Champions League team guide: Club Brugge in the spotlight

Club Brugge finished the regular season with a comfortable lead at the top of the Belgian First Division A — 16 points ahead of Antwerp in second.

That gave the Blauw-Zwart a huge advantage going into the play-off stage, where the top four teams play each other twice before points from those games are added to half of the clubs' tallies in the regular season.

FCB ultimately needed that head start as they won just one of their six play-off matches to finish level with Genk.

The results in the regular season were used to separate the teams, meaning Club Brugge were crowned Belgian champions for the 17th time in their history.

Club Brugge's Champions League group

Group A: Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, RB Leipzig, Club Brugge

European history

Back in 1977-78, Club Brugge went all the way to the European Cup final — beating the likes of Panathinaikos, Atletico Madrid and Juventus along the way.

But they lost 1-0 at the last hurdle against Liverpool, with Kenny Dalglish scoring the winning goal.

They had also reached the final of the UEFA Cup two years earlier in 1976 but again Liverpool stopped them achieving continental glory.

Things have been less successful in recent seasons — since the creation of the Champions League, Brugge have not managed to make the knockout stages.

Last season they finished third in Group F, beating Zenit Saint Petersburg twice and getting two draws against Lazio.

FCB dropped down into the Europa League as a result but lost in the round of 32 to Dynamo Kyiv.

Expectations

The Blauw-Zwart have finished third in their Champions League group in each of the last three seasons.

In that time, they have managed three wins and eight draws, so they certainly should not be taken lightly.

The eight points they picked up last season was their joint-highest points total in Europe’s top competition.

Club Brugge will be hoping to go one step further this season but another third-place finish would represent a respectable outcome for Philippe Clement’s side.

Star man: Noa Lang

Noa Lang only joined Club Brugge permanently this summer but there has already been plenty of speculation over a possible move to the Premier League.

The 22-year-old winger has been putting in performances that will make many wonder why Ajax let him leave the Johan Cruyff Arena.

Club Brugge loaned him from the Dutch side last season with an obligation to buy, and he paid them back with 16 goals and seven assists in 29 league games.

The Netherlands Under-21s international was also named Young Footballer of the Year in Belgium.

One to watch: Charles De Ketelaere

Charles De Ketelaere was named Belgian Promising Talent of the Year in 2020 but as a child he showed just as much promise as a tennis prodigy.

Since choosing the football pitch over the court, the 20-year-old has already played over 50 times for Club Brugge and made his debut for the Belgium national team against Switzerland in November 2020.

He has also shown his Champions League pedigree, scoring a last-minute winner against Zenit St Petersburg in the first group stage match of last year’s campaign.

Versatile enough to play all over the pitch, De Ketelaere operated as a centre-forward for most of last season but also played in every midfield position and even spent one match as a left-back.

The boss: Philippe Clement

Clement joined Club Brugge in 2019 and he has won the league in both of his two seasons at the club.

He also won the First Division A before joining FCB as manager of Genk in the 2018-19 season.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, he was named Belgian Manager of the Year after that successful year at the Luminus Arena.

Clement spent most of his playing career with Brugge and also worked at the club as a scout and assistant manager before beginning his managerial career at Waasland-Beveren.

When he returned to Club Brugge as manager, he hit the ground running — starting life in West Flanders with a 17-game unbeaten run, which only ended when they faced Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

All information correct as of 10am, September 14, 2021