Belgia

Belgia

By Richard Pedler

JAKARTA (JP): Belgium's coach, Paul Van Himst is the greatest
player that country has ever had. He's a four-time 'footballer of
the year,' who's won every honor and has a scoring record of 30
goals in 81 internationals.

His past strength as a player is now the Diables Rouges' major
weakness: "We just don't possess the strikers to give us that
little edge at top level in international football."

CROATIAN DISCOVERY

The search for a solution to striker Luc Nilis' symptomatic
failure to score in over 20 matches (despite over a hundred in
the league) has led to a battle with the red tape to obtain
citizenship for Josip Weber in time for Belgium's departure for
the US.

Croatian-born Weber has scored a century of goals in five
seasons at Cercle Bruges, and his killer instinct will be
essential to the fulfillment Belgium's hopes.

A partnership with Luis Oliveira, US$3 million Brazilian-born
Cagliari striker, could make the Devils a dangerous contender.

Enzo Scifo, an Italian-born playmaker and long-shot
specialist, returns with a wealth of experience shared by many
members of the current team. There is also Michel Preud'homme,
who was for a decade one of Europe's best keepers (despite
missing Mexico'86 after a match-fixing scandal), Franky Van Der
Elst, a tough tackler who reads the game well, and veteran
stopper, Georges Grun. All have gone through the heartbreak of
World Cup disappointment.

SOLID AT THE BACK

Grun (European Cup-winners' Cup victor with Parma) and
Philippe Albert (Belgian Footballer of the year in 1992) are
solid in the center, aided by Rudi Smidts at left-back. The
midfield work-force (Staelens and Van Der Elst) give Scifo time
to create or score.

Danny Boffin provides pace and width up front, while Marc
Degryse roams around. And let's not forget Marc Wilmots who was
top scorer in the qualifiers with five goals.

After six wins in a row, Belgium almost collapsed. They just
barely scraped through the qualifying tournament on the last day,
despite their failure to score.

In fact, 16 goals in ten matches was a miserly return in a
group which included the desperately poor Faroes, who were
demolished in Rumania and Wales. Belgium's ten-match total was
the lowest among the qualifiers from Europe.

TACTICS

As Van Himst modestly states: "I'm not a magician; I simply
have a well-organized and talented side which is excellent at
counter-attacking." The squad, drawn from both the Flemish and
French-speaking parts of the country, has the two peoples united.

Degryse, in his tenth year at this level, explains Belgium's
current strength: "Apart from Enzo, we have no household names,
but we make up for that with great teamwork; and we know how to
battle for results."

Belgium are the seeded team in the weakest group, alongside
neighbors Holland, with Saudi Arabia and Morocco making up the
numbers as two of the weakest sides at USA94. With the inclusion
of Weber, the time has come for them to finally come good as The
Year of The Devil continues!

Tomorrow: Bolivia