THE money that Tony Bloom, the English professional poker player, and his co-investor Alex Muzio have ploughed in to Royale Union Saint-Gilloise since taking over in 2018 has helped to transform the fortunes of the tiny Belgian club.
Yet, the Joseph Marian Stadium outfit, who will take on Rangers in the Champions League third qualifying round next month, still have a transfer budget and wage bill that is far smaller than those of the rivals they vied for the Jupiler Pro League title with last season.
The cash provided by Bloom and Muzio has been wisely invested by their sporting director Chris O’Loughlin – a Northern Irishman with a Scottish mother who spent much of his childhood in South Africa and has previously managed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The former Cliftonville and Larne player was impressed by the vision that Bloom, the owner and chairman of Brighton and Hove Albion, and Muzio had for Union when they approached him back in 2019 and decided to make the move from the dugout to the boardroom.
The 43-year-old’s work was integral to their momentous victory in the Challenger Pro League last year – an achievement that secured their return to the top flight after 49 years – as well as their heroic bid to be crowned national champions last season.
Bart Fiermans covers Union for Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws and he believes the one-time Orlando Pirates, Melbourne Victory, Sint-Truiden, Charlton Athletic and Kortrjik assistant and AS Vita manager has been key to their remarkable rise.
“Union have been resurrected by Bloom and his investment,” he said. “He took over in 2018 and invested a lot of money when they were in the second tier.
“Their income is not great. They have a small stadium and only get around 4,000 or 5,000 fans at a home game. So investment was required. Bloom put millions into the squad and they started to pay good salaries.
“Still a lot of Union players come in from clubs in the lower divisions. It was really amazing how they excelled in the top league with players who had no played at that level before.
“Union have shown they can find good players in the lower divisions and have proved they can succeed in the highest division. They are very good at identifying new players. Their recruitment is very data driven.”
Fiermans added: “Behind the scenes, Chris O’Loughlin is important for Union. He has a lot of say in the transfers. For example, he was the guy who really wanted to sign Deniz Undav (the German striker who scored 27 goals in all competitions last season).
“O’Loughlin watched him playing for SV Meppen in the third tier of German football a few years ago and liked what he saw. It was not possible for him to sign the player at first, but he maintained his interest.
“Undav could have gone to other clubs in his homeland when his contract expired, but he chose Union in 2020 because of the interest which they showed in him.
“Now there is a big question mark over how they will do. They have lost their manager and some key players. Will Undav’s replacement be as effective? There are big question marks about how they will do this season.
“But Ross Sykes has come in from Accrington Stanley this summer. He is 6ft 5in tall. Will he be as good in defence as his English countryman Christian Burgess? He scored a goal in a 4-0 win against Feyenoord on Saturday.”
