Football Season Guide

Antwerp are the sole newcomers in the Belgian First Division A this season and certainly face an exciting challenge in their bid to establish themselves among the elite, given that they are one of the historically big clubs in the country, in what is their first top-flight campaign since 2004. However, their close season has been characterised by some strange decisions at board level, none more than the choice to relegate title-winning manager Wim de Decker to a position of an assistant this campaign. While he may lack experience and will look to learn from Laszlo Boloni, who took over the team just a month ago, the mood around the squad would have hardly been aided by that decision. Antwerp's squad looks somewhat lightweight and lacking in depth ahead of the big kick-off as they certainly punched above their weight in winning promotion last season so will find the new division quite a steep challenge. The good thing for "The Great Old" is that all their key players, most notably Tuur Dierckx, Faris Haroun and Frederic Duplus, have been retained so there is a good base to build around from there. Ivo Rodrigues, on loan from Porto, is a decent addition in the wide areas while Sinan Bolat has good pedigree but has fallen off badly in recent seasons, even if he should be the regular goalie. The other new additions do not look too reassuring so far and even Boloni admitted that his team is far from ready for the season ahead and a relegation struggle is on the cards.