Au revoir and Tot ziens to the Belgian Pro League play-offs: You will be missed | OneFootball

From the outside, they were confusing and off putting. From the inside, they were like marmite, some loved them, others hated them. Yet no one can deny that they dished up entertainment. However, with Club Brugge winning their 20th Belgian Pro League league title, it is time (for now) to bid farewell to the play-offs . I, for one, will certainly miss them.

However, this was not always the case. When I first started to really follow the league during the COVID19 pandemic, I was sceptical. The halving of points just did not sit right with me, as it allowed teams that had not performed well enough during the regular season to suddenly be in with a chance of winning the title. Club Brugge certainly benefited from this on one occasions, with Nicky Hayen guiding the team from what looked like a mediocre season to league title number 19.

Yet, I have grown to enjoy them for what they offer: entertainment and a true test of champions. By siphoning off the top six at the end of a season and halving the points, you, in theory at least, are pitching the best teams in Belgium against each other for two months in a series of intense clashes. It inevitably separates the good from the bad and helps prepare sides for European football, in theory at least. There have been some incridble moments in recent years, such as Union missing out twice despite big leads to then win as underdogs last season, as well as the iconic late goal from Toby Aldeweireld to deny Genk the trophy and give Antwerp their first since the 1950s. This drama was created by the Belgian Pro League play-off system and its format.

That isn’t to say there are not issues with the format. This most recent Belgian Pro League season was a rare one in which the second play-offs, where there is the prospect of a European ticket on offer, were actually interesting. Too often than not one of the bigger clubs ends up in this group of six and dominates, leading to a number of dead rubber games. This year was different, with Standard Liege, Westerlo and Genk all having a chance of taking the spot in the clash for the Conference League qualification round spot. It is bizarre that a team could finish seventh and be in Europe over a team that finishes sixth, but if you are having two play-off groups then there has to be something on offer for those sides.

At the bottom, not halving points is the fairest method for deciding who should be relegated. This can become mundane, as it did this year with Dender well and truly beaten before a ball was even kicked in the play-offs, with the side then relegated after losing over two legs to Lommel. Yet, the potential was always there for an exciting race to avoid the drop.

This coming play off less Belgian Pro League season could well have some looking back with a nostalgic eye to years past. Instead of the prospect of an intense round robin tournament between the top six for European places and the title, whoever comes out on top after 34 games will be crowned champions. Yes, it is a tried and tested system, but there was something about the play-offs that brought extra excitement at the end of a long season. Clubs knew that their points would be halved, and that finding form at the right time could see him crowned champions or make Europe after the regular season.

I never thought I would be sad to see them go, but I will miss the play-offs. Yes they were complicated and made no sense outside of Belgium, and yes many within Belgium wanted them gone. But perhaps, when we finish next season and don’t have them, we will all look back and wish they had never gone away.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson