On Thursday afternoon, Cercle won a friendly against Virton 4-1. Hotic, Vanhoutte, Braem and Velkovski scored for the Groen-Zwart.
Just before kick-off, Dino Hotic was awarded the Pop-poll by a delegation from the supporters' association d'Echte, having been named the player of the season.
And the player of the season was immediately into the fray: after Cercle took control of the game, there were quickly chances for Denkey and Utkus. But it was Hotic who cut in from the right and kicked the ball into the roof of the net, making it 1-0 for Cercle. The Groen-Zwart was clearly the better team and created even more chances, but attempts by Denkey and Van Der Bruggen, among others, failed to find the target. At the other end, Virton were dangerous from a corner, but an attentive Warleson prevented a goal. Cercle and Virton headed in from halftime with the score 1-0.
At the start of the second half, Cercle immediately were looking for more goals. This happened fairly quickly when Vanhoutte popped up at the far post and was able to turn in a cross from Decostere, making it 2-0. Cercle really had things under control, but still would concede a goal to Virton, after Axel Vitris curled the ball nicely past Langenbick into goal, 2-1.
It was no problem, though for Cercle and substitute Stan Braem, who has been trialling at Cercle in recent weeks. In his debut match for Cercle, he immediately found the net. On a cross from Velkovsky, Braem was in the right place to make it 3-1. 4-1 was the final score, when a deflected free kick by Velkovsky ended up in the back of the net.
It was thus a nice victory to deliver a good end to a great season for Cercle. On Friday the players and staff members will be on break until the beginning of June.
Cercle Brugge: Warleson (Langenbick 60’), Vitinho (Decostere 46’), Utkus (Ravych 60’), Daland ( Popovic 60'), Miangue (Corryn 60’), Lopes Da Silva (Smets 60’), Van Der Bruggen (Velkovski 46’), Vanhoutte ( Martlé 60’), Hotic (Kanouté 46’), Denkey (Braem 60’) & Sampers (Ganvoula 60’)
Goals: Hotic (1-0), Vanhoutte (2-0), Vitris (2-1), Braem, 3-1 and Velkovski (4-1)
After a good holiday, 5 Cercle players are on international duty starting next week. Nations League football is on the schedule for Utkus (Lithuania), Matondo (Wales) and Hotic (Bosnia), while Denkey will be in action in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Qualifying matches are also on the agenda for for Daland as the U21s of Norway will try to qualify for the European Championship. An overview:
The entire Cercle family wishes a happy birthday to Aske Sampers (21)!
Happy Birthday, Robbe!
An exclusive Cercle interview with Oleg Petrov and Paul Mitchell appeared on Goal.com's website on Friday. In the conversation, which was held on April 20, Petrov and Mitchell talk about Cercle Brugge's sporting strategy, the team's good season as well as the future.
Goal.com is the largest online football publication in the world. Cercle's impressive season in various areas has prompted them to focus on our team. Cercle was not only the youngest team in Europe last season, bu the Groen-Zwart were also able to deliver some of the best physical output in Belgium, evolving into the best pressing team in the country.
AS Monaco has been the main shareholder of Cercle Brugge for 5 years this month. After promotion to the top flight in 2018, the Groen-Zwart finished 10th in the Jupiler Pro League this season, their best position in more than 10 years. “It has taken time to set up our structure, to get the right players and to position ourselves in a sporting sense, but I am very happy with what is happening,” said Oleg Petrov, CEO of Cercle Brugge.
Paul Mitchell, AS Monaco sporting director: “Between Monaco and Bruges, we want to modernize and develop the strategy that exists between the two teams, but at the same time give Cercle the opportunity to move forward. We definitely want to be a dynamic and challenging team that generates enthusiasm among our fans.”
