2008–09 Belgian First Division

The 2008–09 season of the Belgian First Division (also known as Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons) was the 106th season of top-tier football in Belgium. The regular season began on 16 August 2008 and ended on 16 May 2009. Standard Liège were the defending champions.

Jupiler Pro League
Season2008–09
ChampionsStandard Liège
RelegatedDender
Tubize
Mons
Champions LeagueStandard Liège
Anderlecht
Europa LeagueClub Brugge
Gent
Genk
Matches played306
Goals scored855 (2.79 per match)
Top goalscorerJaime Alfonso Ruiz (17 goals)

On 19 April 2009, Mons were relegated after Dender beat Roeselare 3–1 and made it mathematically impossible for Mons to climb into 16th position or higher. Tubize were relegated on 3 May 2009 after a 1–1 draw at home to Anderlecht.

The 2008–09 champions were decided in a playoff because Standard and Anderlecht finished the regular season equal on points and number of wins. Standard won the playoff by 2–1 on aggregate and thereby retained the title.

Location of teams in Belgian First Division 2008–09

Participating teams

The league consisted of 18 teams, the best 16 teams from last season and two promoted teams from the Second Division.

The number of participants was reduced to 16 teams the season after, hence relegation was increased from two to three or four teams.

Team changes from the previous season

Sint-Truidense and Brussels were relegated to the Second Division at the end of the previous season after finishing in the last two places. They were replaced by Second Division champions Kortrijk and promotion playoff winners Tubize.

Overview
Club Location Current manager Team captain Stadium Capacity
Standard Liège Liège László Bölöni Steven Defour Stade Maurice Dufrasne 30,000
R.S.C. Anderlecht Anderlecht Ariel Jacobs Olivier Deschacht Constant Vanden Stock Stadium 28,063
Club Brugge KV Bruges Jacky Mathijssen Philippe Clement Jan Breydel Stadium 29,415
Cercle Brugge K.S.V. Bruges Glen De Boeck Denis Viane Jan Breydel Stadium 29,415
K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot Antwerp Aimé Anthuenis Daniel Cruz Olympisch Stadion 12,148
K.A.A. Gent Ghent Michel Preud'homme Bryan Ruiz Jules Ottenstadion 12,919
S.V. Zulte Waregem Waregem Francky Dury Ludwin Van Nieuwenhuyze Regenboogstadion 8,500
R. Charleroi S.C. Charleroi John Collins Frank Defays Stade du Pays de Charleroi 25,000
K.V.C. Westerlo Westerlo Jan Ceulemans Jef Delen Het Kuipje 8,200
K.R.C. Genk Genk Pierre Denier and Hans Visser (caretakers) Hans Cornelis Cristal Arena 24,900
R.E. Mouscron Mouscron Enzo Scifo Gonzague van Dooren Stade Le Canonnier 11,500
K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen Lokeren Aleksandar Janković Olivier Doll Daknamstadion 10,000
KV Mechelen Mechelen Peter Maes Jonas Ivens Veolia-Stadion 14,145
K.S.V. Roeselare Roeselare Dennis Van Wijk Stefaan Tanghe Schiervelde Stadion 9,036
F.C. Verbroedering Dender E.H. Denderleeuw Johan Boskamp Steven de Petter Florent Beeckmanstadion 6,800
R.A.E.C. Mons Mons Christophe Dessy (caretaker) Roberto Mirri Stade Charles Tondreau 9,504
K.V. Kortrijk Kortrijk Hein Vanhaezebrouck Stéphane Demets Guldensporen Stadion 8,770
A.F.C. Tubize Tubize Albert Cartier Gregory Neels Stade Leburton 4,000

During summer break
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Mons Albert Cartier Mutual consent 11 May 2008 [1] Philippe Saint-Jean 6 June 2008 [2] Pre-Season
Gent Trond Sollied Resigned 18 May 2008 [3][4] Michel Preud'homme 27 May 2008 [5] Pre-Season
Standard Liège Michel Preud'homme End of contract 26 May 2008 [6] László Bölöni 9 June 2008 [7] Pre-Season
Tubize Philippe Saint-Jean Resigned 6 June 2008 [2] Albert Cartier 14 June 2008 [8] Pre-Season

During the season
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Mons Philippe Saint-Jean Resigned 21 August 2008 [9] Thierry Pister (caretaker) 21 August 2008 [9] 18th
Roeselare Dirk Geeraerd Sacked 26 October 2008 [10] Dennis van Wijk 29 October 2008 [11] 18th
Germinal Beerschot Harm van Veldhoven Resigned 13 November 2008 [12] Aimé Anthuenis 14 November 2008 [13] 16th
Mons Thierry Pister (caretaker) Sacked 4 December 2008 [14] Christophe Dessy (caretaker) 4 December 2008 [14] 15th
Charleroi Thierry Siquet Sacked 15 December 2008 [15] John Collins 15 December 2008 [15] 11th
Genk Ronny Van Geneugden Resigned 5 March 2009 [16] Pierre Denier and Hans Visser (caretakers) 5 March 2009 [16] 4th
Lokeren Georges Leekens Resigned 31 March 2009 [17] Aleksandar Janković 6 April 2009 [18] 7th

League standings

Final table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Standard Liège (C) 34 24 5 5 66 26 +40 77[lower-alpha 1] Qualification to Champions League group stage
2 Anderlecht 34 24 5 5 75 30 +45 77[lower-alpha 1] Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round
3 Club Brugge 34 18 5 11 59 50 +9 59 Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round
4 Gent 34 17 8 9 67 42 +25 59 Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round
5 Zulte Waregem 34 16 7 11 55 36 +19 55
6 Westerlo 34 15 7 12 42 38 +4 52
7 Lokeren 34 13 12 9 40 32 +8 51
8 Genk 34 15 5 14 48 51 −3 50 Qualification to Europa League play-off round[lower-alpha 2]
9 Cercle Brugge 34 14 5 15 48 53 −5 47
10 Mechelen 34 12 10 12 46 52 −6 46
11 Mouscron 34 12 8 14 42 49 −7 44
12 Charleroi 34 12 7 15 43 48 −5 43
13 Germinal Beerschot 34 11 9 14 44 42 +2 42
14 Kortrijk 34 9 11 14 37 55 −18 38
15 Dender (R) 34 9 8 17 44 58 −14 35 Qualification to the Relegation play-offs
16 Roeselare (O) 34 8 6 20 33 59 −26 30
17 Tubize (R) 34 7 6 21 35 77 −42 27 Relegation to 2009–10 Belgian Second Division
18 Mons (R) 34 3 10 21 31 57 −26 19
Source: soccerway.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) number of matches won; if teams are still tied a playoff is organised.
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. The championship was decided in a playoff (see below).
  2. Genk qualified for the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League by winning the 2008–09 Belgian Cup.

Championship playoff

Since Anderlecht and Standard were tied on both points and wins, a two-legged playoff was played in order to determine the league champions. Standard won the playoff 2–1 on aggregate and were crowned champions.

Anderlecht1 – 1Standard
Legear  52' Report
(in Dutch)		 Mbokani  60'
Referee: Johan Verbist
Standard1 – 0Anderlecht
Witsel  40' (pen.) Report
(in Dutch)
Referee: Paul Allaerts

Positions by matchday

Note: The classification was made after the weekend of each matchday, so postponed matches were only processed at the time they were played to represent the real evolution in standings. These postponed matches are:

  • Matchday 1: Mechelen vs. Club Brugge (played between 4th and 5th matchday)
  • Matchday 2: Club Brugge vs. Zulte-Waregem (played between 8th and 9th matchday)
  • Matchday 13: Kortrijk vs. Zulte-Waregem (played between 16th and 17th matchday)
  • Matchday 19: Gent vs. Anderlecht (played between 22nd and 23rd matchday)
Team ╲ Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334
Standard Liège3143212124222332221111222122222221
Anderlecht2422121332343211112222111211111112
Club Brugge12151010443211111123333333333333333343
Gent13247810875679791010911878975555444434
Zulte Waregem10117111511121091011111111109911101086556787757855
Westerlo58566106666435555656655667666676566
Lokeren10568579788886866877799898878888677
Genk81385855553564444464444444444565788
Cercle Brugge171812131012811121199898754556778911121211991199
Mechelen1216171714911131515151616161513131414141313131211101110101111101110
Mouscron42113345477576787889101010111212999101091011
Charleroi15711711141412119101010101112121212131414141414141313131313131312
Germinal Beerschot81015812151515161616171717161715131312121212101091011121212121213
Kortrijk669129679101212131313121111109111111111313131414141514141514
Dender16131615121616161514141212121414161717161616161515151516161415151415
Roeselare6121416171718181817181818181818181818181818171716161615151616161616
Tubize14171818181817171718171515141715171515151515151617171717171717171717
Mons1891314161313141413131414151316141616171717181818181818181818181818
Source: soccerassociation.com

Results
Home \ Away AND CER CHA BRU DEN GNK GNT GBA KVK LOK KVM MON MOU ROE STA TUB WES ZWA
Anderlecht 1–2 2–0 1–0 4–0 2–0 2–2 2–0 4–0 2–3 7–1 3–2 2–1 3–1 4–2 5–1 2–0 2–0
Cercle Brugge 0–3 2–2 1–3 1–2 1–2 3–1 1–0 0–1 0–0 2–1 2–1 0–1 4–3 4–1 4–1 2–1 2–0
Charleroi 0–1 3–2 2–2 2–0 3–0 2–5 0–0 1–2 1–1 1–2 3–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 3–2 1–2 1–0
Club Brugge 1–1 3–1 2–1 1–1 0–2 1–4 3–0 4–1 2–3 3–0 3–2 4–1 2–1 1–4 3–1 2–0 2–0
Dender 0–2 1–0 1–2 0–2 2–4 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–2 0–0 1–2 3–1 1–3 4–0 2–2 2–0
Genk 0–2 3–2 1–0 0–1 4–3 2–2 1–1 0–1 1–0 2–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 0–0 3–0 1–4 1–2
Gent 1–2 2–1 2–0 3–0 1–1 2–3 1–3 1–1 1–1 1–2 5–0 2–0 4–0 0–1 2–0 2–0 1–0
Germinal Beerschot 1–3 1–1 1–2 2–0 1–1 4–1 2–2 3–0 0–2 3–1 2–0 3–0 3–0 1–3 2–0 2–1 1–2
Kortrijk 1–3 2–1 1–1 2–3 1–2 3–1 0–2 0–0 2–3 0–0 1–0 2–2 2–1 0–2 2–2 0–0 1–0
Lokeren 0–0 1–1 0–0 2–0 0–2 1–2 0–1 1–0 2–0 2–2 0–0 3–0 2–1 1–1 4–1 1–1 2–1
Mechelen 2–1 0–1 2–1 1–1 4–1 2–1 3–3 2–1 1–1 3–0 0–0 2–2 1–2 0–0 0–0 1–3 0–2
Mons 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–2 5–2 3–1 1–2 0–0 1–1 0–2 0–1 0–0 2–0 0–1 1–1 0–2 2–2
Mouscron 1–1 0–1 2–1 5–1 0–2 1–2 4–2 3–1 1–0 2–0 3–1 3–2 2–0 0–3 1–1 0–0 0–2
Roeselare 0–3 1–2 3–1 0–1 2–2 1–0 1–3 2–2 2–2 0–1 1–0 3–2 2–0 1–1 1–2 1–0 0–3
Standard Liège 2–1 4–0 1–2 2–0 3–2 2–0 2–1 3–1 2–0 1–0 4–1 2–1 3–1 3–0 4–0 3–0 1–2
Tubize 1–1 3–0 3–1 1–4 2–1 1–3 0–1 1–0 3–3 2–1 1–5 2–1 1–2 0–1 0–1 1–2 0–6
Westerlo 0–1 1–2 1–0 1–1 3–1 1–0 3–2 1–0 1–3 1–0 0–1 2–1 0–0 1–0 0–1 4–1 3–2
Zulte Waregem 4–0 3–1 4–2 3–1 1–0 1–3 0–2 2–2 5–1 0–0 1–1 3–0 2–1 0–0 0–0 1–0 1–1
Source: soccerway.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Scoring

Cards

Goalscorers

Sources: soccerway.com, sport.be (in Dutch)

17 goals (1 player)
16 goals (2 players)
15 goals (1 player)
14 goals (3 players)
13 goals (2 players)
12 goals (5 players)
11 goals (2 players)
10 goals (1 player)
9 goals (4 players)
8 goals (8 players)
7 goals (7 players)
6 goals (9 players)
5 goals (14 players)
4 goals (22 players)
3 goals (37 players)
2 goals (33 players)
1 goal (77 players)
Own goals (17 players, 18 goals)

See also

References
  1. "Albert Cartier : délai de réflexion supplémentaire" (in French). raec-mons.be. 2008-05-11.
  2. "Philippe Saint-Jean nommé entraîneur" (in French). raec-mons.be. 2008-06-06.
  3. "Sollied: "Ik wil AA Gent nog een prijs bezorgen"" (in Dutch). hln.be. 2008-03-25.
  4. "Trond Sollied nieuwe coach Heerenveen" (in Dutch). knack.be. 2008-03-25. Archived from the original on 2008-03-29. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
  5. "Michel Preud'homme nieuwe coach KAA Gent" (in Dutch). kaagent.be. 2008-05-27.
  6. "Michel PREUD'HOMME" (in Dutch). standard.be. 2008-05-26.
  7. "Laszlo Bölöni" (in Dutch). standard.be. 2008-06-09.
  8. "Cartier wordt trainer Tubeke" (in Dutch). sport.be. 2008-06-14.
  9. "Saint-Jean stapt op bij Bergen" (in Dutch). sport.be. 2008-08-21.
  10. "Roeselare ontslaat Geeraerd" (in Dutch). sport.be. 2008-10-26.
  11. "Roeselare akkoord met Van Wijk" (in Dutch). sport.be. 2008-10-29.
  12. "Van Veldhoven gooit de handdoek" (in Dutch). sport.be. 2008-11-13.
  13. "Anthuenis moet Ratten redden" (in Dutch). sport.be. 2008-11-14.
  14. "Pister weg bij Bergen" (in Dutch). sport.be. 2008-12-04.
  15. "Schot moet Zebra's temmen" (in Dutch). sport.be. 2008-12-15.
  16. "Van Geneugden houdt de eer aan zichzelf" (in Dutch). sport.be. 2009-03-05.
  17. "Leekens kiest voor oliedollars" (in Dutch). sport.be. 2009-03-31.
  18. "Jankovic-tijdperk begint dinsdag in Lokeren" (in Dutch). sport.be. 2009-03-31.
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