“More than just the Gulaschsuppe”: why East Cantons mourn Eupen’s relegation

The cat with 9 lives only had 8. After 8 years in the highest division, Eupen dropped out of the Jupiler Pro League. 8 reasons why the Pandas will still be missed in 1A.

What will they miss the most? Christophe Ramjoie of the Belgian RundFunk, the public broadcaster of our German-speaking colleagues, doesn’t have to think about it for a second.

“The Gulaschsuppe,” he laughs. For a nice portion of soup, you had to go to Am Kehrweg. But also for a nice piece of cake, several Sporza colleagues confirm.

Schmackhaft!

Not only the journalists enjoyed visiting Eupen. A trip to the East Cantons was also a guarantee of fun for the visiting supporters. The position close to the field was especially a plus for the away fans.

With 10 of the 16 first division clubs from Flanders, a team from Eupen is a fresh change in the offer. “It is not the Flemish championship, but the Belgian championship,” says Ramjoie.

“That is why Eupen will be missed. Former Club Brugge coach Michel Preud’homme once called the match in Eupen a European trip. But Eupen is not that far in a small country like Belgium.”

With the help of his Qatari owners, Eupen was occasionally able to lure a former world star to the Belgian remote corner.

Think of Luis Garcia (ex-Real), Jeffrén Suarez (ex-Barça), Claude Makélélé (ex-Real), Adriano and Victor Vazquez (both ex-Barça).

“Maybe Neymar will come too,” laughed Ramjoie 4 years ago. Back then, Eupen still dreamed of a place in the top 8, now it has to dream of a quick return to 1A.

If it wasn’t for the Gulaschsuppe, then you had to be in Eupen for the family atmosphere, says Ramjoie. “Eupen may not have been a crowd magnet, but there was a pleasant atmosphere and you could still see good football in those 8 years.”

“It was certainly a showcase for the East Cantons, but the team is not dead yet, right? They want to return to 1A next year, although that may require some more money.”

To give the atmosphere an extra boost, the fans came up with a new club song in 2019. Mike Thissen, the capo – so to speak, the helmsman – of Eupen, sang the song to cheer up the players for the relegation battle. With success, because Eupen was able to extend his stay in the highest division.

Farewell to Eupen also means farewell to Eupi. The panda mascot will help prevent everything from being too black and white in the Challenger Pro League.

When the orange match ball was brought out again, it was all too often in Eupen (if the match was not postponed, that is). Where can we still throw snowballs in the winter?