Football Season Guide

Waasland-Beveren are having a significantly different summer compared to recent years and for once the squad remained literally unchanged as no major departures were registered. The main change was that at the helm, with coach Čedomir Janevski resigning and Philippe Clement taking charge. The new gaffer was pleased to see pretty much all of his main players pledging loyalty and staying, a striking difference to the average departure of 18 players for the past three summers. Clement was also delighted to be given a small transfer budget which he spent on a new Japanese playmaker. Ryota Morioka’s arrival will almost certainly see him playing a key role for the Lions and as he is also expected to generate a decent profit from the sale of merchandise back in his home country. The only two regulars that are no longer in the squad returned to their parent clubs but both Laszlo Köteles and Steeven Langil expressed their desire to re-join the Lions this season too and this might easily happen in the next few weeks. Van Damme is also a highly rated midfielder that arrived for free and, despite the fact that he will continue serving a doping ban until December late in the season, he is expected to play an important role. Waasland’s goal once again is to finish in the middle of the table and solid results against direct rivals, plus decent home record, are the primary goals. The Lions tend to be a bit passive in most of their games but, with the signing of Morioka, this might change as the Japanese is an attacking midfielder that likes having the ball at feet while pushing the tempo up. Last season, Waasland stunned several of the favourites on their way, they achieved wins both against Anderlecht and Club Brugge, and they can definitely be very uncomfortable to play against when things are solid defensively.