The Century of Belgian Football: from Raymond Braine to Moussa Dembélé

April 28, 1907 is a big day for Belgian football. That is when Raymond Braine is born. Between 1934 and 1937, the European sports press runs out of superlatives. Braine is a real street footballer but at the same time also the first Belgian professional footballer. He seems to be the best on the continent and wins the Mitropa Cup, the forerunner of the European cups, with Sparta Prague.

Will 2008 – with the Beijing Olympics – be Moussa Dembélé's summer? The Red Devils striker learned all the tricks with the ball in his parents' living room, because playing football on the street is not safe these days.

Between Braine and Dembélé lie a hundred years and a hundred highlights, wonderful memories, but also forgotten anecdotes. Do you remember who 'Zorro' was? Which club was nicknamed 'de Ezels', who were 'de Vieze Mannen', why was Beringen called 'de liftploeg' and do you have an explanation for the fact that one of the most popular pubs in Lier at the time was called Elland Road? Who is our all-time top scorer? What striking European successes did our clubs experience? Who was relegated from the first division the most? How would we put together the Red Devils team of the century?

1906-2006 is the century of Belgian football. Raf Willems explains it in his subjective writing style.