Aiming for a return to former glories | OneFootball

TSG Hoffenheim will face RSC Anderlecht on Thursday (21:00 CET / Live Ticker at tsg-hoffenheim.de). But what do you need to know about the Belgian club? SPIELFELD takes a look at TSG's next opponents.

RSC Anderlecht have won 34 league titles and dominated the Belgian league for many years. In fact, 11 of the club's players were on the pitch at the same time for their country in an international fixture in 1964 – RSC Belgium, more like. But Anderlecht's years as perennial champions are over. RSC, which stands for Royal Sporting Club, were last national champions in 2017, and the club from a municipality of the Brussels region has been waiting for another title ever since.

And there has been turmoil at Anderlecht this season too. Head coach Brian Riemer was dismissed after just under two years in charge. The Dane was succeeded by RSC youth coach David Hubert, who has a goalkeeping coach by his side that is also a familiar face in Hoffenheim: Justin Merz worked with the keepers of TSG's U23 side in the 2022/23 season and trained current first-team squad members Lúkas Petersson and Luca Philipp.

Anderlecht have stabilised under their new coaching staff. The squad consists of a mixture of experienced players and highly promising talents. Jan Vertonghen wears the captain's armband for Anderlecht. Belgium's all-time record appearance maker has already played more than 700 competitive matches and has previously enjoyed spells at Tottenham Hotspur and Ajax. The 37-year-old defender is currently sidelined, however.

But Vertonghen is not the only familiar face in the squad, which also contains the likes of former Bundesliga players Kasper Dollberg and Thorgan Hazard. And one of the most well-known figures in the club's recent history is now back in Germany: Bayern boss Vincent Kompany took the first steps of both his playing and coaching careers at Anderlecht.

Although RSC have plenty of experience in the Champions League, a return to the elite continental club competition currently seems a long way off. Coach David Hubert's team are eight points adrift of leaders KRC Genk. Anderlecht last sat at Europe's top table in 2017. And yet their fortunes do seem to be taking an upturn, with the Belgians amassing 14 points from six rounds of matches in the UEFA Europa League this term. Direct progression to the round of 16 is well within grasp and may even be secured before the final matchday against TSG Hoffenheim.