The Quarter Finals of the Croky Cup is where it all starts for Blue & Black in the new year, with a trip to Sporting Charleroi scheduled. The cup match will be played on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 20h30. The game against the Hainaut club is immediately the start of a double bill, as RAAL La Louvière awaits in the league just a few days later.
THE FIXTURE
Club Brugge traditionally starts a new calendar year strongly. In the past eleven seasons, Blauw-Zwart lost its first official match only once, a 3-1 defeat at KRC Genk in 2023. The other ten opening matches were won each time, including in 2018, when Sporting Charleroi was defeated by clear 5-1 figures at Jan Breydel.
The quarterfinals marks Club Brugge's 34th participation in the last eight of the Belgian Cup. Sporting Charleroi is no unknown opponent in the cup tournament: the 2018 duel was one of three previous cup encounters between the two clubs. Twice Charleroi drew at home, once Club Brugge was the stronger. Since the reform of the cup in 1963, Blauw-Zwart had to take penalty kicks twelve times, eight of which were successful. Four times the penalty series meant elimination. In addition, twelve cup matches were decided only after extensions, ten times to Club's advantage and twice to its disadvantage.
The road to the quarterfinals began for Club Brugge in the sixteenth finals with a home game against K. Eendracht Aalst Lede from the third amateur division. Brandon Mechele and Shandre Campbell provided an early double lead. After Joran Triest's tying goal, Club ran out further through two owngoals and two goals by Cisse Sandra, resulting in a 6-1 victory. In the eighth finals, Club faced OH Leuven. After a goal by Hugo Vetlesen and the equalizer by Sory Kaba, extension seemed inevitable, but Christos Tzolis decided the game in the closing stages from the penalty spot (1-2).
Earlier this season, Sporting Charleroi and Club Brugge already faced each other in the Jupiler Pro League. Then Club made it with the smallest difference thanks to a goal by Hans Vanaken. Across all competitions, the cup game will be the 119th meeting between the two teams, with 70 wins for Club Brugge, against 29 draws and 19 defeats.
Individually, the cup record within the selection also stands out. Hans Vanaken has already scored ten times for Club Brugge in the Cup of Belgium, placing him in Blauw-Zwart's all-time top ten, led by Jan Ceulemans with 39 cup goals. This season, Cisse Sandra is Club's provisional top shooter in the Croky Cup with two goals, while Shandre Campbell, Brandon Mechele, Christos Tzolis and Hugo Vetlesen each hit one. Vetlesen is also the best striker with two assists and can play his tenth cup game for Club against Charleroi.
The stakes are clear: the winner of the game between Sporting Charleroi and Club Brugge qualifies for the semifinals, in which FCV Dender EH or Union SG will be the opponent. Club Brugge will hope to take that step with confidence, as since Ivan Leko's arrival they have posted a perfect record of 9 out of 9 in the league, with twelve goals scored. After the winter training camp in Spain, Blauw-Zwart wants to continue that positive line in the cup tournament.
THE OPPONENT
Sporting Charleroi hosts the first official match of the calendar year in Belgium on Tuesday night. For the Zebras it is a special event, because for the first time in six years they managed to reach the quarterfinals of the Croky Cup. In the league, Sporting Charleroi is having a mixed season. The Hainauts the eleventh place in the standings, which keeps them in the middle of the league for now.
Since the previous confrontation with Club Brugge, the sporting framework at Charleroi has changed thoroughly. In November, Rik De Mil was still at the helm, but after he made the move to KAA Gent in December, Hans Cornelis was appointed interim coach. The former Club Brugge defender, who previously gained experience as trainer at Zwevezele and Lokeren-Temse, had been active at the club since this summer. His strong performance during the interim period convinced the board, which appointed him permanently as head coach last week. Under Cornelis' leadership, Sporting Charleroi was immediately presented with a tough schedule in December. At home against Union SG, the reigning champions, the Zebras hung on to a 1-1 draw, with Antoine Colassin erasing Promise David's opening goal. Charleroi also showed resilience against KRC Genk: Bryan Heynen twice brought the visitors into the lead, but Yacine Titraoui and Parfait Guiagon provided the equalizer each time. The year ended with a fine away win at RSC Anderlecht. Thanks to goals by Etienne Camara and Parfait Guiagon, Charleroi led 0-2 early on and Anderlecht did not get further than Thorgan Hazard's tying goal.
In preparation for the restart, Sporting Charleroi went to Turkey for a training camp this winter. There, it played an exercise match against the German second division club SC Paderborn. Goals by Lewin Blum and Antoine Colassin did not suffice for a result, as Charleroi eventually went down 3-2.
In the Croky Cup, Sporting Charleroi worked their way to the quarterfinals via two wins. In the sixteenth finals, RFC Liège was eliminated, with former Club player Gaëtan Englebert as coach. A goal by Yassine Khalifi in the final minute prevented extensions and produced a narrow 0-1 victory. In the eighth finals, KV Mechelen hosted the Stade du Pays de Charleroi, where Parfait Guiagon and Mardochée Nzita made the difference after halftime. Goal production in the cup is staggered for now at the Zebras. Yassine Khalifi, Parfait Guiagon and Mardochée Nzita each accounted for one goal in this cup tournament. Across all competitions, Guiagon, a 24-year-old Ivorian striker who has played for Charleroi since the summer of 2023, is the club's top shooter with seven goals. Against Club Brugge, he already managed to score three times.
Historically, Sporting Charleroi has reached the quarterfinals of the Cup of Belgium nine times before. Six times, including the last four editions, this round immediately meant the end station. Three times Charleroi did go through: in 1977-78 and 1992-93 the Zebras reached the final, each time losing against KSK Beveren and Standard Liege respectively. In 2005-06, they stranded in the semifinals after being eliminated by Excelsior Mouscron. Charleroi can also draw confidence from the past at home. In the two previous cup duels against Club Brugge played in Charleroi, in 1978 and 1992, Sporting drew the longest each time.
THE MILESTONES
- Jorne Spileers may play his 90th game for Club Brugge.
- Hugo Siquet may play his 50th official match for Blauw-Zwart.
- For Cisse Sandra, it could be the 40th match at Club.
- Mamadou Diakhon is awaiting his 20th match for Club.
- Hugo Vetlesen may play his 10th cup match for Club Brugge.
THE MAN IN BLACK
Mr. Erik Lambrechts has been appointed referee for the cup match between Sporting Charleroi and Club Brugge. The 41-year-old Flemish-Brabander will be assisted along the sidelines by Jo De Weirdt and Kevin Monteny, while Kevin Van Damme will act as fourth official. The VAR operation is in the hands of Bram Van Driessche with Michele Seeldraeyers as assistant VAR.
For Club Brugge, it will be the 47th game under Mr. Lambrechts' direction. Twenty of those duels were away games, in which Blauw-Zwart won ten times, drew twice and lost eight times. This season, however, the matches with Mr. Lambrechts went less favorably for both Club and Charleroi: Club Brugge went down under his guidance at KV Mechelen (2-1) and RSC Anderlecht (1-0), while Sporting Charleroi lost on the Standard pitch (3-1). Only once before did Mr. Lambrechts whistle a cup duel between Club and the Zebras: in 2022, Club Brugge then drew at home with a 2-0 victory.