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