Revisiting the 2006 Belgian Cup Final: The rise of Zulte Waregem

Mouscron had beaten Thorhout, AEC Mons, SK Beveren and Charleroi on their way to the final. Zulte Waregem had beaten Club Brugge, Geel, Westerlo and Standard Liege, arguably a much tougher run to the final of the two sides. Gil Vandenbrouck was in the dugout for Mouscron, having only taken over as the sides manager in February of 2006. Vandenbrouck was the third manager at Mouscron that season, with the club having sacked Geert Broeckaert back in November of 2005. Vandebrouck had stepped in for fie games before Paul Put joined in January. Put only managed six games before departing, with Vandebrouck coming back in. He had guided the side to a 13th place finish.

Dury, on the other hand, had Zulte Waregem finishing in the top six in their first season in the top flight. Zulte Waregem’s success had been by committee, with Tony Sergaent leading the side with 10 goals. Ibrahim Salou had been in fantastic form with nine goals and six assists. Mouscon’s star man was Adnan Custovic out wide, with the winger having scored 11 goals and provided six assists during the league season.

Custovic would make his presence known during the final. After Zulte Waregem captain Stefan Leleu had given the side an early lead with a header from a set piece, Custovic grabbed an equaliser for Mouscron just after the hour mark with a well placed header. With the game winding down towards extra-time, Zulte Waregem delivered a sucker punch. Again, from a dead ball situation, but slightly different from the opener. Striker Tim Matthys looked set to whip the ball in, but instead he smashed it into the roof of the net, giving Patrice Luzi no chance.

Zulte Waregem held on to win their first piece of silverware, while Mouscron would have to wait a while longer. Sadly, financial issues meant the club had to merge again in 2010 after forfeiting its games. In March of that year, Royal Mouscron-Peruwelz were born out of a merger with R.R.C. Peruwelz. They made their return to the top flight in 2014, yet sadly the story once again ended in financial ruin. In 2022 the side folded again and has yet to make a return to the top two divisions of Belgian football.

Zulte Waregem, on the other hand, would go on a European adventure following their cup win, facing the likes of Newcastle United after escaping from a group with Austria Wien, Sparta Prague, Espanyol and Ajax. The side went on to have more cup success, losing the 2014 cup final to Lokeren before beating Oostende in 2017 on penalties.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson