Thursday, November 14, 2024 – 6:00 PM I by Editorial Staff
When Aston Villa came to the Jan Breydel Stadium, the attendance was high and the atmosphere in the stands was pleasant. Yet there were a lot of online complaints from English supporters, especially about the remote location and inconveniences of the away section. However, the criticism is not limited to away fans; Dissatisfaction with the outdated infrastructure is also growing in other parts of the stadium.
In his column for THERE Jan Mulder describes the challenges he faced during his visit as an analyst for VTM 2. He and his team had to cross the entire stadium to reach their seats and weave through the crowd. “The current Jan Breydel Stadium is outdated,” Mulder points out. He calls the condition of the stadium “embarrassing”, especially compared to modern Football temples such as those of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, or the luxurious stadiums in Qatar.
Melancholy and romance
Yet Mulder cannot let go of the romance of old stadiums. He muses about White Hart Lane, Tottenham Hotspur’s former stadium, where the atmosphere was second to none. “In a stadium like Jan Breydel you feel the raw passion, unlike the perfumed lounges of Madrid or Paris,” says the analyst. Mulder admits that, despite the concrete rot, he still experiences a certain charm in the authentic stadium of Club Bruges.
Belgium
