Walter Meeuws
Walter Meeuws is a retired Belgian footballer and current manager. He most coached Belgian First Division B side Lommel United. During his career he played for K. Beerschot V. A. C. Club Brugge K. V. R. Standard de Liège, AFC Ajax, K. V. Mechelen, he earned 46 caps for the Belgium national football team, participated in UEFA Euro 1980 and the 1982 FIFA World Cup. After retiring from playing, he has been working as a manager, including a stint as the national team manager from 1989 to 1990, he is coaching Lommel United. As a player, he won 4 championships, 2 with Standard in Belgium, 1 with Bruges in Belgium and 1 with Ajax in the Netherlands, he won 2 cups and played the final of the European Championship with Belgium in Italy in 1980. As a manager, he won 3 cups with Lierse and Far Rabat, 1 Supercup with Lierse and was runner up in the African Champions League Final with Raja Casablanca and runner up with Antwerp in the final of the European Cup II in 1993 at Wembley, he is the last manager that reached a European Cup Final with a Belgian Team.
Royal Belgian Football Association: Number of caps Walter Meeuws at WorldFootball.net Profile at Standard de Liège
Paul Van Himst
Paul Van Himst is a retired Belgian football forward and a football manager. Now retired, he still supports R. S. C. Anderlecht, his former team, he was nicknamed Polle Gazon due to the large number of fouls committed on him. In 1964, he played in the Belgium-Netherlands match alongside 10 Anderlecht players after the substitution of goalkeeper Delhasse by Jean-Marie Trappeniers. Van Himst won the Belgian championship 8 times, all of them with Anderlecht, a club for which he started playing his first professional season in 1959–60. With Anderlecht, he scored 233 goals in 457 matches, he played for RWDM in 1975–76 and for Eendracht Aalst in the following season. Between 1960 and 1974, "Polle Gazon" scored 30 goals for the Belgian national team; this performance made him Belgium's second topscorer—along with Bernard Voorhoof—and the 10th most capped player for his country. He made his debut on 19 October 1960 in a match against Sweden and he was part of Belgium's team which qualified for the 1970 World Cup.
Van Himst helped Belgium reach third place at the Euro 1972. As a football manager, Van Himst has worked notably for Anderlecht and the national team which he led to the 1994 FIFA World Cup, he holds the record of four times being awarded the Golden Shoe. In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was named the Golden Player of Belgium by the Belgian Football Association as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years, he has been an ambassador for the Belgian/South-African NGO "Born In Africa" since 2005. His wife, Arlette Neckebroeck, died on 4 December 2013. Escape to Victory - Michel Fileu - The Players: Belgium Max - Himself List of UEFA Cup winning managers Media related to Paul Van Himst at Wikimedia Commons CV UEFA.com – Golden Player of Belgium Born In Africa – Ambassador of the NGO – Belgium still bow to Van Himst – By Berend Scholten on UEFA.com
Aad de Mos
Adriaan "Aad" de Mos is a Dutch football coach. De Mos has coached teams in his home country, Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Greece, as well managing the United Arab Emirates national team. De Mos won the 1988 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup as manager of KV Mechelen. Aad de Mos was born in The Hague, he began his coaching as an assistant to Leo Beenhakker at Ajax. After the departure of Leo Beenhakker in March 1981 he took over Ajax for a brief period, he replaced Kurt Linder as Ajax manager in 1982, retained the role until he was dismissed shortly before the end of the 1984–1985 season. With Ajax de Mos won the cup once. After leaving Ajax, de Mos became coach of KV Mechelen in Belgium. Here he won the national title, cup and, in 1988, the European Cup Winners' Cup, beating his former club Ajax 1–0 in the final, he won the 1988 UEFA Super Cup. He left to become RSC Anderlecht manager, where he again reached the Cup Winners' Cup final in 1990, this time losing to Sampdoria in Gothenburg. In 1993, after his successful stints with KV Mechelen and Anderlecht, he signed as manager of PSV faced with the task with cleaning up an aging team.
In his first season PSV placed third in the league. In his second season, despite some major purchases, he did not perform well. In September 1994, de Mos positioned the centre forward Erik Meijer, known for being able to make good headers, for incomprehensible reasons as a back against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. At these clubs, he did not win any prizes and was employed for only a short time. After working in Spain and the Middle East, de Mos ended up in Arnhem on the bench at Vitesse, he was signed at the last moment after the club failed to attract the Belgian coach Johan Boskamp because Johan Boskamp did not have the correct Dutch papers and no dispensation was given by the KNVB. After a disappointing first season Vitesse Arnhem ended 12th and in the subsequent play-offs they fought for a place in the Intertoto cup. After successful matches against NAC Breda and NEC, they lost in the final against FC Utrecht on away goals; the 2007/2008 season began with some success. The team won their first three matches, the best start to a season in the club's history, however the season again ended in failure, finishing in 12th place.
On 28 April 2008, the club management announced that the contract with de Mos was dissolved immediately. De Mos was shown on television as a pundit on the former Talpa and the Belgian Sporza. During the World Cup 2006 in Germany, de Mos was as an analyst for the NOS and the Belgian VT4. De Mos signed a six-month contract with AO Kavala, with an option to extend it up to January 2010, following the sacking of Vangelis Goutis. Shortly after, he was followed by the signings of Denilson, Ebi Smolarek and Diogo Rincón during the winter transfer period, he found immediate success, most notably the away win at Panathinaikos F. C. in February, with the Athens club leading the league at the time. His notable results in Greece, despite his short stay at the club, coupled with his trademark managerial style, led popular Dutch magazine Voetbal International to give him the nickname of "Koning van Kavala". On 2 April 2010, de Mos resigned from his position as coach after disputes with the club owner. On 2 April 2010, only one day after his resignation from Kavala, de Mos was named new head coach of Sparta Rotterdam, replacing dismissed boss Frans Adelaar.
He arrived at a time when the club was facing relegation with only a one-point advantage over 16th-placed ADO Den Haag. His adventure at Sparta started with little success: a 1–1 home draw to Heracles Almelo was indeed followed by two consecutive losses, with his side being overtaken by ADO Den Haag, forcing the Rotterdam team to take part to the post-season promotion and relegation tournament in order to maintain its place in the Eredivisie. In the first leg of the relegation playoff second round, Sparta were stunned by Eerste Divisie outsiders Helmond Sport, losing the game 2–1. After the first leg ended 0–0 at Excelsior's home, Sparta was eliminated in a dramatic return match, with Excelsior missing a penalty, Sparta scoring the 1–0 goal in injury time only to suffer an equaliser only seconds later. Aad de Mos has a daughter, Tessa, active as a FIFA-licensed football agent since 2005, works on behalf of several Eredivisie players. 1x UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1987–88 1x European Super Cup: 1988–89 3x Dutch Eredivisie: 1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85 1x Dutch Cup: 1982–83 2x Belgian League: 1988–89, 1990–91 1x Belgian Cup: 1986–87 1x Saudi Crown Prince Cup: 2002–03 Official website Aad de Mos at J.
League
Goalkeeper (association football)
The goalkeeper shortened to keeper or goalie, is one of the major positions of association football. It is the most specialised position in the sport; the goalkeeper's primary role is to prevent the opposing team from scoring. This is accomplished by the goalkeeper moving into the path of the ball and either catching it or directing it away from the vicinity of the goal line. Within the penalty area goalkeepers are able to use their hands, making them the only players on the field permitted to handle the ball; the special status of goalkeepers is indicated by them wearing different coloured kits from their teammates. The back-pass rule prevents goalkeepers handling direct passes back to them from teammates. Goalkeepers perform goal kicks, give commands to their defense during corner kicks and indirect free kicks, marking. Goalkeepers play an important role in directing on field strategy as they have an unrestricted view of the entire pitch, giving them a unique perspective on play development.
The goalkeeper is the only required position of a team. If they are injured or sent off, a substitute goalkeeper has to take their place, otherwise an outfield player must take the ejected keeper's place in goal. In order to replace a goalkeeper, sent off, a team substitutes an outfield player for the backup keeper, they play the remainder of the match with nine outfield players. If a team does not have a substitute goalkeeper, or they have used all of their permitted substitutions for the match, an outfield player has to take the dismissed goalkeeper's place and wear the goalkeeper shirt; the squad number for a first choice goalkeeper is number 1, although they may wear any jersey number between 1 and 99. Association football, like many sports, has experienced many changes in tactics resulting in the generation and elimination of different positions. Goalkeeper is the only position, certain to have existed since the codification of the sport. In the early days of organised football, when systems were limited or non-existent and the main idea was for all players to attack and defend, teams had a designated member to play as the goalkeeper.
The earliest account of football teams with player positions comes from Richard Mulcaster in 1581 and does not specify goalkeepers. The earliest specific reference to keeping goal comes from Cornish Hurling in 1602. According to Carew: "they pitch two bushes in the ground, some eight or ten foot asunder. One of these is appointed by lots, to the one side, the other to his adverse party. There is assigned for their guard, a couple of their best stopping Hurlers". Other references to scoring goals begin in English literature in the early 16th century. In a 1613 poem, Michael Drayton refers to "when the Ball to throw, And drive it to the Gole, in squadrons forth they goe", it seems inevitable that wherever a game has evolved goals, some form of goalkeeping must be developed. David Wedderburn refers to what has been translated from Latin as to "keep goal" in 1633, though this does not imply a fixed goalkeeper position; the word "goal-keeper" is used in the novel Tom Brown's School Days. The author is here referring to an early form of rugby football: You will see in the first place, that the sixth-form boy, who has the charge of goal, has spread his force so as to occupy the whole space behind the goal-posts, at distances of about five yards apart.
The word "goal-keeper" appeared in the Sheffield Rules of 1867, but the term did not refer to a designated player, but rather to "that player on the defending side who for the time being is nearest to his own goal". The goal-keeper, thus defined, did not enjoy any special handling privileges; the FA's first Laws of the Game of 1863 did not make any special provision for a goalkeeper, with any player being allowed to catch or knock-on the ball. Handling the ball was forbidden in 1870; the next year, 1871, the laws were amended to introduce the goalkeeper and specify that the keeper was allowed to handle the ball "for the protection of his goal". The restrictions on the ability of the goalkeeper to handle the ball were changed several times in subsequent revisions of the laws: 1871: the keeper may handle the ball only "for the protection of his goal". 1873: the keeper may not "carry" the ball. 1883: the keeper may not carry the ball for more than two steps. 1887: the keeper may not handle the ball in the opposition's half.
1901: the keeper may handle the ball for any purpose. 1912: the keeper may handle the ball only in the penalty area. 1931: the keeper may take up to four steps while carrying the ball. 1992: the keeper may not handle the ball after it has been deliberately kicked to him/her by a team-mate. 1997: the keeper may not handle the ball for more than six seconds. Goalkeepers played between the goalposts and had limited mobility, except when trying to save opposition shots. Throughout the years, the role of the goalkeeper has evolved, due to the changes in systems of play, to become more active; the goalkeeper is the only player in association football allowed to use their han
René Vandereycken
René Vandereycken is a Belgian football manager and a former player. He was the head coach of the Belgian national team from 1 January 2006 to 7 April 2009, he played for Club Brugge and Anderlecht. As a player, he got 50 caps and scored 3 goals for the national team, represented Belgium at the Euro 1980, in the final of which he scored a penalty, he used to coach FC Twente as well as R. S. C. Anderlecht for some months and was fired by K. R. C. Genk in June 2005 after he managed to qualify the team for the UEFA Cup; the other teams he managed were Gent, Standard, RWDM and Mainz 05. Vandereycken is known to be a tactician, he was the head coach of the Belgian national team from January 2006 to April 2009. During this time, he was subject to a lot of criticism in the press for his tactical decisions, he was sacked on 7 April 2009 after not managing to get any points from 2 matches against Bosnia in World Cup qualifying. Sport.be website - News René Vandereycken at WorldFootball.net
Hugo Broos
Hugo Broos is a Belgian football manager caretaker at Oostende. He started his football career in his hometown Humbeek, playing for KFC Humbeek and was discovered at the early age of eighteen by a scout from RSC Anderlecht. For more than ten years he was their central defender and helped them win three European trophies, three national championships and four Belgian Cups. Between 1974 and 1986 he represented Belgium, gaining 24 caps and finishing fourth at the World Cup in Mexico in 1986. In 1983 Broos started playing for Club Brugge, he played there for five seasons until season 1987–88. During this period he helped his team gain the Belgian Cup in 1986 and the championship in 1988. In 1988 Broos retired as a professional footballer. In his career as a football player he won the Belgian Cup five times. From 1991 to 1998 he coached Club Brugge, winning the championship twice in 1992 and 1996. In 1991, 1995 and 1996 his team won the Belgian Cup. From 2002 until 2005 he coached RSC Anderlecht. Again he managed to get his team into the Champions League and his team won the 2003–2004 season championship.
Season 2004–2005 was a turning point however. His team was kicked out of the Champions League and they blew their chances for the Belgian Cup too. After a 0–0 outcome against AA Gent the verdict fell; that year in June he became coach for KRC Genk and got back at his former team on 30 September by beating them with 1–4. During the 2007–08 season he was fired again. In the summer of 2008, some sources first reported him signing a coaching contract at Romanian club Vaslui, however he denied their offer "because of a combination of personal and sport-related reasons"Broos won the prestigious Coach of the Year award four times in his career. Twice coaching Club Brugge in both 1992 and 1996, once with Anderlecht in 2004 and in 2007 with KRC Genk. On 15 December 2008, Broos accepted the proposal of Greek club and for the first time in his career left his country. Panserraikos had a great campaign in Greek Cup, eliminate Panathinaikos in quarterfinals but lost against AEK Athens in the semis. In season Panserraikos couldn't avoid relegation.
Broos left from Panserraikos and became new coach of Trabzonspor, on 22 June 2009 and was released on 22 November 2009. After that he was head coach of Zulte Waregem for half a season, before becoming assistant coach of Al Jazira Club, he was sacked in 2012 and is now manager of the national team of Cameroon, a job he applied for when it was advertised online and appointed in February 2016. He led the team to victory in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, he is now sporting director of K V Oostende after being fired as Cameroon's coach in February 2018. AnderlechtBelgian First Division: 1971–72, 1973–74, 1980–81 Belgian Cup: 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1975–76 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1975–76, 1977–78 UEFA Cup: 1982–83 UEFA Super Cup: 1976, 1978Club BruggeBelgian First Division: 1987–88 Belgian Cup: 1985–86 Belgian Supercup: 1986 MolenbeekBelgian Second Division: 1989–90Club BruggeBelgian First Division:1991–92, 1995–96 Belgian Cup: 1994–95, 1995–96 Belgian Supercup: 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996AnderlechtBelgian Pro League: 2003–04CameroonAfrica Cup of Nations: 2017 Belgian Professional Manager of the Year: 1991–92, 1995–96, 2003–04, 2006–07
Eric Gerets
Eric Maria Gerets is a Belgian football manager and former footballer. He started his playing career as an amateur for his local team AA Rekem, before achieving success with Standard Liège and PSV. At his peak he was regarded as one of the top right-backs in Europe; the combination of his warrior's heart and dark long hair earned him the nickname "The Lion". Considered one of the greatest players in Belgian football history, he is famous for having captained PSV to their first and only European Cup win in 1988; as a coach, he is best known for his advocacy of systems thinking. He is one of six managers – along with José Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Giovanni Trapattoni, Tomislav Ivić and Ernst Happel – to have won domestic league championships in at least four different countries. Gerets began his career playing for amateur side AA Rekem before joining titleholders Standard de Liège. Making his debut 16 April 1972 coming on for Silvester Takač against FC Diest. In the 1972–73 season Standard reached the Cup final, manager Vlatko Marković let Gerets start despite not being an established first team member as Standard lost 2–1 to fierce rivals Anderlecht.
The following season, Gerets replaced 29-year-old Jacques Beurlet and became the first choice right back for the Rouches. In 1975 Gerets made his debut for the national team. Gerets played for Standard Liège, Milan, MVV Maastricht and PSV, winning among others the 1987–88 European Cup, two Belgian championships and six Dutch championships. Gerets was an offensively-minded right back, known for his stamina, tactical discipline and mental toughness, he was known for long distance throw-ins. He is the third-most capped player for the Belgium national team, with two goals. In the 1980s, a new generation of players emerged at Standard. Noted manager Ernst Happel was hired, the club brought Raymond Goethals back to Belgium. Players like Arie Haan, Guy Vandersmissen, Michel Preud'homme, Walter Meeuws, Jos Daerden and Simon Tahamata became key players, whilst Gerets was the captain of the team. In 1980, Standard finished runners-up in the league, before winning the 1981 National Cup with a 4–1 win over Lokeren SC.
In 1982, Standard won the title by beating Waterschei SV Thor in the last match of the season. A few days they faced Barcelona in the European Cup Winners' Cup final, which they lost 2–1; the influence of Gerets on Standard's success was recognised when he was awarded the 1982 Belgian Golden Shoe. The following year he captained Standard to another league title, their ninth overall, which would prove to be their last until 2007–08. In 1985, Gerets joined PSV playing together with Ruud Gullit, Frank Arnesen, Huub Stevens and Willy van de Kerkhof followed by Brazilian star Romário. In 1986, Gerets won the title with PSV, after the departure of Gullit in 1987, Gerets became the new captain. Under Guus Hiddink PSV won the league and cup double three years in a row, Gerets scoring twice in the cup final against Roda JC. In 1988 PSV reached the UEFA European Cup final facing Benfica. After 120 minutes, it was still 0–0. In 1990, Bobby Robson was appointed as Hiddink's successor. Under Robson, Gerets won another two titles with PSV he retired at the end of the 1991–1992 season at the age of 37.
Gerets registered 86 caps for the Belgium national team, making him the third-most capped player in their history. He made his debut for the squad in 1975, played at four major tournaments: the 1980 European Championship, 1982 World Cup, 1986 World Cup, 1990 World Cup. In 1980, Gerets played in his first European Championship in Italy, he scored the opening goal in a 2–1 win against Spain which ensured Belgium qualified as group winners. The tournament is remembered for the inspired performance of the offensively-minded Belgium who unexpectedly reached the final, only losing to West Germany by a Hrubesch goal two minutes from time. At the 1982 World Cup, captained by Gerets, recorded one of their most famous victories with a 1–0 win over defending champions Argentina in the first game of the tournament held at Camp Nou with a goal by Erwin Vandenbergh, an excellent defensive display to hold off a young Diego Maradona. Four years they achieved their best-ever World Cup run in 1986 when they placed fourth under command of players like Jan Ceulemans, Jean-Marie Pfaff and captain Gerets.
Belgium won against favourites the Soviet Union with stars such as Igor Belanov and Rinat Dasayev after extra time. Belgium beat Spain on penalties, but they lost to eventual champions Argentina in the semi-final, inspired by Maradona. Despite their defeat, Belgium would end up in fourth place – their best finish in World Cup competition. Gerets would captain his nation to the 1990 World Cup finals. Belgium failed to convert their chances against England in the second round, they lost in the last minute of extra time after a goal by David Platt. Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first; as a manager, Gerets worked successively for FC Liège, Club Brugge, PSV, 1. FC Kaiserslautern and VfL Wolfsburg before joining Galatasaray at the end of the 2004–05 season. In the 1996–97 season, he won the Belgian championships with Lierse, reprising the feat in the season 1998–99 with Club Brugge, he won the Dutch championships twice with PSV. In the 2005–06 season, Gerets won the Turkish Premier Super League with Galatasaray.
In May 2007, he left the club, on 25 September became Marseille's coach. In his first year with Marseille in 2007, he managed to get the team from the bottom of the league up
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