How has Royale Union Saint-Gilloise risen from the ashes to become a force in Belgian football again? Ask Mark Gleeson.
FIRST START
The club takes its name from SaintGilles in Brussels and was founded in 1897 and has played in Joseph Marien Stadium since 1920.
Before the Second World War, Union were the giants of Belgian football, winning the Belgian championship title 11 times, starting in 1904.
In 1920, the club also produced the largest number of internationals for the team that won gold at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp.
It was also before the war that the team, under captain Jules Pappaert, went on a run of 60 games undefeated, which remains a Belgian record, as they won three successive championships from 1933-35.
FADING AWAY
After WWII, Union had a brief spell of European success, playing in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and reaching the semi-finals in the 1958–60 edition after a two-legged victory against A.S. Roma.
In 1963, however, the club was relegated to the second division, and in 1980 even fell as low as the Belgian Promotion division, the fourth tier of football in the country.
The club rallied to earn back-to-back promotions back up to the Second Division, claiming the Fourth Division crown in 1983 and the Third the following season.
But no further progress could be made and Union would yo-yo between the second and third flights for close on the next four decades.
REVIVAL
USG’s transformation has been remarkable since Tony Bloom took over the club in 2018 alongside longtime friend and business associate Alex Muzio – they attended the same school in Hove and Muzio rose through Bloom’s gambling consultancy company StarLizard.
Bloom was already chairman of his hometown club in England, Brighton & Hove Albion, and brought all of the technological innovation they were famous for to help Union begin a climb back to the top.
Among their first signings of the Boom era was Percy Tau, who was named best second division player after his one season at Union in the 2018-19 campaign.
EUROPE AGAIN
USG moved back up to the top flight in 2021 and in their first season in D1, surprised everyone. Coach Felice Mazzù’s team finished the regular season top of the standings but in the post-season playoffs were overtaken by Club Brugge.
The following season, the Unionists made their comeback on the European stage after a 59-year hiatus, losing to Rangers of Scotland in the Champions League knockout rounds, but got to the Europa League quarter-finals, where Bayer Leverkusen ended up being too strong.
They won that and that was the end of our European dream (1-1 and 1-4), for that season at least.
TROPHIES AT LAST
In May 2024, Union won their first Belgian Cup title after 110 years, following a 1–0 win over Royal Antwerp in the final, and they again finished as runners-up in the league, just one point behind the champions, Club Brugge.
But in the 2024–25 campaign, they finally won a league title again. On the final matchday, a 3–1 victory over Gent sealed their first top-flight title in 90 years, finally achieving glory after three previous near-misses since their promotion.
The triumph also secured their first-ever spot in the Champions League league phase for the following season.
Union last season competed in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in the club’s history, recording three victories from eight matches during the league phase.
At home, Union were unable to convert their regular-season success into a league title, ultimately finishing as runners-up again.
TOP PLAYERS
USG are now shorthand for quality, data-led recruitment and confounding expectations through over-performance and have made good business selling players.
This means Rele Mofokeng is in the right place to showcase his talent this season.
Players typically arrive unknown and undervalued, and depart for big sums that keeps the virtuous cycle spinning forward.
Deniz Undav, who joined on a free transfer from the German third division, was sold to Brighton for €7 million and is today a German international playing for VfB Stuttgart. Dante Vanzeir was playing for Genk’s C team in 2020 when he was signed for €300 000, but left three years later for the New York Red Bulls for €5 million.
Players leave, but without leaving gaps behind. When Nigerian international Victor Boniface was sold to Bayer Leverkusen €20 million in 2023, he was replaced by Mohamed Amoura, who left for VfL Wolfsburg a year later for €17.5 million.
