Whatever the result of the opposition between Anderlecht and Genk, Saturday evening at Astrid Park, Wouter Vrancken will no longer sarcastically imitate Brian Riemer at the final whistle. Departing for Ghent and guilty of not having made the most of a core that was nevertheless intrinsically very strong, the Genko coach was thanked by the Limburg management. He will no longer be on the visiting bench for this eighth day of the Champions Playoffs.
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Will the atmosphere have become calm again between two clubs who love to hate each other? Nothing is less sure. Anderlecht has still not digested the first leg, and even less the penalty awarded to the Limburgers by Jonathan Lardot, in the last minutes, for a hand fault by Sardella who was unable to avoid a point-blank shot from Alieu Fadera. Outclassed during a half and led from the quarter of an hour, the Mauves believed they could win after Dreyer’s equalizer in the 75the, but they finally had to become disillusioned following the penalty converted by Zeqiri (2-1). This feeling of injustice felt by the people of Brussels, convinced that the famous gray zone systematically disadvantages them, was just one more frustration in the rivalry between the two clubs. For its first of two finals at Astrid Park – the second will take place against Bruges in ten days – Sporting expects to welcome an extremely motivated opponent despite their disappointing fourth place and three defeats in a row.
By digging a little into one or the other hard drive on Neerpede’s side, we should be able to find photos or videos of Tolu Arokodare. Today at Racing Genk, the powerful 23-year-old Nigerian striker was very close to signing with Anderlecht. Flashback.
It is January 31, 2023 and Jesper Fredberg is determined to record a second arrival in the purple ranks after the signing of Anders Dreyer. The CEO Sports set his sights on Arokodare then linked to Amiens. A six-month loan with a purchase option of 2.5 million euros is on the table and the deal is well settled. So much so that medical tests are being carried out in Ghent. But the attacker will never arrive in Neerpede. Fredberg tried to do without the services of Didier Frenay, the player’s agent. The RSCA pays him in cash. Instead of going to conclude the deal, the Frenay-Arokodare duo takes the road to… Genk who are looking for an attacker after the departure of Paul Onuachu for Southampton.
Reassured by the medical tests ordered by Anderlecht, Dimitri De Condé can calmly outbid Brussels’ proposal: a contract of 4.5 seasons and the prospect of playing for the title during the second part of the 2022-23 season. If Anderlecht manages to largely console itself with the arrival at the last minute of Islam Slimani, the Limburg club did not score any points on this occasion.
The pikes of Vrancken, Fredberg and Riemer
Fifteen months later, it would have become anecdotal between the two clubs. Except that this is far from being the only issue in which the two groups have not been on the same wavelength in recent years.
And if war has not yet been openly declared – certain members of the RSCA maintain a courteous understanding with their Limburg counterparts – a certain animosity will give a little more salt to the meeting this Saturday evening. Nobody has forgotten the match of December 23 which led to the famous “penaltygate”. A game whose final whistle did not fall until March 5. Because the leaders of Genk, some of whom were shocked by their behavior in the grandstand two days before Christmas, did everything they could to ensure that the match was replayed.
If this was ultimately not the case – the CBAS considered that it was an error of interpretation and not an error of arbitration – this dispute gave rise to some comments from the two camps. And this, from the minutes following a match won 2-1 by the Mauves in added time. “This match was a circus,” said Wouter Vrancken, who had it all again a few days later. “When you’re a football lover, you can’t help but find it weird. If I make an error of the same magnitude as the VAR, I am no longer Genk coach. It’s simple. Even some Anderlecht fans must not be comfortable with this victory. » “Having to replay this match would call into question the integrity of football,” responded Jesper Fredberg and Brian Riemer.
For several weeks, the pikes launched from the capital had not stopped flying. “Would we have taken steps to replay the match? No,” assured Jesper Fredberg at the beginning of February. “We are creating a culture where some people question the result because it is not favorable to them. It takes away the charm of football. But I am convinced that if we play again, we will win again against Genk. » In the classic phase, this will never be the case, the CBAS having closed the file. Enough to offer a final “punchline” to Brian Riemer. “It’s the first time that I’m so happy to win a match that I had already won,” the RSCA coach said three days after the end of this bad series.
Strong explanation between De Condé and Vertonghen
We will also remember that the tone had already risen very loudly between an uncontrollable Dimitri De Condé and a more experienced Jan Vertonghen during the first leg of the classic phase, in September 2023. This was following the expulsion of Baah , fallen into the trap of the Red Devil’s provocations. The next day, the incident required a phone call between the protagonists to try to close the matter.
“Penaltygate” is far from being the only controversy to occupy the minds of both camps. For several years, Anderlecht and Genk have also been engaged in a hell of a battle a few levels lower: that of the training centers. In both teams, we have no trouble recognizing the excellent work done by the other. But some files raise eyebrows at the heart of a phenomenon in which other groups are involved in the poaching of young shoots, including FC Bruges. The last two are Konstantinos Karetsas and Jelle Driessen. With a similar scenario. The two young players did part of their training in Limburg before joining the capital. In both cases, Genk came back to the charge by offering better conditions for the two midfielders to sign their first professional contract with the quadruple Belgian champion. Two emblematic cases of an aggressive policy on the part of the Limburg club, having notably taken advantage of the fragility of Neerpede when uncertainty reigned for a long time around the case of its director Jean Kindermans. Ready to make a lot of financial sacrifices to convince teenagers and their entourage, Genk willingly indulges in a little game that Anderlecht has played for a long time in the past. Particularly with the Van De Ven brothers.
The training center war
At the time, the RSCA picked up the two leading attackers from the Genkois when they were aged 11 and 12. Since then, the oldest – Chike – has joined the Louvain U23s and is playing in Nationale 1 at just 16 years old. The youngest – Terry – signed his first professional contract at RSCA in the summer of 2023 and oscillates between the U16s and the U18s. A double file having, in a way, opened Pandora’s box even if Dennis Praet had already been stolen from Genk fifteen years ago.
The ride is not about to end. Two weeks ago, the great talent Ilyes Bennane (13 years old) left Genk to join RSCA. The youngest Belgian international in history – he also played for Morocco – will Bennane one day be the playmaker for the Mauves? It is obviously much too early to say but Anderlecht is convinced that they were right to make the big efforts necessary to convince this nugget. On the Genk side, we criticize the mentality and behavior of the teenager’s family. To be continued…
