This Wednesday 6 August we are hosting Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League's third qualifying round at our Red Bull Arena. The Belgians are among the most successful clubs in their land – and have been for some time. Since their foundation in 1891, the club from West Flanders have slowly become one of the big names of European football.

120,000 citizens in the city of Brugge

The city in the northwest of Belgium is a UNESCO world heritage site and a real picture postcard place with medieval flair. Behind the picturesque historic facades, hearts beat for football. The narrow alleyways are not only places were beer is brewed, but sport is celebrated. If football is the religion there – the Jan Breydel Stadium is the cathedral.

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The arena named after a Flemish hero – which was opened in 1975 and most recently renovated in 1999 – has space for around 29,000 spectators, and is the home to two clubs. On the one hand Cercle Brugge (coached by Onur Cinel and Florens Koch, with Lawrence Agyekum in the squad) play their home matches there, and it also the stadium of our forthcoming opponents, Club Brugge. The atmosphere at home matches is rarely quiet, although the stadium has perhaps seen its best and noisiest days already. A rebuilding has been planned for some time, but the project remains ongoing.

A very special chapter of club history was written by a man who enjoys legendary status with us in Austria too: Ernst Happel. The coaching legend from Vienna took charge of Club Brugge in 1975 – and led them into a golden era that included making the UEFA Cup final in 1976 and the final of the 1978 European Cup – which remains a historic achievement in Belgium. The club has 19 domestic titles to its name, with the last coming in 2024. Only RSC Anderlecht have more (34).

202.40 Million Euro market value

Runners-up Club Brugge were in good early season form after a win to start the league with and victory in the Belgian Supercup, but slipped to a 1-2 defeat to Mechelen last weekend. Coach Nicky Hayen is a fan of a 4-2-3-1 formation and likes his team to attack on the break. Last season that took Blauw-Zwart into the last 16 of the Champions League. Their balance between youthful freshness and the stability of experience is quite notable, with the following players standing out:

Simon Mignolet: The 37-year-old goalkeeper is a steady presence in goal, having been a regular at Liverpool for years and a 35-time Belgian international.
Hans Vanaken: With the club since 2015 and now captain, with an eye for a killer pass and a strike from midfield. He stands tall for a playmaker at 1.95 metres.
Ardon Jashari: The young Swiss player (23) has the highest market value in the team at €32 million. The holding midfielder joined from FC Luzern last summer, and is subject to rumours around his next step.

It is the second time we are facing the Belgians in a UEFA competition. In the 2018/19 UEFA Europa League last 32, we took a big 4-0 home win to seal the tie after a 1-2 away defeat. This time we want to press on at home to set us up for the return leg in Belgium.

We will need your support for that. Tickets for the clash at the Red Bull Arena this Wednesday 6 August at 19:00 CEST are already on open sale and available in our online Ticket Shop.

get your Tickets now!

Club Brugge: The Black and Blues with an Austrian legend of the past