Club Brugge started the season with trepidation and pessimism as their overriding emotions after the departure of the hugely successful and much-loved Michel Preud'homme and the arrival of the inexperienced Ivan Leko as a manager. Moreover, key players like Jose Izquierdo and Bjorn Engels were sold for hefty sums and the new additions were mostly unproven players who were seen as risk signings. Yet Leko could not have made a better start in the league, with nine wins in the opening ten league games installing the Black and Blue as firmly the best side in the division amidst the chaos in the other big clubs.
Leko operated with a three-man back line and a potent midfield that supplanted the attack nicely. It was a combination that was just too much for the rest of the division and their lead at the top was swelling to up to ten points by November. Hans Vanaken was peerless in his role behind the strike duo while Brandon Mechele was enjoying a brilliant campaign in defence. The one weak spot for Brugge was the goalkeeper as Leko did not seem to trust any of his goalie and was changing them constantly after any of them made a serious mistake.
A few cracks began to appear as Brugge got beaten at Genk and struggled in a few other games on the road. Yet they already seemed to have big cushion and maintained the tempo into the new year. However, injures to a few defenders disrupted them from February onwards and they got thumped by Standard in the Belgian Cup semi-finals. The team slowed down by the end of the regular season but still seemed too far ahead as the play-offs came around.
Losses to Gent and Anderlecht suddenly cut the gap at the top but Brugge managed to hold their nerve well and a superb comeback at Charleroi from a goal down proved to be the key win as Brugge were deservedly crowned champions with a game to spare. The team definitely had some weaknesses but they set the tone early on and Leko should be very proud of his work in his first season at the club.
