Shandre Campbell has been unveiled as a Club Brugge player, the latest in a long line of South Africans to ply their trade in Belgium.
The SuperSport United winger joins one of the top clubs in his new country, one which regularly qualifies for European football and will play a fourth season in the Champions League in the past five years in 2024-25.
The 18-year-old Campbell will have to work his way into the first team and may have to bide his time playing for the club’s reserves to start off with, but he can scarcely have a better introduction to European football than a club and a league renowned for nurturing top young talent.
He is certainly not the first South African to play there either, almost 30 of Campbell’s compatriots have turned out for Belgian players in the past.
From Owen da Gama and Mark Williams back in the day, to Aaron Mokoena, the late Anele Ngcongca, Lance Davids, Darren Keet, Andile Jali, Percy Tau and Elrio van Heerden, the list is long.
The most recent was of course Lyle Foster, who played at Westerlo and won a move to English side Burnley, showing the path for Campbell.
Many South Africans have found success in a league that is now as technically demanding as the top five leagues in Europe, but provides the perfect stepping stone to be seen and take the step up.
Foster also spent time at cross-town rivals Cercle Brugge, but Tau and Van Heerden played for Campbell’s new club and both excelled there.
“I had some of my best years playing at Brugge,” Van Heerden tells supersport.com. “It is a very family-orientated club with good connections between the supporters and the players.
“They are very good people, I enjoyed myself. I still think of it as like home and it was a very good experience for me.”
Van Heerden spent three-and-a-half seasons at Club Brugge between 2006 and 2009 before leaving for England and then Turkey, and later returning to Belgium with Westerlo.
'BIG ON PROMOTING YOUNGSTERS'
He played for the club in European football and says the standard of the Belgian league these days is high, as seen by the number of quality players the country produces.
“The club has grown so much, even from when I was there,” Van Heerden said. ”Every year they play European football and that exposure is so important for young players.
“They have quality of players coming out of Belgium all the time now. Kevin De Bruyne was just emerging (at Genk) when I was there. Everyone in the league has the ambition to go to higher competition like the Premier League or LaLiga, and so it is a good stepping stone. A good environment in which to compete.”
Club Brugge currently have eight players aged 19 or younger listed in their first-team squad, so are a club that believes in allowing teenagers to flourish.
“They trust young players, I know that because I still follow the club and they are big on promoting youngsters, bringing in very good young players and so it is a good environment for a youngster to be in. They give you that time to find your feet and settle in with your peers.”
Van Heerden says the town of Brugge also does not have the same ‘big city’ feel as Brussels or Antwerp, and therefore has less distractions.
Around 120 000 people live in the city, which is about the same amount as a modest South African suburb.
“It is a very small town, but a really lovely one and for me it was perfect to be away from the busier cities in Belgium. Brugge for me is a very nice place to live and to play football. Very small, but very warm. I loved it.”
Van Heerden admits he has not seen all that much of Campbell, but still has friends in Brugge and will ask them to keep an eye on his progress.
“I have heard a lot about him obviously, but I did not see much of him this season,” Van Heerden said. “But I will ask my friends about him and get their opinion.”
Campbell has won his move after an excellent debut season in the DStv Premiership with SuperSport, having also been a star of their DStv Diski Challenge side the campaign before.
He scored five goals and got five assists in 30 appearances across all competitions, piquing the interest of several overseas clubs.