The Belgian Classico: les Mauves et les Rouches

In Belgium, we also have a classico. Do you know the tale of the Mauves et les Rouches?

Last week, Ricardo Sá Pinto, Standard Liège coach, was suspended for three games due to his behaviour during the last Standard-Anderlecht. That game was played hard and interrupted. In fact, several times interrupted due to projectiles and smoke bombs that were constantly thrown to the Standard players.


These incidents are quite common when Anderlecht (the Mauves) is playing against Standard (the Rouches), as the rivalry is extreme.

Both teams are truly a mirror of Liège and Brussels. Standard Liège reflects the industrial spirit of Liège.  Anderlecht is the team from the capital,and by definition seen as a bourgeois team.

The first game between Anderlecht and Standard took place back in 1919. Although there were many games in the first part of the 20th century, the real story of the Classico became true after WWII.

From 1961 to 1972, both teams shared all the championship title, and the antagonism then became really strong. Although Standard won the last Belgian Football Cup, there is no way to compare Standard and Anderlecht. Out of their 200 games, Anderlecht won 87 times and Standard only 61 times. 

With regard to the track record, the difference is also important. Anderlecht won the Jupiler Pro League 34 times (last time next year), while Standard won it 10 times, (last time in 2009). Over the last couple of years, Standard defeated Anderlecht several times, which is really painful for the Anderlecht fans. Defeating your main rival is indeed always something special in sports. In April 2008, while Standard only needed not to loose against Anderlecht to become champion, it won the game 2-0 and then lifted its penultimate title in Jupiler Pro League.

The rivalry between both teams can be really violent. As an example, on January 25, 2015, before the beginning of the game, Standard fans displayed a huge banner where you could see Steven Defour decapitated! The local and national authorities and public opinion were in shock. Just a few day after the Charlie Hebdo attacks took place in Paris.

Next battle: 28/01/2018 –  Standard versus Anderlecht