Belgium celebrate during their 2-0 win over Wales
When one thinks of the great footballing nations of the world, the mind reels off the obvious: Brazil, Germany, Spain, England, and France to name a few. Modern football has been shaped by these national powerhouses, and it seems that those in the elite will never fall from grace. Every generation brings a new crop of outstanding players and, with the right manager at the helm, these nations always challenge for the top honours. This is even translated into club football, with the leagues of England, Italy, Spain and Germany striding above the rest.
A player will emerge from the smaller nations every once in a while, players with such outstanding ability, that the world looks on and almost pities their doomed exploits on the international stage. George Weah for Liberia and Gheorghe Hagi from Romania are such examples of world class talent coming from nations not generally known for producing high calibre players. What is happening in Belgium however is potentially unprecedented on a footballing level; and with the squad at their disposal, their stock will only continue to rise.
Thibault Courtios, the young goalkeeper signed by Chelsea in 2011, cemented himself as Athletico Madrid’s no. 1 in their Europa Cup winning side last year. In defence they have the captain of Manchester City, Vincent Kompany; as well as Arsenal’s superb centre-back and skipper, Thomas Vermaelen, and Tottenham’s solid new signing Jan Vertonghen.
The midfield is packed full of young, exciting talent, with the mercurial Eden Hazard the stand out player. He has made an impressive start to his Premier League career at Chelsea already topping the assists chart. Marouane Fellaini too has been a revelation at Everton (much to the dismay of Manchester Utd, who fell prey to a Fellaini master-class on the first day of the season). If you add Axel Witsel, signed for £32 million by Zenit St Petersburg, Tottenham’s new recruit Moussa Dembele, and Chelsea’s Kevin De Bruyne to the mix, Belgium are well stocked in almost every area.
Eden Hazard
In the way of strikers, Romelu Lukaku is something of a celebrity for the Belgians, having had a reality TV show made during his rise to fame with Anderlecht. Dubbed as ‘the new Drogba’, he has struggled to make an impact at Chelsea, but he is only 19 years old, and he looks a formidable prospect. He has already played 17 times for his country, scoring 3 times. Kevin Mirallas is another Belgium international to have made a move to the Premier League, and if he can produce the form which has seen him score 34 goals in 52 games at Olympiacos then he could have a real impact. 21 year old Christian Benteke opened his account for Aston Villa on the weekend too. Belgium have a real mixture of styles, Lukaku relies on his size and strength, Mirallas is renowned for his pace and Benteke is somewhat of a poacher.
It’s not a matter of just putting these players on the pitch and watching the results come in though. The win over Wales was followed by a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Croatia. Despite having a myriad of talent coming through the ranks, Belgium have yet to gel consistently. England themselves have seen their so called ‘golden generation’ of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and co. come and go without much impact on the international stage. However, if Marc Wilmots, the Belgian coach, can find the right blend then they have the quality throughout the team to be a real force.
What is most impressive is that these players are all under 26. There is a feeling of real optimism amongst the Belgian public. Tickets were sold out in a matter of hours for their match against Croatia. While it can be said that greater emphasis has been placed on the development in the youth setups by Belgian clubs, most fans and journalists are putting their apparent ‘golden generation’ of players down to a matter of luck, more than judgement. It is this unexpected rebirth that makes Belgium such a mouth-watering, footballing prospect.
