Miraculous Story Of The Royale Union Saint-Gilloise

Miraculous Story Of The Royale Union Saint-Gilloise

Club Brugge KV has just won the championship in the Belgian league. However, that is not great news for football in that country. Actually, it is not news that a team like Brugge is champion (they have already won the Belgian First Division 18 times). The news in Belgian football this year features a team that perhaps you have never heard of in your life. However, this team wrote one of the most glorious pages in the history of world football this season. And this team is the Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, the league runner-up and absolute leader in the regular season. And if you have never heard the name of this team, it is because it was simply 48 years old without playing in the First Division of Belgian football. But what they did this season doesn't compare to what any other team has achieved in recent years on this planet. Yes, that's how impressive Union Saint-Gilloise's achievement has been!

After achieving the promotion to the First Division after 48 years, Union Saint-Gilloise finished top of the standings with 77 points from 34 games, with 24 wins, 5 draws, and 5 losses. It was the leader in goals scored with 78 and the team that received fewer goals (27). But, if this is not enough, the leading scorer in the league was its attacker, the German player Deniz Undav with 26 goals. However, Undav (another unknown in his own country) not only stood out in Belgium. This player became one of the best in Europe due to his statistics. They achieved all this in the season in which they miraculously rose to the First Division, with a team of totally unknown players. They beat established teams like Club Brugge KV and Anderlecht, who finished in second and third place.

If the Belgian league had worked with the traditional European system in which the team that finishes first in the regular season is the champion, Union Saint-Gilloise would have been the champion. However, the top four teams met in a playoff, and Club Brugge KV triumphed and got the championship. But the history of the Royale Union Saint-Gilloise is long and interesting. The team was founded 124 years ago and held 11 championships before World War II. After the war, the team never recovered, struggled for decades between the third and fourth divisions, and faced many financial difficulties. After spending a season in the Second Division, the club climbed to the First Division this 2021-22 season. Union Saint-Gilloise has been known as a friendly team from its early years. They represent the municipality of Forest, although they are associated with the municipality of Saint-Gilles. The fans and supporters of the team have always been of multiple nationalities. Indeed, emigrants from Spain, France, and Italy abound in this area. Also, it is a team that has earned everyone's respect. Union Saint-Gilloise plays in the small Stade Joseph Marien Stadium (capacity of 8,000 people). Likewise, it has maintained a fan base that celebrates the team's good and bad times over the years. It is forbidden in this stadium to insult visiting teams and their fans. On the contrary, for Saint-Gilloise the visiting team is their guest, and this season they received the same gesture in all the stadiums they played.

Saint-Gilloise could play in the Champions League next year. If they don't, their participation in the Europa League is guaranteed. The great little team that poker tycoon Tony Bloom owns has become a wonderful surprise for football fans. Also, it is a worthy example of this sport's greatness.