Union Saint-Gilloise rewrites history: wins Belgian cup after 110 years

Brussels – C’est l’Union qui sourit! Again. Finally. After 110 years, Union Saint-Gilloise won the Belgian Cup, the first trophy in 89 years for a team that became great again and dreams big. Writing his name in history is, above all, Japan’s Koki Machida, the man who decides it all. It was his goal in the first minute of stoppage time to allow the yellow-blue Saint Gilles to rewrite the pages of history and the rankings of national soccer. 1-0 against title-holder Antwerp, just enough to win the game and get the party started: a big party that lasted all day.

The celebration was on the field first and then under the stand, in the setting of King Baudouin Stadium, and later in the streets. The fans returned ‘home,’ first to the Parvis in Saint-Gilles, and then gathered in front of the town hall. There, they waited for the players to appear and lift the cup to the sky again amid yellow and blue smoke bombs and fireworks. And then choirs, chants, colorful and painted faces, flags around their necks like capes. Cars honked through the city streets. It is the third Belgium Cup in the club’s history and a symbol of rebirth.

The match, in itself, was not particularly exciting. There were few opportunities, lots of ball possession, and control of the opponent. Dynamics that may be typical of a final, which for Union Saint-Gilloise is the culmination of a journey that began five years ago when English businessman Tony Bloom decided to buy the club. At the time, the Brussels-based team was in the lower league, struggling not to be relegated to the third division. With the change of ownership, the gradual rebirth began: in 2021, they returned to the top league after a 48-year absence, and since then, three years at the top. USG always won the regular season but never won the title because of the play-off championship formula.

It was a well-deserved title that helped bring everyone together after a championship that saw the elimination of Anderlecht first and then of Brugge. In the background, the plans of the club to build a new more modern stadium capable of hosting European matches for which UEFA today does not grant licenses, and statements that some of the fans did not digest well. “If I had to choose between the new stadium and winning the cup or championship, I would immediately choose the stadium, 100 percent,” said President Alex Muzio, who, barring from statements that not everyone appreciates, enjoys the trophy and ‘gives’ it to his fans.