In Belgium we celebrate for the newly promoted Union Saint Gilloise after 48 years of absence from Serie A. On 10 April, the last match of the regular championship, the Zwanze parade will be staged, a procession with 75 majorettes that will accompany the fans to the entrance. at the staddio
And «Zwanze» either. You start the party, in perfect Brussels style. There is a part of the people of the Belgian capital who, thanks to their football team of the moment, mixes history and traditions in a popular celebration that also involves Juve, and that binds together sport, joy, goliardia, social commitment, and show.
Starting with the one offered by Union Saint Gilloise, the oldest team in Brussels and one of the oldest in the kingdom, capable of dominating the top league as a newly promoted one. Day after day, the eleven of Saint Gilles, one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels capital region, updated statistics, yearbooks, almanacs, to write a single page. The Cinderella of football who as a newly promoted, after 48 years of absence from the Serie A, finds herself arithmetically first in the standings with a day to spare.
It is not a championship, since the national rules provide for a mini-championship among the first four classified for the assignment of the title, but the company becomes a reason for celebration. The USG fans have already prepared everything: on 10 April, the last match of the regular championship, the Zwanze parade is staged. Difficult to understand unless you were born and raised in Brussels.
“Zwanze”, a term from the Brabant dialect and its Brussels variant, indicates a way of being and a lifestyle characterized by playful humor and exaggeration. What’s more exaggerated than celebrating a championship not won?
Here the sporting enterprise of Union Saint Gilloise offers the pretext for the sumptuous day, a parade seasoned with fanfare and 75 majorettes, which will animate the popular meeting day organized under the headquarters of the municipality of Saint Gilles (shareholder of the club, with 4% of the shares), to then turn into a large procession that will accompany all the fans to the entrance of the stadium, for the last meeting, not before having given life to the initiative in support of the elderly.
The town square will be transformed into a market, with food and wine stands and the sale of team gadgets. The proceeds will go to the Union Foundation, the Union Saint Gilloise foundation that promotes charitable and social initiatives. The intention is to allow the fans who are in the retirement homes of the municipalities of Saint Gilles and Forest (it is the territory of the latter that hosts the stadium) to attend the matches next season, organizing shuttle transfer services to and from from the stadium, and the assistance that is then needed to be able to enjoy home matches. Covid permitting. “We are talking about fragile groups, categories at risk, and therefore health first of all”, explains Didier Goffart, one of the leaders of this initiative, who will also see the presence of Danny Ost, the team’s old glory. Player of the seventies, he will act as a bridge between the old and new generations of supporters, signing the book that traces the history of the club, “L’Union has always done my strength” (L’Union a toujours fait ma force), and remembering the team that was.
With some scudetto playoffs still to be played to someone, this great carousel may seem out of place, but superstition is not part of the culture of these places. It’s the Zwanze, it’s a joke, the desire to take everything lightly, perhaps to ease the tension. “Winning the classic phase of the championship is great,” acknowledged the architect of the USG ride, Felice Mazzu, a Belgian son of Italian immigrants, who, faced with the possibility of making history, thinks of something else. “Our next goal is to finish with a win against Beerschot” (team from Antwerp) in the last match of the regular season. Then? “If we win every game, we will be champions.” And thanks.
Statements that blend well with the Brussels approach to life. Without thoughts, without worries, with lightness and carefree. After all, go as it goes, thanks to this year gone beyond the rosiest expectations, the oldest team in Brussels has already secured a place in European competitions, and for this reason alone it is a great celebration. And Zwanze parade it is, then.
Speaking of European cups, the last official match saw the Belgian yellow-blue against Juventus. It was the 1964-65 edition of the then Cup of Fairs, and the Old Lady won 1-0 on both the first and second legs. The Turin match on 7 October 1964 (Menichelli’s goal of the match) was Saint Gilles’ last in Europe, with a derby flavor. Usg and Juve were born on the same day, November 1, 1897. Historical courses and appeals, in the meantime the Union fans have created a partnership with the Turin supporters, so much so that the Toro Club Brussels was even invited to exhibit your banner in the Usg curve. Another Brussels story.
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