K.V.C. Westerlo

Westerlo
Full name Koninklijke Voetbal Club
Westerlo
Nickname(s) De Kemphanen
Founded 5 September 1933 (creation)
5 August 1942 (merge)
Ground Het Kuipje,
Westerlo
Ground Capacity 8,035
Chairman Belgium Herman Wijnants
Manager Belgium Bob Peeters
League Belgian Pro League
2015–16 Belgian Pro League, 15th

Koninklijke Voetbal Club Westerlo (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkoːnɪŋkləkə ˈvudbɑl ˌklɵp ˈʋɛstərloː]; often simply called Westerlo) is a Belgian professional football club located in the municipality of Westerlo in the province of Antwerp. Westerlo has been playing in the Belgian Pro League since 1997–98. Their highest finish is a 6th place in 1999–00, 2003–04 and 2008–09. They have won one Belgian Cup. The only player who has ever been called up for the Belgium national football team while at Westerlo is Toni Brogno (7 caps, all of them while at Westerlo).

The club was founded in 1933, receiving the matricule number 2024. Their colours are yellow and blue. They play their home matches at the Het Kuipje.

History

K.V.C. Westerlo was founded in the city of Westerlo by students in 1917, and it was named Sportkring De Bist Westerlo. After five years of existence, the club retired. The club Bist Sport was created in 1931 and it changed its name to Sportkring Westerlo two years later. At that time. some players left the club to found Westerlo Sport, the ancestor of K.V.C. Westerlo. In 1939, the club won its league for the first time. Five years later, Sportkring Westerlo and dissident Westerlo Sport decided to merge in spite of the rivalry between the teams, and the new club was called V.C. Westerlo.

It became champion of the Antwerp second division in 1960. Eight years later it played its first season at the national level in Promotion and it won its league to play the third division in 1969. At the end of the season, Westerlo missed a third title in a row, finishing second behind Eupen. The next year, the club was relegated after the playoff and it stayed in the Promotion for ten seasons. The club then underwent two relegations in a row and thus played in the Antwerp second division in 1982–83. Westerlo was then promoted for three consecutive years to qualify for the third division once again. In 1993, the club promoted to the second division and then to the first division in 1997. In 1996, the club added the prefix Koninklijke (meaning "Royal" in Dutch) to its name.

Stadium

Westerlo plays its home matches at Het Kuipje, which means "The Small Tank" in Dutch. It is believed to be reference to the Feijenoord Stadion that is nicknamed De Kuip ("The Tank"). Its capacity is of 7,982 with 5,556 seats.

Honours

Winners (1): 2013–14
Runners-up (1): 1996–97
Winners (1): 1997
Winners (1): 2000–01
Runners-up (1): 2010–11
Runners-up (1): 2001

European record

Competition Appearances Matches Won Drawn Lost GF GA
UEFA Cup / Europa League 2 6 1 1 4 2 8
UEFA Intertoto Cup 2 4 0 1 3 0 14
Season Competition Round Nat Club Home Away
2000 UEFA Intertoto Cup 1R Slovenia Primorje 0–6 0–5
2001–02 UEFA Cup 1R Germany Hertha Berlin 0–2 0–1
2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup 2R Czech Republic Tescoma Zlín 0–0 0–3
2011–12 UEFA Europa League Q2 Finland TPS Turku 0–0 1–0
Q3 Switzerland Young Boys 0–2 1–3

Current squad

As of 27 August 2015

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Belgium GK Kristof Van Hout
26 Belgium GK Stijn Jeurissen
30 Belgium GK Koen Van Langendonck

2 Netherlands DF Mitch Apau
3 Belgium DF Filip Daems
5 Ivory Coast DF Igor Lolo
16 England DF Jordan Mustoe
17 Belgium DF Kenneth Schuermans
22 Belgium DF Gilles Ruyssen
44 Belgium DF Hervé Matthys

6 Belgium MF Robin Henkens
7 France MF Raphaël Lecomte
8 Belgium MF Maxime Annys
No. Position Player
11 Trinidad and Tobago MF Khaleem Hyland
18 Belgium MF Nils Schouterden
19 Belgium MF Arno Verschueren
20 Norway MF Vajebah Sakor (on loan from Juventus)
23 Belgium MF Jarno Molenberghs
24 Belgium MF Jens Cools
27 Belgium MF Julien Vercauteren (on loan from Nice)

9 Ivory Coast FW Koffi
10 Belgium FW Benjamin De Ceulaer
12 Benin FW Frédéric Gounongbe
14 Belgium FW Mohammed Aoulad
90 Latvia FW Eduards Višņakovs

On loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
4 Belgium MF Jore Trompet (on loan at Eendracht Aalst)
11 Netherlands FW Sherjill MacDonald (on loan at Sparta Rotterdam)

For recent transfers, see List of Belgian football transfers summer 2015.

Managers

  • Belgium Louis Leysen (1982–84)
  • Belgium Jos Heyligen (1984–86)
  • Belgium Marcel Corens (1986–88)
  • Belgium Dirk Verbraken (1989)
  • Belgium Raymond Jaspers (1989)
  • Belgium Dirk Verbraken (1990–92)
  • Belgium Jos Heyligen (1992–93)
  • Belgium Werner Helsen (1993)
  • Belgium Stef Verelst (1993)
  • Netherlands Barry Hulshoff (1994–95)

External links

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