Soccer-Ghent "Buffalos" on verge of first Belgian title

May 20, 2015 10:32 AM

By Philip Blenkinsop

BRUSSELS, May 20 (Reuters) - KAA Ghent are a victory away from winning their first Belgian championship and in doing so will break the 17-year stranglehold of the league's traditional top four.

Ghent, who have won three Belgian Cups and reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1992, are bearing the fruit of a move two years ago to Belgium's newest stadium and an overhaul of coaches and players at the start of the season.

The club, nicknamed the Buffalos, are four points clear of Anderlecht and five above Club Bruges with two matches left - hosting Standard Liege on Thursday and travelling to Anderlecht on Sunday.

Winning just one of those two matches would enable Ghent to end 17 years of dominance by Anderlecht, Bruges, Standard and Racing Genk.

Ghent, who have twice finished second in the league, were struggling under debt of more than 20 million euros ($22 million) in the late 1990s, but managed to cut that to zero by 2012, partly due to player sales.

That lay the foundation for the club's rise to the top. So too did Ghent's move two years ago from a 13,000-seater stadium to the sleek multi-purpose 20,000 capacity Ghelamco Arena, the first new build Belgian soccer stadium in almost 40 years.

The solid finances, helped by frequently sold-out home games, did not immediately reap rewards as Ghent missed out for a second consecutive time on the championship play-offs.

Hein Vanhaezebrouck's arrival as coach from nearby Kortrijk at the start of this season prompted a total overhaul of the squad. Out went established names, such as Central African Republic striker Habib Habibou to French side Stade Rennes.

In came lesser known names and youth, who have steadily improved as the season progressed. In 2015, they have lost just once in the league, rounding off the regular season with a first win in four matches against Anderlecht, champions for the past three seasons.

"Beating Club Bruges at home then Anderlecht away was a great mental boost. They had a couple of weeks training in Spain with that good feeling they came out firing again for the playoffs," said Michael Van Damme, sports journalist for Belgian daily Nieuwsblad.

Last weekend, they also ended Club Bruges' unbeaten home record to extend their playoff lead.

The goal tallies of Belgian forwards Laurent Depoitre and 20-year-old Benito Raman and Swiss midfielder Danijel Milicevic are all in double figures, while 19-year-old Nigerian Moses Simon has scored eight since arriving in January.

"They play a dominant, attacking style with a 3-5-2 system with a number of potential scorers. Most teams in Belgium play a 4-3-3," said Van Damme.

Depoitre is on the shortlist for the player of the season, to be announced on Friday. Together with the league title, it would mark a domestic double after his girlfriend won the Golden Pump awarded to the best-looking wife or partner in January. ($1 = 0.8992 euros) (Editing by Pritha Sarkar)