Football Season Guide

Eupen had a pretty meandering last season in which they pulled off a few decent wins against top teams but also struggled to stay motivated in the second half of the season and barely put in an effort in the play-offs. Claude Makelele managed to create a good structure but did not show enough commitment to attacking football and was eventually let go by the club at the end of the season. In comes a new manager in Spaniard Benat San Jose, who last worked in UAE, and was previously a youth coach at Real Sociedad. A few important players have left this summer in the young centre-back Rocky Bushiri, who has been a standout over the last two years, in lively winger Mamadou Fall and full-back Alessio Castro-Montes, who blossomed from a squad player into one of the most consistent performers over the last nine months or so. In midfield, the team lost inspirational skipper Luis Garcia but retaining on-loan defensive midfielder Suleyman Marreh is a good piece of business. Jens Cools is also part of the squad after returning to Belgium after a spell in Cyprus and he is an assured and dependable player who should be a starter. There have been some intriguing additions to the squad, it has to be said, in experienced former German international Andreas Beck and the Argentinian veteran forward Flavio Ciampichetti. However, some more additions will be needed for the squad to have a more competitive look and be able to stay clear of danger.