Guy Jean-Leonard Thys (6 December 1922 – 1 August 2003) was a Belgian football manager, mostly known for being the most successful manager in the history of the Belgium national football team as he managed to lead the national side to their only UEFA European Championship final in 1980 and a fourth–place finish at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.[1]
Career
Thys was born in Antwerp and started his career in the 1940s and 50s as a football player with Beerschot, Daring Molenbeek and Standard. In 1952 and 1953 he played two matches with the Red Devils, the Belgium national team.
He combined the activities of player and trainer for Cercle Brugge from 1954 until 1958. In 1959 he performed the same functions for Racing Lokeren. He became a full-time trainer with Wezel the same year, followed by Herentals, Beveren, Union Sint-Gillis, and Antwerp. Under Thys' leadership Antwerp was a finalist in the Belgian Cup and twice finished second in the championship. Thys was appointed Belgium manager in 1976 and remained in the job until 1989, managing the team for 101 games, 45 of which were victories. Eight months after stepping down as manager Thys was re-appointed in early 1990 in order to take charge of the team for the 1990 World Cup. The side duly qualified through the group stage and was knocked out by the England national team in the second round of the tournament. Thys retired again in 1991.
Under his lead the Red Devils participated twice in the European Championship, and three times at the World Cup. In 1980, Belgium narrowly lost the European Championship final to Germany in Rome. In the opening game of the 1982 World Cup, Belgium surprised the world by beating the reigning world champions Argentina 1–0. In 1986 Belgium finished fourth in the World Cup in Mexico. His team beat Spain and the Soviet Union, but was defeated by Diego Maradona and his Argentine team in the semi-finals.
Death
Guy Thys died on 1 August 2003.[1]
Honours
Player
- Standard Liège[2]
- Belgian Cup: 1953–54
Player/Manager
Cercle Brugge
Manager
- Beveren[4]
- Belgian Second Division: 1966–67
- Royal Antwerp[5]
- Belgian First Division Runner-up: 1973–74, 1974–75
- Belgian Cup Runner-up: 1974–75
International
Belgium
- UEFA European Championship: 1980 (runners-up)[6]
- FIFA World Cup: 1986 (fourth place)[7]
- Belgian Sports Merit Award: 1980[8]
Individual
- World Soccer Magazine Manager of the Year: 1986[9]
- Coach of the Platina 11 (Best Team of 50 Years Golden Shoe Winners): 2003[10]
- Guy Thys Awards: From 2011[11]
- RBFA 125 Years Icons Team Coach: 2020[12]
References
- ^ a b "Guy Thys". The Telegraph. 4 August 2003. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ^ "Standard de Liège | Palmares".
- ^ "Cercle Brugge | Geschiedenis". Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- ^ "SK Beveren | Geschiedenis".
- ^ "FC Antwerp | Palmares".
- ^ "UEFA Euro 1980".
- ^ "FIFA 1986 World Cup". Archived from the original on 5 June 2016.
- ^ "Nationale Trofee voor Sportverdienste".
- ^ ""World Soccer" Awards".
- ^ UEFA.com (15 January 2004). "Aruna voted Belgium's finest | Inside UEFA". UEFA.com. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
- ^ "Felice Mazzu wint de Guy Thys Award: "Heel belangrijk, want erkenning vanuit de voetbalwereld"" (in Dutch). Sporza. 10 September 2022.
- ^ "Guy Thys désigné sélectionneur de l'équipe idéale des Diables Rouges" (in French).
External links
- Guy Thys at the Royal Belgian Football Association
- Guy Thys at WorldFootball.net
- Profile at cerclemuseum.be
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