Cercle Brugge back in Europe for first time since 2010 | OneFootball

At the end of the 2020/2021 season, Cercle Brugge finished in 16th place, just five points above the relegation zone. Just three years later they have qualified for the second round of qualification for the Europa League. The last time the side were in this position was back in 2010. Over the past three years, now Monaco Sporting Director Carlos Avina put together a young squad that has propelled the side from a lower table side to one mixing it with the big boys. Under head coach Miron Muslic, the side have finally taken a long awaited step into European football.

During the 2010 season, the side never made it to the group stages of the competition. After beating Finnish side Turun Palloseura they lost in the third qualifying round to Anorthosis Famagusta from Cyprus 3-2 on aggregate. This time around they have the buffer of the Conference League should they lose in the Europa League qualification rounds. However, they will still have to qualify for the Conference League should they get knocked out early.

Fans will hope that top scorer Kevin Denkey will still be there to help them in the qualification campaigns. The Togolese forward finished as the top scorer in Belgium with 27 goals and has garnered plenty of interest from outside Belgium.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson