KAA Gent

History

Formation

In 1864, an association called the 'Société Gymnastique la Gantoise', which was tasked with promoting gymnastics, was founded. Some branches quickly became independent and in 1891 the team merged with the Association Athlétique, which was in itself a merger of younger teams, such as Racing Club, Running Club and Red Star. The new merger team was called Association Athlétique La Gantoise, and aside from gymnastics, the activities were broadened to athletics, boxing, cricket, cycling, fencing, hockey, swimming and tennis. In this context, the athletics team KAA Gent was founded.

In the last decade of the 19th century, organized football was introduced in Ghent. Different small teams were founded and some merged into Racing Club Gantois on 1 April 1899, which would later become the biggest challenger of KAA Gent. Only in 1900, a football section was founded by the students of the College of Melle, which is a place close to Ghent. The first president of the team was doctor Hector Priem. The games were played on the Carpentierplein, which was situated at the crossroads of the Kortrijksesteenweg, the Clementinalaan, the Oostendestraat and the Astridlaan. Initially, the colours black and white were chosen, but by 31 October 1900, when the team became an official member, the colours were changed to blue and white. On 15 November 1900, the first regular game was played, against Omnium Sporting Club.

Early 20th Century

For the first few years, the team mostly played in the Belgian Second Division, and later on in the First Division. In 1904 the team moved to the Mussenstraat. In 1913, the World Exposition was held at that place, and the team moved once more, this time to the Albertlaan. Over there, a football pitch, training fields, tennis courts, an athletics court, galleries and other accommodations were being built. At 9 December 1915, during the First World War, the stadium completely burned down. In 1912–13, AA La Gantoise became champion in the Second Division. In 1914, the team received the royal title and was called Association Royale Athlétique La Gantoise, which was abbreviated to ARA La Gantoise. During the world exposition, the team organized several sporting events. The first season in the First League, 1913–14, was nevertheless very difficult for the team and only by means of a test match against Standard Club Liégois, relegation was avoided.

In 1920, the team moved again, this time to Gentbrugge, where the Jules Ottenstadion was built. La Gantoise fell back to the Second Division and it was not until 1936 it managed to win the promotion play-offs and return to the First Division. In the mid-fifties, the team played their strongest football yet. In 1953–54 it ended third with an equal total of points as KFC Malinois and only one point behind the champions Anderlecht. The next season, La Gantoise was alone on the second spot, this time with three points less than the champions. In 1964 it won the Belgian Cup (Beker van België), which was the first major tournament victory for the team. Because of their cup win, it became the first Belgian team to participate in the European Cup Winners' Cup. La Gantoise was defeated in the first round by West Ham United. In 1967, the club relegated once more, after three decades of playing in the First Division. It did, however, only take them one year to clinch promotion again.

Late 20th Century

In 1971, the name of the team was translated into Flemish, as it became "Koninklijke Atletiek Associatie Gent" (commonly known as KAA Gent or AA Gent). The 1970–71 season was the start of a bad decade for Gent. They were relegated to the Second Division six games before the season's ending, after the defeat to Club Brugge. In 1974, they even relegated to the Third Division. Gent had ended last and couldn't assure its promotion to the Second Division in the final round. After one season, they would return to the Second Division and remained there until 1980, when the team returned to the First Division. The 1980s would become a much better period for the team. In 1984 they won the Belgian Cup again, and during that period the team played in European competitions four times. In 1986–87, Gent reached the Third round in the UEFA Cup.

In 1990–91, the team played at the top of the standings for a long time, under the guidance of René Vandereycken and players such as Frank Dauwen, Eric Viscaal and Erwin Vandenbergh, but finally it ended on the third spot. So instead of competing in the UEFA Champions League, the team played in the UEFA Cup in 1991. After defeating Lausanne-Sport, Eintracht Frankfurt and Dynamo Moscow, Gent played the quarter finals against Ajax. The following years, Gent fell back to the lower places in the standings. From 1994 until 1997, they finished just above the relegation places in the league. By the end of the 1990s the results improved again, and with coach Trond Sollied, KAA Gent qualified for European football once more in 1999–00. In these series, Gent lost heavily against Ajax, under new coach Henk Houwaart. The next season, Gent reached the UEFA Intertoto Cup, where they would reach the semi-finals against PSG. The following seasons, league results varied between lower sub-top places and top four finishes.

2000s

In 2004, Gent signed coach Georges Leekens. In his first season, the team ended at the sixth spot in competition. With Leekens as a coach, KAA Gent made some impressive performances, such as the 4–1 victory over rival Club Brugge on 1 April 2006. In 2006–07, despite a weak start of the competition, the team managed to reach the fourth place in the Belgian Pro League. It repeated that achievement the following year.

The next season, coach Georges Leekens left the club and joined Lokeren. Trond Sollied, the Norwegian trainer who had been very successful seven years before, succeeded him. Under his guidance, KAA Gent played its third Cup Final, in which it only lost at the end from Anderlecht. Sollied left Gent again after one season, this time for Heerenveen. Michel Preud'homme, who had just become champion of the Jupiler Pro League with Standard Liège, signed a contract for three seasons, together with his colleagues Manu Ferrera and Stan van den Buys. In 2008–09, the team ended at the fourth spot, after a strong comeback in the second part of the competition, with an equal number of points as Club Brugge, who had won one more game and ended third.

In 2009–10, there was a heavy battle for second place in the Belgian Pro League between Gent and Club Brugge and the Champions League ticket that came with it. They played each other on 8 May 2010. Gent won by a convincing 6–2 score to earn Champions League football. One week later, Gent also won the Belgian Cup for the first time in 26 years, defeating the other Bruges Pro League team, Cercle Brugge.

2010s

On 17 July 2013, the club officially inaugurated their new stadium, the Ghelamco Arena, with a 2–0 win over VfB Stuttgart in a gala match.

On 21 May 2015, Gent clinched their first Belgium League title by defeating Standard Liège 2–0 at home, automatically qualifying for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. Gent were drawn in Group H, against Russian champions Zenit Saint Petersburg, the Spanish team Valencia and the French Lyon. On matchday 1, Gent draw 1–1 with Olympique Lyon at Ghelamco Arena, securing their first point in the Champions League group stages. In matchday 2, they were beaten by Zenit 1–2 at Petrovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia. On matchday 3, they lost again 1–2 against Valencia at Mestalla, Valencia, Spain. On matchday 4, at Ghelamco Arena, Gent defeated Valencia 1–0, after Sven Kums successfully converted a penalty kick in the second half to obtain their first Champions League victory. On matchday 5, at Stade de Gerland, Lyon, France, Gent beat Lyon 2–1 with a dramatic winning goal with the last touch of the match in the 95th minute. On matchday 6, Gent won 2–1 against Zenit, finishing the group in second place and becoming only the second Belgian team to advance to the Champions League knockout phase after Anderlecht in 2000–01. In the round of 16, Gent were drawn against Wolfsburg. In the first leg at Ghelamco Stadium, Gent were defeated 2–3 by Wolfsburg. The second game, this time in Wolfsburg, ended 1–0, ending Gent's European tournament. However, it was the best European season for them.

In the 2016–17 season, Gent played in the Europa League. They faced Tottenham Hotspur, first winning at home in the Ghelamco Arena and then drawing in Wembley, thus advancing on aggregate. Around 8,000 KAA Gent fans attended the match in the away-end, after they were awarded an extra 1,000 tickets for their excellent reputation. In the next round they were defeated by fellow Belgian side KRC Genk.

Rivalries

KAA Gent have a fierce rivalry with Club Brugge, in what is dubbed as the "Battle of Flanders" in the media as it is between Flanders' two cultural capitals (Antwerp having been historically a part of the Duchy of Brabant). There are also many Club Brugge supporters in the city of Ghent due to internal migration from West Flanders to the city, while KAA Gent pride themselves on their local identity. The nickname that KAA Gent fans give to the Club Brugge fans is the Flemish word "boeren" ("peasants"), mainly because of the agricultural background of West-Flanders but also because of the insolence that Club Brugge fans have displayed in the past.

Honours

• Belgian First Division
  • Winners (1): 2014–15
  • Runners-up (3): 1954–55, 2009–10, 2019–20
• Belgian Cup
  • Winner (4): 1963–64, 1983–84, 2009–10, 2021–22
  • Runners-up (2): 2007–08, 2018–19
• Belgian Super Cup
  • Winners (1): 2015
  • Runners-up (3): 1983–84, 2010, 2022
• UEFA Intertoto Cup
  • Runners-up (2): 2006, 2007

European record

:Accurate as of 24 August 2022

Legend: GF = Goals For. GA = Goals Against. GD = Goal Difference.

Matches

;Notes

• 1R: First round
• 2R: Second round
• 3R: Third round
• QR: Qualifying round
• 2Q: Second qualifying round
• 3Q: Third qualifying round
• PO: Play-off round
• KPO: Knockout play-offs
• R32: Round of 32
• R16: Round of 16
• QF: Quarter-finals

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Jong KAA Gent

Technical staff & management

Well-known former players of the team

Six players of AA Gent held top scorer positions in the UEFA: Maurice Willems (1956–57, 28 games, 35 goals), Ronny Martens (1984–85, 34 games, 23 goals), Erwin Vandenbergh (1990–91, 34 games, 23 goals) and Ole Martin Arst (1999–00, 33 games, 30 goals), Jonathan David (2019–20, 29 games, 18 goals), Hugo Cuypers (2022–23, 39 games, 27 goals).

The Belgian player Roland Storme, central defender of KAA Gent in 1958–59, received the Golden Shoe award. Three other AA Gent players were presented with awards and honors: René Vandereycken got the award for trainer of the year 1991. Frédéric Herpoel was chosen as the best goalkeeper in 2004.

Mbark Boussoufa received multiple awards and honors including: pro-player of the year, best young player and the award of the 12th man, as well as the Ebony Shoe. Another AA Gent player, the Egyptian Ahmed "Mido" Hossam was also presented with the Ebony Shoe 8 years earlier in 2001.

Maurice Willems has scored more goals than any other KAA Gent player, with 185 goals between 1952 and 1962.

Armand Seghers holds the record of the most games played in the first team of KAA Gent: 507 between 1949 and 1960.

Marc Van Der Linden was in the national selection of Belgium for the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

Richard Orlans holds the most selections for the Belgium National Team, more than any other KAA Gent player. He was selected 21 times from 1955 – 1958.

Frédéric Herpoel was four times honoured with the Jean-Claude Bouvy Trophy for "most valuable player of the season" between 2002 – 2005.

Tore André Dahlum was a Norwegian international who played one year for Gent.

Congolese player Leon Mokuna was the first African player in Belgian competition, in 1957. Compatriot Pierre Mwana Kasongo would join the club in 1965 and Kiyika Tokodi would do so in 1980.

Jean-Claude Bouvy Trophy

The Jean-Claude Bouvy Trophy is an award that is annually handed out to the most valuable player of Belgian football club K.A.A. Gent. It was established in 1979 and later named after Jean-Claude Bouvy, a player of Gent who died in a car crash in 1986.

Winners

Coaching history

• Belgium Hector Priem (1901–09)
• Belgium Van Steenkiste (1909–10)
• Belgium Horta (1910–12)
• Belgium Bunyan (1912–22)
• Belgium De Rijke (1922–31)
• Belgium Staff Pelsmaecker (1931–41)
• Hungary (1941–42)
• Austria Willibald Stejskal (1942–43)
• Belgium Fons Ferchyér (1943–45)
• France Edmond Delfour (1945–51)
• Austria Karl Mütsch (1951–52)
• France Jules Vandooren (1952–56)
• France Edmond Delfour (1956–59)
• France Jacques Favre (1959–60)
• Belgium Louis Verstraeten (1960–64)
• Germany Max Schirschin (1964–65)
• Belgium Julien Labeau (1965–66)
• France Jules Bigot (1966–67)
• France Jules Vandooren (1967–71)
• Hungary István Sztani (1971–73)
• Belgium Omer Van Boxelaer (1973–74)
• Belgium Richard Orlans (1974–76)
• Belgium Freddy Qvick (1976)
• Belgium Roland Storme (1976 –77)
• Romania Norberto Höfling (1977–78)
• Belgium (1978 – September 80)
• Netherlands Han Grijzenhout (1980–81)
• Belgium Robert Goethals (1981 – January 83)
• Belgium Erwin Vanden Daele (1983 – November 83)
• Netherlands Han Grijzenhout (1984 – December 86)
• Netherlands Gérard Bergholtz (1987)
• Netherlands Ab Fafié (1987 – April 88)
• Belgium Erwin Vandendaele (1988–89)
• Belgium René Vandereycken (31 March 1989 – 28 February 1993)
• Netherlands Hans Dorjee (1993)
• Belgium Walter Meeuws (1 July 1993 – 30 June 1994)
• Belgium Lei Clijsters (1994–96)
• Netherlands Johan Boskamp (30 November 1996 – 30 September 1998)
• Belgium Herman Vermeulen (interim) (1998 – December 98)
• Norway Trond Sollied (1 January 1999 – 30 June 2000)
• Netherlands Henk Houwaart (1 July 2000 – 30 September 2000)
• France Patrick Rémy (1 July 2000 – 30 June 2002)
• Belgium Herman Vermeulen (interim) (2001–02)
• Netherlands Jan Olde Riekerink (1 July 2002 – 3 November 2003)
• Belgium H. Vermeulen (interim) (5 November 2003 – 17 May 2004)
• Belgium Georges Leekens (18 May 2004 – 30 June 2007)
• Norway Trond Sollied (1 July 2007 – 30 June 2008)
• Belgium Michel Preud'homme (1 July 2008 – 30 June 2010)
• Belgium Francky Dury (1 July 2010 – 30 June 2011)
• Norway Trond Sollied (1 July 2011 – 23 October 2012)
• Belgium Manu Ferrera (interim) (23 October 2012 – 1 November 2012)
• Belgium Bob Peeters (1 November 2012 – 3 January 2013)
• Belgium Manu Ferrera (interim) (January 2013)
• Spain Víctor Fernández (9 January 2013 – 30 September 2013)
• Romania Mircea Rednic (1 October 2013 – 9 April 2014)
• Belgium Peter Balette (interim) (9 April 2014 – 1 July 2014)
• Belgium Hein Vanhaezebrouck (2014 – 27 September 2017)
• Belgium Yves Vanderhaeghe (October 2017 – 9 October 2018)
• DEN Jess Thorup (10 October 2018 – 20 August 2020)
• Romania László Bölöni (20 August 2020 – 14 September 2020)
• Belgium Wim De Decker (14 September 2020 – 4 December 2020)
• Belgium Hein Vanhaezebrouck (4 December 2020 – 25 May 2024)
• Belgium Wouter Vrancken (4 June 2024 – 21 January 2025)
• Switzerland Danijel Milićević (21 January 2025 – 27 May 2025)
• Croatia Ivan Leko (4 June 2025 – 8 December 2025)
• Belgium Rik De Mil (10 December 2025 - present)

Presidents

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

References

References

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