2007–08 Belgian First Division

The 2007–08 season of the Belgian First Division began on August 3, 2007, and concluded on May 10, 2008. The championship was decided in the 31st round on April 20, 2008, when Standard Liège beat Anderlecht 2–0 at home. For Standard it was their 9th League Championship, but just their first in the last 25 years. At the other end of the table, Brussels and Sint-Truiden were relegated on matchdays 31 and 32 respectively. Behind Standard, Anderlecht and Club Brugge fought until the end for the second place which gives right to a place in the qualifying rounds of the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League. On the penultimate matchday, Anderlecht won against Club Brugge with 2–0 which proved decisive in the end for them to become second.

Belgian First Division

Season	2007–08
Champions	Standard Liège
Relegated	Sint-Truidense Brussels
Champions League	Standard Liège Anderlecht
UEFA Cup	Club Brugge Gent
Matches played	306
Goals scored	795 (2.6 per match)
Top goalscorer	Joseph Akpala Elyaniv Barda Milan Jovanović Mbaye Leye Sanharib Malki (16 each)
← 2006–07 2008–09 →

Clubs

Eighteen teams played in the Belgian First Division season 2007–08. Twelve teams were from Flanders, four clubs from Wallonia and two clubs from the Brussels-Capital Region.

New teams

K.S.K. Beveren had been relegated at the end of the previous season with F. C. Verbroedering Dender E.H. replacing them as they won the Belgian Second Division. Lierse lost their spot during the promotion playoff and were replaced by Y.R. K.V. Mechelen.

Overview

Anderlecht

Brussels

Germinal Beerschot

Club Brugge
Cercle Brugge

Charleroi

Dender

Sint-Truiden

Genk

Gent

Standard

Lokeren

Mechelen

Mons

Mouscron

Roeselare

Zulte Waregem

Westerlo

Location of teams in Belgian First Division 2007–08

Club	Location	Current manager	2007–08 season managers
R.S.C. Anderlecht	Anderlecht	Ariel Jacobs	Franky Vercauteren
K.R.C. Genk	Genk	Ronny Van Geneugden (caretaker)	Hugo Broos
Standard Liège	Liège	Michel Preud'homme	none
K.A.A. Gent	Ghent	Trond Sollied	none
R. Charleroi S.C.	Charleroi	Thierry Siquet	Philippe Van de Walle
Club Brugge	Bruges	Jacky Mathijssen	none
K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot	Antwerp	Harm van Veldhoven	none
K.V.C. Westerlo	Westerlo	Jan Ceulemans	none
R.A.E.C. Mons	Mons	Albert Cartier	José Riga
R.E. Mouscron	Mouscron	Enzo Scifo	Marc Brys, Geert Broeckaert (caretaker)
K.S.V. Roeselare	Roeselare	Dirk Geeraerd	none
Cercle Brugge K.S.V.	Bruges	Glen De Boeck	none
F.C. Molenbeek Brussels Strombeek	Sint-Jans-Molenbeek	Franky Van Der Elst	Albert Cartier, Edy De Bolle (caretaker)
S.V. Zulte-Waregem	Waregem	Francky Dury	none
K. Sint-Truidense V.V.	Sint-Truiden	Dennis Van Wijk	Valère Billen, Peter Voets (caretaker)
K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen	Lokeren	Georges Leekens	none
F. C. Verbroedering Dender E.H.	Denderleeuw	Johan Boskamp	Jean-Pierre Vande Velde, Patrick Asselman (caretaker)
Y.R. K.V. Mechelen	Mechelen	Peter Maes	none

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Replaced by	Date of appointment
Sint-Truiden	Valère Billen	Quit	18 September 2007 [1]	Peter Voets (caretaker)	18 September 2007
Anderlecht	Franky Vercauteren	Mutual consent	12 November 2007 [2]	Ariel Jacobs	12 November 2007
Dender EH	Jean-Pierre Vande Velde	Mutual consent	19 November 2007 [3]	Johan Boskamp	27 November 2007
Charleroi	Philippe Van de Walle	Quit	10 December 2007 [4]	Thierry Siquet	10 December 2007
Sint-Truiden	Peter Voets	Caretaker replaced	10 December 2007 [5]	Dennis Van Wijk	10 December 2007
Mouscron	Marc Brys	Fired	17 December 2007 [6]	Geert Broeckaert (caretaker)	17 December 2007
Brussels	Albert Cartier	Fired	22 December 2007 [7]	Edy De Bolle (caretaker)	22 December 2007
Mouscron	Geert Broeckaert	Caretaker replaced	27 December 2007	Enzo Scifo	27 December 2007 [8]
Brussels	Edy De Bolle	Caretaker replaced	24 January 2008	Franky Van Der Elst	24 January 2008
Mons	José Riga	Fired	27 January 2008 [9]	Albert Cartier	28 January 2008 [10]
Genk	Hugo Broos	Fired	23 February 2008	Ronny Van Geneugden (caretaker)	23 February 2008

Kits

Team	Kit maker	Shirt sponsor	Notes
Anderlecht	Adidas	Fortis
Genk	Airness	Euphony, Carglass and Vasco	Other sponsor: Asap.be
Standard	Umbro	BASE,TNT
Gent	Jako	VDK
Charleroi	Errea	VOO, Champion
Club Brugge	Puma	Dexia
Germinal Beerschot	Legea	Quick
Westerlo	Saller	Willy Naessens Industriebouw	Side sponsors: Sika, Veralu, Gouden Gids, ING, Netex
Mons	Jako	Holcim	Side sponsors: SGI, Foruminvest
Mouscron	Errea	Frinver	Side sponsors: O2XA, Renault Mouscron
Roeselare	Joma	Deceuninck	Side sponsors: Alheembouw, Molecule, Vanheede
Cercle Brugge	Masita	Vacansoleil	Side sponsors: Vaillant, Renault Denoyel, Soncotra, Oud Brugge, The city of Bruges
Brussels	Jartazi	Vermeersch Construct and Kia Motors	Side sponsors: Crefibel, Tonissteiner, Verabel, Alno
Zulte-Waregem	Lotto	BIK Woningen NV	Side sponsors: Nollens Poultry, Stortbeton Declerq, Euphony, Mink, Giks Mode
Sint-Truiden	Umbro	Belisol	Side sponsors: Radson, Start People
Lokeren	Jartazi	Edialux	Side sponsors: DCM, Q-Team-VP-Lambrecht, Start People, vitrine.be, Garage Van Winckel, Van De Walle Industriebouw, Pingy
Dender	Nike	De Doncker, Van Roy
Mechelen	Nike	Telenet	Side sponsors: Veolia Environnement, Krefima, Gybels, United Brands

Stadiums

Team	Stadium	Capacity
Standard	Stade Maurice Dufrasne	30,000
Cercle Brugge	Jan Breydel Stadium	29,415
Club Brugge	Jan Breydel Stadium	29,415
Anderlecht	Constant Vanden Stock Stadium	28,063
Charleroi	Stade du Pays de Charleroi	25,000
Genk	Cristal Arena	24,900
Mechelen	Veolia-Stadion	14,145
Gent	Jules Ottenstadion	12,919
Sint-Truiden	Staaienveld	12,491
Brussels	Edmond Machtens Stadium	12,340
Germinal Beerschot	Olympisch Stadion	12,148
Mouscron	Stade Le Canonnier	11,500
Lokeren	Daknamstadion	10,000
Mons	Stade Charles Tondreau	9,504
Roeselare	Schiervelde Stadion	9,036
Zulte-Waregem	Regenboogstadion	8,500
Westerlo	Het Kuipje	8,200
Dender	Florent Beeckmanstadion	6,800

League standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Standard Liège (C)	34	22	11	1	61	19	+42	77	Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round
2	Anderlecht	34	21	7	6	59	31	+28	70	Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round
3	Club Brugge	34	20	7	7	45	30	+15	67	Qualification to UEFA Cup first round
4	Cercle Brugge	34	17	9	8	62	33	+29	60
5	Germinal Beerschot	34	16	7	11	46	34	+12	55	Qualification to Intertoto Cup second round[11]
6	Gent	34	14	10	10	57	46	+11	52	Qualification to UEFA Cup second qualifying round
7	Zulte Waregem	34	13	8	13	47	54	−7	47
8	Charleroi	34	13	7	14	41	45	−4	46
9	Westerlo	34	12	9	13	43	37	+6	45
10	Genk	34	12	9	13	54	55	−1	45
11	Mouscron	34	12	6	16	38	43	−5	42
12	Lokeren	34	9	15	10	32	33	−1	42
13	Mechelen	34	10	10	14	45	52	−7	40
14	Roeselare	34	9	11	14	36	55	−19	38
15	Dender	34	9	6	19	33	59	−26	33
16	Mons	34	7	12	15	37	45	−8	33
17	Sint-Truiden (R)	34	6	9	19	32	58	−26	27	Relegation to 2008–09 Belgian Second Division
18	Brussels (R)	34	4	7	23	27	66	−39	19

Source: Jupiler League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) number of matches won; if teams are still tied a playoff is organised.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away	AND	GBA	CER	BRU	CHA	DEN	GNK	GNT	LOK	KVM	FCB	MON	MOU	ROE	STA	STV	WES	ZWA
Anderlecht		2–0	3–1	2–0	0–1	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–0	1–0	3–0	3–2	2–1	5–0	0–0	4–1	3–1	2–2
Germinal Beerschot	2–0		3–0	0–1	1–0	1–0	1–2	2–2	1–1	4–3	3–0	2–0	3–0	2–0	1–2	2–1	0–2	0–0
Cercle Brugge	0–0	1–1		1–2	3–1	3–0	5–1	4–1	3–2	2–0	0–0	0–0	3–0	0–0	0–0	5–1	1–0	2–0
Club Brugge	1–0	3–0	1–0		0–2	2–0	2–6	0–0	1–1	2–0	1–0	2–1	1–0	1–0	1–2	3–2	4–0	1–0
Charleroi	0–2	0–0	1–3	1–1		1–0	3–1	1–2	1–0	1–0	1–0	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–3
Dender	2–2	1–2	2–4	1–0	2–4		2–0	0–3	0–1	0–3	1–1	0–3	0–3	2–1	0–0	1–0	2–0	2–1
Genk	1–1	1–3	3–1	1–2	1–0	2–0		3–3	2–3	2–1	2–1	1–2	3–1	0–0	0–2	0–1	1–0	5–2
Gent	2–3	2–1	3–2	0–0	2–1	2–4	5–0		4–2	4–1	1–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–1	1–1
Lokeren	0–0	0–0	1–1	0–1	1–0	1–0	1–1	1–1		3–1	0–1	1–2	0–0	3–0	0–0	2–1	1–1	0–0
Mechelen	0–1	1–2	0–4	1–1	1–0	2–2	2–2	1–0	1–1		4–0	2–0	2–2	4–3	0–1	2–3	1–0	2–1
Brussels	2–4	1–2	1–4	1–3	1–2	4–1	0–5	0–2	2–0	2–2		1–1	0–2	0–0	0–1	2–0	0–1	1–2
Mons	1–2	0–0	0–2	0–1	0–0	2–2	1–1	4–0	0–1	1–1	2–1		2–0	1–1	1–1	0–0	1–3	3–0
Mouscron	1–2	1–0	1–0	2–0	3–1	2–1	1–1	1–4	2–0	0–1	1–1	3–1		1–3	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–2
Roeselare	2–2	1–0	0–2	1–2	1–2	3–1	0–0	0–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	4–3	2–1		0–4	2–0	0–2	3–2
Standard Liège	2–0	3–1	4–1	2–1	5–1	3–0	3–1	0–0	1–0	2–2	4–1	2–0	1–0	0–0		2–1	2–1	3–1
Sint-Truiden	4–3	0–3	0–0	1–1	1–3	1–2	1–2	2–1	1–1	0–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–1	0–0		0–2	2–1
Westerlo	0–2	1–2	1–1	0–0	1–0	0–0	2–1	2–0	1–2	1–1	7–2	0–0	0–2	6–0	1–3	2–0		1–1
Zulte Waregem	1–0	2–1	0–3	2–3	2–2	1–2	2–2	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–0	2–1	2–1	3–1	1–4	3–2	1–0

Source: Jupiler League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Scoring

• First goal of the season: Marcin Wasilewski for Anderlecht against Mechelen (3 August 2007)
• Widest winning margin: 6: Westerlo 6–0 Roeselare (20 October 2007)
• Most goals in a match: 9: Westerlo 7–2 Brussels (19 January 2008)
• Best offensive team: Cercle Brugge with 62 goals.
• Best defensive team: Standard Liège with 19 goals.
• Hattricks scored:
  • Milan Jovanović for Standard Liège against Brussels (11 August 2007)
  • Milan Jovanović for Standard Liège against Roeselare (25 August 2007)
  • Joseph Akpala for Charleroi against Sint-Truiden (26 August 2007)
  • Bertin Tomou for Mouscron against Dender EH (27 October 2007)
  • Bryan Ruiz for Gent against Lokeren (8 December 2007)
  • Elyaniv Barda for Genk against Zulte-Waregem (14 December 2007)
  • Bart Van Den Eede for Westerlo against Brussels (19 January 2008)
  • Joseph Akpala for Charleroi against Genk (12 April 2008)
  • Nicolás Frutos for Anderlecht against Sint-Truiden (26 April 2008)

Cards

• First yellow card: Nicolas Pareja for Anderlecht against Mechelen (3 August 2007)
• First red card: Wim Mennes for Westerlo against Brussels (4 August 2007)

Top goal scorers

As of May 6, 2008:

	Player	Team	Goals
1	Joseph Akpala (NGA)	Charleroi	16
=	Elyaniv Barda (ISR)	Genk	16
=	Milan Jovanović (SRB)	Standard Liège	16
=	Mbaye Leye (SEN)	Zulte Waregem	16
=	Sanharib Malki (SYR)	Germinal Beerschot	16
6	Dieumerci Mbokani (COD)	Standard Liège	15
7	Mahamadou Dissa (MLI)	Roeselare	14
8	Aloys Nong (CMR)	YR KV Mechelen	13
9	Dominic Foley (IRL)	Gent	11
=	Bryan Ruiz (CRI)	Gent	11
=	François Sterchele (BEL) †	Club Brugge	11
=	Bertin Tomou (CMR)	Mouscron	11

† François Sterchele died on May 8, 2008, in a car crash and thus did not complete the full season.^[12]