Stade Joseph Marien, Brussels, Belgium
4.5 (9 reviews) Spent Ranking #2 in Forest Points of Interest & Landmarks
The ghost of football past
Wonderfully atmospheric football stadium, with its original 1919 stand, complete with stained glass in the reception area, now playing host to Royale Union St-Gilloise. This still proud outfit is currently languishing in Belgium's Division 3B but once enjoyed success in the old Inter Cities Fairs Cup as a top flight club, number 10 in the Belgian hierarchy of club registrations. The football may have gone down a notch or two, and the hallowed stadium may bear the scars of pragmatic safety measures, but the atmosphere remains. A mixed crowd of fans and enthusiasts sings its encouragement in three languages, and the occasional smoke bomb interrupts the intellectual euro-conversation from the cosmopolitan regulars on the terraces nursing their plastic cups of Maes. But the ghost of football past suffuses the place, with folk memory undimmed. Who can forget the 4-0 thrashing by Czechoslovakia over Norway in the Quarter Finals of the Olympic Football competition held here in August 1920? The Czechs, managed by a Scot, went on to contest the final in Antwerp but stormed out after the 65-year old English referee had awarded two iffy goals to their opponents, leaving the gold medal to the host nation, Belgium. Not to be missed...
Address
Chaussee de Bruxelles 223, Forest, Brussels 1190 Belgium
Mobile
Website
http://www.rusg.be/en/le-club/le-stade-marien
Current local date and time now
Tuesday, May 14, 2024, 10:44
User Ratings
4.5 based on (9 reviews)
Reviews
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5andesig 5:00 PM Nov 30, 2014
The ghost of football past
Wonderfully atmospheric football stadium, with its original 1919 stand, complete with stained glass in the reception area, now playing host to Royale Union St-Gilloise. This still proud outfit is currently languishing in Belgium's Division 3B but once enjoyed success in the old Inter Cities Fairs Cup as a top flight club, number 10 in the Belgian hierarchy of club registrations. The football may have gone down a notch or two, and the hallowed stadium may bear the scars of pragmatic safety measures, but the atmosphere remains. A mixed crowd of fans and enthusiasts sings its encouragement in three languages, and the occasional smoke bomb interrupts the intellectual euro-conversation from the cosmopolitan regulars on the terraces nursing their plastic cups of Maes. But the ghost of football past suffuses the place, with folk memory undimmed. Who can forget the 4-0 thrashing by Czechoslovakia over Norway in the Quarter Finals of the Olympic Football competition held here in August 1920? The Czechs, managed by a Scot, went on to contest the final in Antwerp but stormed out after the 65-year old English referee had awarded two iffy goals to their opponents, leaving the gold medal to the host nation, Belgium. Not to be missed...
