Frank ("Franky") Vercauteren (born 28 October 1956), nicknamed "The Little Prince", is a former Belgian football left winger and is now a football manager, currently managing FC Krylia Sovetov Samara in Russia.[1]
Career
He made his first team debut for Anderlecht in 1975 against K.R.C. Mechelen, replacing Gilbert Van Binst. But a double surgery in October 1975 and January 1976 slowed down his development. Vercauteren won the 5 European titles of Anderlecht (2 Cup Winners' Cup, 1 UEFA Cup and 2 Supercups). He also won two Belgian Cups, four Belgian Championship titles and won the Belgian Supercup twice. In 1987 he moved to FC Nantes Atlantique in France and came back to Belgium three years later to play with R.W.D. Molenbeek until 1993. While at Nantes, Vercauteren finished twice the championship with the most assists.
International career
Vercauteren played 63 times with the Belgium national football team. He was involved in the 4th-placed team in the 1986 World Cup and also played in the 1982 tournament and in the 1984 European Football Championship. Though he made his national team debut on 16 November 1977 (lost 3–0 to Northern Ireland national football team), he was not selected for the 1980 Euro where Belgium finished runner-up.[2]
Coaching career
At the end of his playing career, he became the trainer of the youth team from C.S. Braine, a small club in Walloon Brabant. A year after, he moved to KV Mechelen where he first trained the youth team, then the first team (in 1997–98). At the end of this season, he signed as an assistant manager at his first club, RSC Anderlecht. He was briefly named manager along with his fellow Jean Dockx in the 1998–99 season after a disappointing start by manager Arie Haan (Anderlecht fell to the 18th and last place in the beginning of the season). The two men secured among others a nice 0–6 win at Sclessin against old rival Standard Liège and a 2–5 win at K.R.C. Genk, to come back in the European places. Anderlecht then hired Aimé Anthuenis as a manager, and Vercauteren became assistant once again. After coach Hugo Broos, successor of Aimé Anthuenis, was dismissed in February 2005, Vercauteren signed as the new manager and won twice the Belgian Championship. On 12 November 2007, after a string of poor and indifferent results, Vercauteren and Anderlecht parted company with assistant coach Ariel Jacobs taking over until the end of the season.
Vercauteren was from 9 April 2009 to 10 September 2009 the Caretaker Manager of Belgium national football team, stepping down after Belgium's defeat in Armenia on 9 September 2009, he was replaced by Dick Advocaat. On 3 December 2009, he signed a contract as Head Coach of K.R.C. Genk. On 17 May 2011 Vercauteren celebrated the Belgian Championship with Genk, after a 1–1 home draw against Standard Liège.[3] He also won 2011 Belgian Supercup, and lead his club into play-off for UEFA Champions League. On 8 August 2011, he signed a contract as Head Coach of Al Jazira Club. On 11 March 2012 Al Jazira Club announced that they had parted company with Vercauteren. They stated the reason behind the controversial exit of Vercauteren, was because he wasn't getting on with the players. On the same day he was replaced by Caio Junior.
He took over FC Krylia Sovetov Samara in Russia in the summer of 2014 following the club's relegation from the Russian Football Premier League. Krylia Sovetov spent every one of its 22 previous seasons on the top level. Under Vercauteren's management, Krylia Sovetov won the 2014–15 Russian Football National League and were promoted back to the Premier League.
Honours
Player
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Anderlecht
Manager
- Anderlecht
- Racing Genk
Krylia Sovetov
References
| Belgium Squads |
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| | | | ∗ Jos Daerden stepped in because Rene Vandereycken ruled out through injury on the eve of the finals |
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| Franky Vercauteren – Managerial positions |
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