Belgium - a nation of diversity and contrasts it would be fair to say. Even linguistically, the country is split between Flanders and Wallonia, with the former speaking Flemish on the whole, and the latter speaking French. This is before we even mention the small German speaking part in the east too.
One thing that I felt summed up Belgium quite well, as pointed out during a quick lunch with a friend in Liège on Monday, was the fact the massive Liège Together facade outside the station was almost impossible to photograph as one because of the various trees and bushes preventing the full view.
In any case, as a teacher, February always involves a week off for me, meaning I often like to occupy it with a little trip to a new country. In 2024, I went to Lisbon and saw Benfica. Last year, I went to Romania, froze my nuts off, and saw both Farul Constanta and Dinamo Bucharest. This year it was to be the turn of Belgium, and Standard Liège (and Royal Aywaille in the lower reaches of the Belgian game).
As far as starting 2026 off on a good front, it felt like a pretty safe bet given what I'd heard about the atmosphere at Standard, as well as the fact Union Saint-Gilloise - the league leaders - were coming to town. Having had a disappointing trip to Podgorica in my last visit to a new country, I was fairly hopeful Liege would provide a drastic improvement to say the least.
And it was Valentine's Day, which for once, I'd had someone to buy some things for during my trip! Having attended two previous games on Valentine's Day in 2011 (a 1-0 win on a Tuesday night at Hillsborough), and 2015 (an entertaining 3-1 win for Gosport Borough over Eastbourne Borough in a game I travelled to by ferry), it only added to the high hopes I'd had for this game.
Standard Delivery: Standard Liège v Union Saint-Gilloise, 14th February 2026
Waking up at 3am is never easy, let alone on your first day off of Spring Break. But that was my lot on Saturday, with the best option a 9.25 flight from Vienna to Charleroi, via a 4.10am RegioJet to Vienna Airport. Once I was up and out, I was quite surprised at how I'd mostly felt fine, perhaps due to the previous night's brief amount of sleep being what I would call reasonable.
The flight was fairly smooth, though landing in Charleroi was a little chaotic - from paid toilets to ridiculously slow crowds, it wasn't somewhere I was looking forward to returning to later in the week. That lack of excitement was very much vindicated incidentally, as I spent almost an hour waiting at security - it was lucky I'd arrived over three hours before my flight.
For now, it was time to get the heck out of Charleroi Airport and to...Charleroi. I'd only spent an hour in the city once deemed ugliest in Europe, and I honestly felt that it possessed a certain industrial charm. Should I return to Belgium, it may be somewhere I look to take in a game. For now though, it was where I'd catch a bus to Liège.
I'd arrived in Liège around half two, though I couldn't check in until about five, so I opted to duck into a cafe nearby for a couple of Cappuccinos to keep myself alive for the late kick-off ahead. I did manage to check in eventually, resting up before heading to Le Blonden to meet a couple of friends who were also attending the game, by coincidence in exactly the same section.
Full of Belgian beer and fries, we took the highly convenient T1 tram line (the city's only tram line as far as I can tell) south toward the terminus stop of Standard. On matchdays, however, the tram terminates at Place Ferrer just before, though the walk is minimal from there. What strikes you is just how industrial Sclessin is, and why Standard are so predominantly left-wing. As a leftie myself, it's refreshing to find some genuinely left-wing football clubs in a sea of right-wing, discriminative nonsense.
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| Some mid-game TIFO, expressing solidarity with striking workers of Liège and beyond |
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| Some more shots of a magnificent stadium |
As soon as you're in the stadium, the atmosphere hits you and doesn't stop for a minute during the course of the game. As far as atmospheres go, I'd rank it as comfortably the best I've ever seen. Regardless of what happens on the pitch, the noise does not stop, and some credit should also go to the travelling Union SG fans. Though we couldn't see them, we can only assume they were making just as much noise as their hosts.
As for the game itself, it was incredibly entertaining, with both teams playing some absolutely gorgeous and incisive football. It would be the kind of game a football purist would deem 'being played in the right way', and in fairness I'd have to agree. Every pass seemed to stay grounded, with some phenomenal through-balls being played between and behind the lines from both sides.
Amusingly, I was again watching Togolese centre-back Josue Homawoo for the second year in a row, having weirdly seen him play for Dinamo Bucharest in February 2025 almost exactly a year to the day. He joined Standard in July, unbeknown to me before booking this trip. Sadly he went off injured, though it was nice to see a man whose career I'm unintentionally following.
It was Standard who took the lead through Dennis Eckert Ayensa just 15 minutes into the game, and it was no more than the hosts deserved. They were the better side for the majority of the game, making Union look more like the side occupying mid-table. The only gripe with Standard's performance was that they didn't take advantage, and were pegged back on 76 minutes by brilliantly named Brazilian Guillherme Smith's effort which went in off the post.
This made for a nervy last ten minutes for the hosts, but they held firm and earned a point against the league leaders, though there will undoubtedly be disappointment at not having won. That said, the club and indeed the city have certainly won at least one new fan, whatever that may be worth. Allez les rouges!
Stay tuned for at least one more blog on my Belgium trip, where I cover my trip to Aywaille to take in some surprisingly entertaining 4th tier Belgian football.
Five things you didn't know about Liège
1. Though Standard Liège are the most notable side from Liège historically, it transpires that RFC de Liège changed the face of the game substantially when they refused to release Jean-Marc Bosman, which of course later led to a court ruling in Bosman's favour, and the subsequent Bosman Rule that we know and love in football today.
2. In the 1800s, the industrial complex of Seraing was among the largest in the world, housing an abundance of blast furnaces and mills. Nowadays, the city's economy is hugely diversified, though still remnant in many of these industries. Alongside this, however, the city produces chocolate, beer, space technology, and a great deal more.
3. The main railway station, Liège Guillemins, is one of the most unique structures architecturally in Europe, perhaps even the world, having been design and built by Santiago Calatrava. It is used by some 15,000 passengers daily; perhaps not surprising given its status as an international hub.
4. The 374-step staircase known as Montagne de Bueren is in Liège, and was built in 1881 to honour the 600 soldiers who died in 600 Franchimontois in 1468. Belgian explorer Louis-Phillippe Loncke wanted to test the limits of human endurance, so he ascended and descended the staircase 135 times with a 15kg backpack, simulating an ascent of Everest, and demonstrating the possibility of finding challenges close to home.
5. Standard Liège are nicknamed Les Rouches, not only because they wear red, but because 'rouche' is apparently how the word 'rouge' is said in a Liège accent. As mentioned above, the club also exercise predominantly leftist politics - perhaps a rarity on the world football stage in this day and age.
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