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Belgium national football team

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The Belgium national football team is the national football team of Belgium and is controlled by the Belgian Football Association.

Contents

History

Belgium played its first official game on May 1, 1904 in a 3-3 draw against France. Prior to this match, a team Belgium played several matches but the squad contained some English players so it was not added to the palmares. For example, Belgium beat Netherlands by 8-0 on April 28, 1901 with the help of some Englishmen. It was then decided that Belgium would play twice a year against Netherlands starting 1905, generally once in Antwerp and once in Rotterdam. At that time, the national squad was chosen by a committee of representatives of the 6 or 7 main clubs.

The team was nicknamed Les Diables Rouges ("The Red Devils") by journalist Pierre Walckiers after its victory to the Netherlands (Rotterdam, 1906), 2-3.

Over the next six decades, Belgium established itself as a strong second-tier team, rarely in the running for winning a major tournament but never easy to handle at home or abroad. A key strength of the team was its systematic use of the offside trap, a defensive tactic developed in the 1960s at Anderlecht under French coach Pierre Sinibaldi. The 1980s and early 1990s are generally considered the strongest period of the national team. Under the lead of Guy Thys, who coached more than 100 official games, Belgium established a reputation of being a physical, well-organized team that was hard to play against. The team's rigorous organization was reinforced by a few world-class players such as goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff, right-back Eric Gerets, or playmaker Enzo Scifo. However, the team was prone to uneven motivation, sometimes performing poorly aginst lower-ranked teams but nearly always inspired against top teams. Until as recently as 2002, world-class national teams did not like the prospect of playing the Red Devils--not even future world champion Brazil, who won 2-0 with some difficulty in the knockout phase of the 2002 World Cup. Since then, however, the team has steadily slipped down the rankings though, and hasn't been able to extend its past reputation.

After failing to qualify for the 2006 World Cup for the first time in 28 years, the contract of national coach Aimé Anthuenis was not renewed beyond 2005, and it was decided on December 22, 2005 that René Vandereycken would replace Anthuenis on January 1, 2006.

World Cup Record

Belgium's World Cup appearance record reflects the unusual depth of footballing talent for a country of this size, in the manner of the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, or Sweden. The country qualified for six successive World Cups - (1982-2002), a total only Italy and now Spain can match. Every other nation with an equal or longer string of appearances has had the streak "interrupted" by automatic qualification as the host or the defending champion. (The 2006 tournament will be the first for which the defending champion does not automatically qualify.)

Belgium's best-ever World Cup run was in 1986 when they placed fourth, losing to eventual champions Argentina in the semifinal (0-2) and to France in the third-place match (2-4) after extra time.

European Championship Record

Belgium's performance in the European Championships does not match its World Cup record. The best result is no doubt the unexpected second place at the 1980 edition in Italy after a narrow defeat (1-2) to West Germany in the final. Belgium hosted or co-hosted the event twice, finishing third in 1972 and being one of the major disappointments of the 2000 edition with a first-round exit.

Olympics Record

Belgium won the Olympic Gold Medal in 1920, and the Bronze Medal in 1900.

Distinguished players

As of May 20, 2006 the 22 most capped players for Belgium are:

# Player Belgium career Caps
1 Jan Ceulemans 1977-1991 96
2 Eric Gerets 1975-1991 86
= Franky Van Der Elst 1984-1998 86
4 Vincenzo Scifo 1984-1998 84
5 Paul Van Himst 1960-1974 81
6 Georges Grün 1984-1995 77
7 Lorenzo Staelens 1990-2000 70
= Marc Wilmots 1994-2002 70
9 Victor Mees 1949-1960 68
10 Georges Heylens 1961-1973 67
11 Bart Goor* 1999- 64
= Joseph Jurion 1955-1967 64
= Jean-Marie Pfaff 1976-1987 64
14 Franky Vercauteren 1977-1988 63
= Marc Degryse 1984-1996 63
16 Bernard Voorhoof 1928-1940 61
17 Michel Preud'homme 1979-1994 58
18 Eric Deflandre* 1997- 57
= Wilfried Van Moer 1966-1982 57
20 Louis Carré 1948-1958 56
= Joseph Mermans 1945-1956 56
= Luc Nilis 1988-2000 56

Other notable players who have represented Belgium include (note, this is not a comprehensive list):
Player Belgium career Caps
Michel Renquin 1976-1987 55
Raymond Braine 1925-1939 54
Danny Boffin 1989-2002 53
Armand Swartenbroeks 1913-1928 53
Mbo Mpenza* 1997- 51
René Vandereycken 1975-1986 50
Gert Verheyen 1994-2002 50
Emile Mpenza* 1997- 49
Wilfried Puis 1962-1975 49
Léopold Anoul 1947-1954 48
Pierre Hanon 1958-1969 48
Erwin Vandenbergh 1979-1991 48
Yves Vanderhaeghe* 1999- 48
Henri Coppens 1949-1959 47
Pierre Braine 1922-1930 46
Ludo Coeck 1974-1984 46
Walter Meeuws 1977-1984 46
Timmy Simons* 2001- 44
François Van Der Elst 1973-1983 44
Geert De Vlieger* 1999-2004 43
Michel De Wolf 1980-1994 42
Victor Lemberechts 1945-1955 42
Nico Van Kerckhoven* 1996-2002 42
Philippe Albert 1987-1997 41
Robert Paverick 1935-1946 41
Leo Clijsters 1983-1991 40
Christian Piot 1969-1977 40
Jean Nicolay 1959-1967 39
Florimond Van Halme 1921-1930 39
Stéphane Demol 1986-1991 38
Alfons Van Brandt 1950-1957 38
Paul Vandenberg 1957-1967 38
Marc Emmers 1988-1994 37
Glen De Boeck 1993-2003 36
Johan Walem 1991-2002 36
Nicolas Claesen 1983-1990 36
Julien Cools 1974-1980 35
Jean Dockx 1967-1975 35
Luc Millecamps 1979-1983 35
Léon Semmeling 1961-1973 35
Philippe Clement* 1998- 35
Wesley Sonck* 2001- 35
Jean Thissen 1968-1977 34
Eric Van Meir 1993-2002 34
Filip De Wilde 1989-2000 33
Patrick Vervoort 1986-1991 32
Luis Oliveira 1992-1999 31
Thomas Buffel* 2002- 26

the '*' denotes a player still playing or available for selection.

Top Belgium goalscorers

As of May 25, 2006:
# Player Belgium career Goals (Caps)
1 Bernard Voorhoof 1928-40 30 (61)
= Paul Van Himst 1960-74 30 (81)
3 Marc Wilmots 1994-2002 28 (70)
4 Joseph Mermans 1945-56 27 (56)
5 Robert De Veen 1906-13 26 (23)
= Raymond Braine 1925-39 26 (54)
7 Marc Degryse 1984-96 23 (63)
= Jan Ceulemans 1977-91 23 (96)
9 Henri Coppens 1949-59 21 (47)
10 Léopold Anoul 1947-54 20 (48)
= Erwin Vandenbergh 1979-91 20 (48)
12 Jean Capelle 1931-39 19 (34)
13 Raoul Lambert 1966-77 18 (33)
= Vincenzo Scifo 1984-98 18 (84)
15 Emile Mpenza* 1998- 17 (49)
16 Paul Vandenberg 1957-67 16 (38)
17 Johan Devrindt 1964-75 15 (23)
= Wesley Sonck* 2001- 15 (36)
18 Victor Lemberechts 1945-55 14 (42)
= François Van Der Elst 1973-83 14 (44)

the * denotes a player still playing or available for selection.

Coaches

Before 1910, a committee of the Belgian federation selected the players.

External links

|- ! colspan="3" style="background:#ccf;" | Football in Belgium |- ! style="background:#ffdead; width:21em;" | League competitions | rowspan="1" | URBSFA/KBVB ! style="background:#ffdead; width:21em;" | Cup competitions and awards |- | Jupiler League | Belgium | Cup |- | Second division | Women | Supercup |- | Third division | rowspan="2" | List of clubs | Golden Shoe |- | Promotion | Professional football awards |- | colspan="3" style="text-align:right;" |

|- !style="background:#BFD7FF;"|

|- style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;" | FIFA | World Cup | Confederations Cup | World Rankings | Player of the Year | Teams

|- style="text-align:left; font-size:90%;" |

     Asia: AFC – Asian Cup
     Africa: CAF – African Cup of Nations
     North America: CONCACAF – Gold Cup
     South America: CONMEBOL – Copa América
     Oceania: OFC – Nations Cup
     Europe: UEFA – European Championship
|

|- !style="background:#BFD7FF;"|

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