Hungarian championship and the Fehérvár club. He will leave the club in 2023 to join Kazakhstan's top division. Often in Vanhaezebrouck's 11 in Anderlecht, the 32-year-old seems to have given up on high-level football.
Other players preferred to return home. This is particularly the case of Andy Najar, Sporting legend. The Honduran who wore the purple jacket 164 times has decided to return to his native country. Leaving Anderlecht in 2020 for Los Angeles, he hoped to live the American dream.
But he is not the only one since to this list is added Dennis Appiah, the Franco-Ghanaian right back currently playing in Ligue 2 at AS Saint-Etienne.
He keeps one foot in the world of football
Franck Boeckx was the second goalkeeper during the 2017-2018 season and the starting goalkeeper in the Belgian Cup during Sporting's rout against Union (0-3). If he is no longer active on the football fields, he still remains around. After leaving the post of goalkeeping coach, Franck Boeckx joined a scouting agency.
