2014–15 Belgian Pro League

The 2014–15 season of the Belgian Pro League (known as the Jupiler Pro League for sponsorship reasons) is the 112th season of top-tier football in Belgium. It started on 27 July 2014 and finished in May 2015. K.A.A. Gent won the league, making it the first championship title in their 115-year history.[5]

Jupiler Pro League
Season2014–15
ChampionsK.A.A. Gent
1st league title
RelegatedLierse
Cercle Brugge
Champions LeagueGent
Club Brugge
Europa LeagueAnderlecht
Standard Liège
Charleroi
Matches played296
Goals scored848 (2.86 per match)
Top goalscorerAleksandar Mitrović (20 goals)
Biggest home winCharleroi 6–0 Lierse (regular season)
K.R.C. Genk 7–1 Waasland-Beveren (UEL play-offs)
Biggest away winLierse 0–6 Club Brugge
Highest scoringStandard Liège 3–5 Oostende
Longest winning run5 games[1]
Kortrijk
Longest unbeaten run19 games[2]
Club Brugge
Longest winless run13 games[3]
LierseS.K.
Longest losing run10 games[4]
Royal Mouscron-Péruwelz

Teams

Following the 2013–14 Belgian Pro League, R.A.E.C. Mons were relegated to the 2014–15 Belgian Second Division after losing their relegation playoff series against OH Leuven. Mons is replaced by 2013–14 Belgian Second Division champions K.V.C. Westerlo, who returned to the highest level after their relegation during the 2011–12 season.

Mouscron-Péruwelz replaces OH Leuven as they won the 2014 Belgian Second Division Final Round head of K.A.S. Eupen, Sint-TruidenV.V. and OH Leuven.

Stadia and locations
Location of the 2014–15 Belgian Pro League teams
Club Location Venue Capacity
Anderlecht Anderlecht Constant Vanden Stock Stadium 21,000
Cercle Brugge Brugge Jan Breydel Stadium 29,945
Charleroi Charleroi Stade du Pays de Charleroi 25,000
Club Brugge Brugge Jan Breydel Stadium 29,945
K.R.C. Genk Genk Cristal Arena 24,900
K.A.A. Gent Ghent Ghelamco Arena 20,000
Kortrijk Kortrijk Guldensporen Stadion 9,500
Lierse Lier Herman Vanderpoortenstadion 14,538
Lokeren Lokeren Daknamstadion 10,000
Mechelen Mechelen Argosstadion Achter de Kazerne 13,123
Mouscron-Péruwelz Mouscron Stade Le Canonnier 10,800
Oostende Ostend Albertpark 8,125
Standard Liège Liège Stade Maurice Dufrasne 30,000
Waasland-Beveren Beveren Freethiel Stadion 13,290
Westerlo Westerlo Het Kuipje 7,982
Zulte Waregem Waregem Regenboogstadion 8,500

Personnel and kits
Club Chairman Manager Manufacturer Sponsors
Anderlecht Roger Vanden Stock Besnik Hasi adidas BNP Paribas Fortis
Cercle Brugge Paul Vanhaecke Dennis van Wijk Masita ADMB
Charleroi Fabien Debecq Felice Mazzu Maps belgacom
Club Brugge Bart Verhaeghe Michel Preud'homme Nike proximus
Genk Herbert Houben Alex McLeish Nike beobank
Gent Michel Louwagie Hein Vanhaezebrouck Masita/Jartazi VDK
Kortrijk Joseph Allijns Yves Vanderhaeghe Jako AGO Jobs
Lierse Maged Samy Olivier Guillou Jako Wadi Degla
Lokeren Roger Lambrecht Peter Maes Jartazi QTeam
Mechelen Johan Timmermans Aleksandar Janković Kappa Telenet
Mouscron-Péruwelz Edward Van Daele Fernando Da Cruz Nike TradeCo
Oostende Marc Coucke Frederik Vanderbiest Joma Versluys
Standard Liège Roland Duchâtelet José Riga Joma BASE
Waasland-Beveren Jozef Van Remoortel Guido Brepoels Jako Remo Frit
Westerlo Herman Wijnants Harm van Veldhoven Saller Soudal
Zulte Waregem Willy Naessens Francky Dury Patrick Record Bank

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position Replaced by Date of appointment
Gent Peter Balette Replaced End of 2013–14 season[6] Pre-season Hein Vanhaezebrouck 5 May 2014[6]
Kortrijk Hein Vanhaezebrouck Signed by Gent End of 2013–14 season[6] Yves Vanderhaeghe 28 May 2014[7]
Mechelen Franky Vercauteren Resigned End of 2013–14 season[8] Aleksandar Janković 8 May 2014[9]
Waasland-Beveren Bob Peeters Resigned End of 2013–14 season[10] Ronny Van Geneugden 28 May 2014[11]
Genk Emilio Ferrera Sacked 29 July 2014[12] 11th Alex McLeish 22 August 2014[13]
Lierse Stanley Menzo Sacked 31 August 2014[14] 16th Slaviša Stojanovič 5 September 2014[15]
Cercle Brugge Lorenzo Staelens Sacked 6 October 2014[16] 14th Arnar Viðarsson 6 October 2014[16]
Standard Liège Guy Luzon Sacked 20 October 2014[17] 11th Ivan Vukomanović[nb 1] 5 November 2014[18]
Mouscron-Péruwelz Rachid Chihab Sacked 29 December 2014[19] 12th Fernando da Cruz 29 December 2014[19]
Waasland-Beveren Ronny Van Geneugden Sacked 30 December 2014[20] 14th Guido Brepoels 5 January 2015[21]
Westerlo Dennis van Wijk Sacked 3 January 2015[22] 13th Harm van Veldhoven 6 January 2015[23]
Lierse Slaviša Stojanovič Resigned 28 January 2015[24] 16th Herman Helleputte 28 January 2015[24]
Lierse Herman Helleputte Resigned 30 January 2015[25] 16th Olivier Guillou 30 January 2015[26]
Standard Liège Ivan Vukomanović Replaced 2 February 2015[27] 5th José Riga 2 February 2015[27]
Cercle Brugge Arnar Viðarsson Sacked 18 March 2015[28] Relegation Playoff, 1st Dennis van Wijk 18 March 2015[28]

Regular season

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Club Brugge 30 17 10 3 69 28 +41 61 Qualification to Championship play-offs
2 Gent 30 16 9 5 52 29 +23 57
3 Anderlecht 30 16 9 5 51 30 +21 57
4 Standard Liège 30 16 5 9 49 39 +10 53
5 Kortrijk 30 16 3 11 54 35 +19 51
6 Charleroi 30 14 7 9 44 31 +13 49
7 Genk 30 13 10 7 38 28 +10 49 Qualification to Europa League play-offs
8 Lokeren 30 10 12 8 38 32 +6 42
9 Mechelen 30 10 11 9 37 39 −2 41
10 Oostende 30 11 5 14 40 52 −12 38
11 Westerlo 30 8 9 13 42 63 −21 33
12 Zulte Waregem 30 8 7 15 41 54 −13 31
13 Mouscron-Péruwelz 30 7 5 18 32 51 −19 26
14 Waasland-Beveren 30 7 5 18 30 49 −19 26
15 Cercle Brugge 30 6 6 18 21 45 −24 24 Qualification to the Relegation play-offs
16 Lierse 30 5 7 18 30 63 −33 22
Source: Belgian Pro League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) number of matches won; if teams are still tied a play-off is organised.

Results
Home \ Away AND CER CHA BRU GNK GNT KVK LIE LOK KVM MOU KVO STA WBE WES ZWA
Anderlecht 3–2 1–0 2–2 0–0 1–2 2–0 3–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 3–0 0–2 1–0 4–0 0–0
Cercle Brugge 0–2 1–0 0–3 0–1 0–0 0–4 1–2 1–0 2–3 2–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–2 2–2
Charleroi 3–1 0–2 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–2 6–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 0–1 2–2 2–3 2–1
Club Brugge 2–2 1–1 1–0 4–1 2–2 5–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 3–0 2–0 3–0 4–2 5–0 2–1
Genk 0–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 3–2 3–0 3–0 0–0 3–0 2–0 1–1 0–2 1–0 3–1 3–2
Gent 0–2 4–0 2–2 2–1 0–0 0–1 2–1 1–1 3–1 1–0 3–1 1–2 4–1 4–0 3–1
Kortrijk 2–3 1–0 0–0 2–0 1–1 2–3 1–0 2–3 3–0 3–0 0–2 2–3 2–1 6–0 3–1
Lierse 2–2 2–1 0–2 0–6 0–2 0–1 0–0 1–1 0–1 2–2 2–0 2–3 1–1 3–3 3–1
Lokeren 1–2 0–0 5–2 1–3 1–1 3–3 1–2 2–0 3–2 1–0 3–1 1–1 3–0 0–0 2–1
Mechelen 1–1 1–1 0–0 3–1 3–1 0–0 1–2 2–1 0–1 1–0 0–0 1–0 2–0 5–2 1–1
Mouscron-Péruwelz 4–2 4–0 0–2 1–4 1–2 1–3 0–3 2–1 2–2 1–1 0–1 5–2 1–0 1–0 0–1
Oostende 0–2 2–0 1–3 2–2 1–1 1–3 1–7 2–1 0–1 2–0 0–0 3–2 4–3 4–0 1–3
Standard Liège 2–0 1–0 3–0 1–3 1–0 0–1 0–2 2–2 2–0 2–0 3–0 3–5 3–2 2–2 1–2[lower-alpha 1]
Waasland-Beveren 0–2 1–0 1–3 0–2 0–1 0–1 1–0 2–0 0–0 2–2 2–1 1–0 0–2 1–1 1–3
Westerlo 2–2 1–0 2–3 1–3 1–2 0–0 2–1 6–1 1–0 1–1 1–3 3–0 1–1 1–2 2–2
Zulte Waregem 0–2 1–2 1–3 1–1 2–0 2–1 2–0 2–3 1–0 2–3 1–1 1–4 1–1 1–4 1–3
Source: Belgian Pro League
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. The match was abandoned after 89 minutes due to Standard Liège supporter violence, with Zulte Waregem at that time leading 1–2. Standard Liège was subsequently given a 0–5 loss and forced to play one match behind closed doors.[29] Standard however objected this ruling and after revision by the Belgian Sportsarbitrage, it was decided that the 1–2 result stood and that Standard was fined €5000. The one match behind closed doors penalty was dropped.[30]

Championship playoff

The points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff. As a result, the teams started with the following points before the playoff: Club Brugge 31 points, Gent 29, Anderlecht 29, Standard 27, Kortrijk 26 and Charleroi 25. Had any ties occurred at the end of the playoffs, the half point would have been deducted if it was added. However, as all six teams received the half point bonus, this did not make a difference this season.

Playoff table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification GNT CLU AND STA CHA KOR
1 Gent (C) 10 6 2 2 18 11 +7 49 Qualification to Champions League group stage — 2–2 2–1 2–0 1–1 2–0
2 Club Brugge 10 5 1 4 16 16 0 47 Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round 2–3 — 2–1 2–1 3–1 1–0
3 Anderlecht 10 5 2 3 18 13 +5 46 Qualification to Europa League group stage[lower-alpha 1] 2–1 3–1 — 1–1 1–0 5–1
4 Standard Liège 10 4 1 5 14 13 +1 40 Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round 1–3 1–0 3–1 — 2–0 4–0
5 Charleroi 10 3 2 5 13 15 −2 36 Qualification to Testmatches to Europa League[lower-alpha 2] 2–1 2–3 0–1 1–0 — 5–2
6 Kortrijk 10 2 2 6 11 22 −11 34 0–1 2–0 2–2 3–1 1–1 —
Source: soccerway.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) points after deduction of (possible) half points added due to rounding; 3) number of wins; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) number of away goals scored; 7) number of away wins.[31]
(C) Champion.
Notes:
  1. Since winners of the 2014–15 Belgian Cup, Club Brugge, qualified for the Champions League based on league position, the spot awarded to the Cup winner (Europa League group stage) was passed to the third-placed team and the other spots were adjusted accordingly.
  2. The team finishing in fifth place, Charleroi, will play the testmatches against the winner of the Belgian Europa League playoff final, for a spot in the Europa League second qualifying round.

Europa League playoff

Group A contains the teams finishing the regular season in positions 7, 9, 12 and 14. The teams that finish in positions 8, 10, 11 and 13 were placed in Group B.

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification KVM GNK ZWA W-B
1 Mechelen (A) 6 5 0 1 14 3 +11 15 Playoff Final — 4–0 3–0 4–1
2 Genk 6 5 0 1 14 7 +7 15 1–0 — 1–0 7–1
3 Zulte Waregem 6 1 1 4 6 10 −4 4 0–1 2–3 — 2–2
4 Waasland-Beveren 6 0 1 5 5 19 −14 1 1–2 0–2 0–2 —
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference
(A) Advance to the Final.

Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification LOK RMP OOS WES
1 Lokeren (A) 6 4 1 1 19 9 +10 13 Playoff Final — 2–1 6–1 1–1
2 Mouscron-Péruwelz 6 3 1 2 9 8 +1 10 1–5 — 2–0 1–1
3 Oostende 6 2 0 4 6 12 −6 6 1–2 0–1 — 2–0
4 Westerlo 6 1 2 3 7 12 −5 5 4–3 0–3 1–2 —
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference
(A) Advance to the Final.

Europa League playoff final

The winners of both playoff groups, Mechelen and Lokeren, compete in a two-legged match to play the fourth-placed team of the championship playoff, called Testmatch. The winners of this Testmatch will be granted entry to the second qualifying round of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League.

Lokeren2–2Mechelen
Ngolok  34', 56' Report Veselinović  11'
Naessens  49'
Attendance: 5,763
Referee: Joeri van de Velde
Mechelen2–1Lokeren
Hanni  6'
Kosanović  56'		 Report Marić  90+2' (pen.)
Attendance: 6,340
Referee: Frederik Geldhof

Mechelen won 4–3 on aggregate.

Testmatches Europa League

The Europa League playoff final was played over two legs between the Europa league playoff final winners, Mechelen, and the fifth-placed finisher of the championship playoff, Charleroi. The winners qualifies for the second qualifying round of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League.

Mechelen2–1Charleroi
Cissé  42'
Kosanović  86'		 Report Geraerts  55'
Charleroi2–0Mechelen
Marinos  69'
Ndongala  89'
Referee: Bart Vertenten

Charleroi wins 3-2 on aggregate

Relegation Playoff

The teams that finished in the last two positions will face each other in the relegation playoff. Lierse was sure of ending up in the relegation playoff after losing away to Gent on 7 March 2015, while Cercle Brugge qualified one week later after losing 2–3 at home to Mechelen.

The winner of this playoff will play the second division playoff with three Belgian Second Division teams, with only the winner of that playoff playing at the highest level the next season. Lierse failed to win the Belgian Second Division playoff resulting in their relegation, in addition to Cercle Brugge.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Lierse (R) 4 3 0 1 8 4 +4 9 Belgian Second Division Final Round
2 Cercle Brugge (R) 4 1 0 3 4 8 −4 6 Relegation to 2015–16 Belgian Second Division
Source: soccerway.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated.

The matches in the table below were played from left to right:

Home \ Away LIE CER LIE CER LIE CER
Lierse 0–1 3–1
Cercle Brugge 2–3 0–2 –[lower-alpha 1]
Source: soccerway.com
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. Match not played as Cercle Brugge could no longer overtake Lierse in the standings. In case of a tie, Lierse would have still ranked above Cercle Brugge due to the number of matches won.

Season statistics

Source: Sport.be (in Dutch)

Up to and including matches played on 24 May 2015.

Top scorers
Position Player Club Goals
1 Aleksandar Mitrović Anderlecht 20
2 Ivan Santini Kortrijk 15
3 Renaud Emond Waasland-Beveren 14
Geoffrey Mujangi Bia Standard Liège
5 Laurent Depoitre Gent 13
José Izquierdo Club Brugge
Dalibor Veselinović Mechelen
8 Teddy Chevalier Kortrijk 12
Abdoulay Diaby Mouscron-Péruwelz
Mijat Marić Lokeren

Hat-tricks
Key
4 Player scored four goals
* The home team
PlayerForAgainstResultDate
Nicolás CastilloClub Brugge*Westerlo5–09 November 2014
Moses SimonGentLokeren*3–31 February 2015
Ivan Santini4Kortrijk*Westerlo6–021 February 2015
John Jairo RuizOostendeZulte Waregem*1–415 March 2015
Zinho GanoMouscron-PéruwelzWesterlo*0–34 April 2015

Notes
  1. Vukomanović had initially been appointed as caretaker manager following the sacking of Guy Luzon on 20 October 2014, but was appointed head coach on 5 November 2014 until the end of the season, due to good results.

References
  1. "Langste winning streak". Sport.be (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  2. "Langste non-losing streak". Sport.be (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  3. "Langste non-winning streak". Sport.be (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  4. "Langste losing streak". Sport.be (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  5. "Gent end 115-year wait for Belgian title". uefa.com. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  6. "Vanhaezebrouck:"Back to the top with Gent" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-05-05.
  7. "Kortrijk stelt assistent Vanderhaeghe voor als nieuwe trainer" [Kortrijk presents assistant Vanderhaeghe as new head coach] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-06-03.
  8. "KV Mechelen and Vercauteren say goodbye" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-05-05.
  9. "KV Mechelen teams up with Aleksandar Janković" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-05-08.
  10. "Peeters terminates contract with Waasland-Beveren" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-05-23.
  11. "Ronny Van Geneugden new trainer of Waasland-Beveren" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-05-28.
  12. "Racing Genk sacks coach Ferrera after one matchday" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-07-29.
  13. "Scotsman Alex McLeish is the new Genk trainer" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-08-22.
  14. "Lierse kicks Menzo to the curb" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-08-31.
  15. "New Lierse-coach:"Belgium is attractive due to the Red Devils"" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-09-05.
  16. "Cercle Brugge ends coöperation with Staelens" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-10-06.
  17. "Luzon no longer head coach of Standard" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-10-20.
  18. "Standard continues with coach Vukomanović" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-11-05.
  19. "Da Cruz succeeds Chihab at Mouscron-Péruwelz" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-12-29.
  20. "Waasland-Beveren says goodbye to Ronny Van Geneugden" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-12-30.
  21. "Brepoels:"show that success with STVV was not a coincidence" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2015-01-05.
  22. "Westerlo end cooperation with Van Wijk" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2015-01-03.
  23. "Van Veldhoven is the new coach at Westerlo" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2015-01-06.
  24. "Lierse-coach Stojanovič resigns" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2015-01-28.
  25. "Helleputte resigns as Lierse-coach after only two days" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2015-01-30.
  26. "Helleputte has resigned for health reasons" (in Dutch). De Morgen. 2015-01-30.
  27. "Riga returns as head coach at Standard" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2015-02-02.
  28. "Van Wijk takes over control at Cercle Brugge: "I'm confident"" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-10-06.
  29. "Standard loses 0–5 and will play one match without fans" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-10-28.
  30. "Belgian Sportsarbitrage: "The match Standard-Zulte Waregem ends at 1–2"" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-12-10.
  31. "Algemene bepalingen" (pdf). Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  32. "KV Mechelen speelt dan toch niet "thuis" in Beveren, maar in Leuven". Sporza.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 May 2015.
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