Besnik Hasi survives Anderlecht crisis meeting, but its the same old story for fans of the Mauves | OneFootball

Another season, another Anderlecht crisis meeting. The club, once perennial title challengers and participants in European football, has lurched from one crisis to another. Decision makers at the club are entirely to blame. Sacking Vincent Kompany after he got them to the cup final was just one of the big moments that they have gotten wrong. For many, keeping Besnik Hasi in post after how last season ended was another.

During today’s crisis meeting, it was hinted that Hasi might lose his job. It appears he has survived and will lead Anderlecht on Sunday in one of the most heated games of the Belgian Pro League. The clash between Standard Liege and Anderlecht has always been a bucket list trip for many, not necessarily for what happens on the pitch. There are usually more fireworks happening off the pitch. If Hasi fails to win in Liege on Sunday, expect a huge backlash from a fanbase that has had enough.

Few can blame Anderlecht fans for their frustration. Hasi isn’t the main culprit by any means, but he is one of the symptoms of what is rapidly becoming a poor season. After a 0-0 draw at home to bottom of the table Dender, the gap to the league leaders and city rivals Union St Gilloise is 10 points. Even the seven point gap before kick off was generous. Anderlecht have now gone four games without a win at the worst possible time in the season.

The decision to hire, and then retain, Hasi was a strange one. He had been sacked by Mechelen and appeared to be coming in as David Hubert’s replacement to just see the side through to the end of the season. He oversaw the cup final against Club Brugge which, at the time, appeared to be his lifeline to keeping the job. Club Brugge won the final and many expected Hasi to be off and a new man brought in. Yet Hasi remained as head coach, while the man he replaced has gone from OH Leuven to Union St Gilloise.

Now, this isn’t to say Anderlecht should have stuck with Hubert. That decision to give Hubert the main gig was also the wrong one at the time. However, keeping Hasi was a sign for many of a lack of ambition. That has been a real problem for Anderlecht in the past and a confusing stance taken by the club. Kompany was gone because he didn’t deliver what was expected, despite turning things around at the club.

With the chances of the club winning the league falling further away, and if we are all being honest never really being anything put a pipe dream, Anderlecht will enter the 2026/2027 season on the back of a decade without adding to their 34 titles. It almost two decades now since they won the domestic cup. That could change this year, with the side in the semi-finals and facing an out of sorts Antwerp side. They could then face city rivals Union, who in those 10 years since Anderlecht won the league have overtaken them as one of the best sides in Belgium.

Anderlecht and crisis are two words that are never far apart from each other. This year looks to be just another year in which decisions have been made that have cost the club the chance of returning to being a title contender in Belgian football. The academy is still producing talent and fans are continuing to turn up at Lotto Park and bring the atmosphere. They just need a club that is going to start laying the foundations for a return to success.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson