Football Season Guide

A nightmare start to last season saw Head Coach Yves Vanderhaeghe sacked in November. The appointment of his successor Dominik Thalhammer brought about a remarkable turnaround in results which saw Cercle flirt with achieving a top eight place before they eventually finished 10th. The close season has been relatively quiet so far. The major departure has been that of pacey winger Matondo after his loan deal from Schalke came to an end. They have made some exciting acquisitions, winger Kehrer has represented Germany at youth level while Japanese striker Ueda has been a regular scorer in the J League in recent seasons. Full-back Miangue has been signed permanently after being a regular starter during a loan spell last season. Apart from the loss of Matondo, they have so far managed to hold onto their key assets from last season such as central defender Daland and dependable midfielders Lopes and Van Der Bruggen. Scoring goals was an area where they struggled last season with Matondo their top scorer with nine. They will hope that the signings of Kehrer and Ueda can make them more potent up front. With the impressive impact of Thalhammer last season, a settled squad and some exciting acquisitions, Cercle should be looking to improve on their showing from last season.