SC Eendracht Aalst

Eendracht Aalst
Full name Sportclub
Eendracht Aalst
Nickname(s) De Ajuinen (The Onions), Den Iendracht
Founded 25 June 1919
Ground Pierre Cornelisstadion,
Aalst
Capacity 7,500
Chairman Belgium Frank De Roose
Manager Belgium Yannick Van Aken
Coach Belgium Regi Van Acker
League Belgian Second Division
2013–14 Belgian Second Division, 11th

SC Eendracht Aalst is a Belgian football club based in Aalst, East Flanders.

It changed its name in 2002 after former Belgian First Division club K.S.C. Eendracht Aalst had gone into liquidation. So they could not get the license and the new team began at the third division level. They played the next two seasons in second division (2003–2005) and are now back to the third division and they are at the 3rd place. While the 2004–05 championship was over, the club needed to know if first division side F.C. Brussels and second division side R.E. Virton were to receive the professional football license to know where they would play next season. Indeed, while 17th K. Patro Maasmechelen had no license, they were obviously relegated. So if one of the two submentionned clubs were refused the license, Aalst would have had played the third division playoffs while if they were both refused the license, Aalst would have remained in second division. Finally, both clubs did receive it so the team was relegated. In 2011, the name of the team got changed back to S.C. Eendracht Aalst. They've also requested to change the name back to the former K.S.C. Eendracht Aalst, which will be possible in 2012, if they receive good advice from the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA).

History

During World War I, citizens from Aalst played football matches to raise money for prisoners of war. In 1919 Sport-Club Eendracht Aalst became an official football team. After some friendly games in 1923, SC Eendracht Aalst joined the regional competition. They quickly moved their way up through the regional divisions and after moving the stadion to the current location in 1928, the team made it into the national competition in 1932. Only seven years later, in 1939, Aalst already promoted to the Eredivision (the current Belgian Pro League). Due to the second World War competition was not played for two years, so it wasn't until 1942 Aalst finished its first season in the Eredivision. In 1946 the chairman died and it was decided to rename the stadion to honour him, from then on it was called the Pierre Cornelisstadion. That year was the beginning of a very dark period for Eendracht Aalst. Due to changes in the competition-format, they were forced to relegate. After this they played in the lower division for more than 30 years. In 1960 they managed to get back into the Eredivision, but in 1962 they ended last and relegated again. In 1965, after a bribing-affaire, Aalst was even sent to the lowest national division. In 1977 they made it back into the second division, with Paul Van Himst in the team. In 1994 the team finally joined the first division again. Jan Ceulemans (manager), Godwin Okpara and Gilles De Bilde were some of the most important factors towards success. In 1995 a new climax was reached when they were allowed to enter the European competition and even survived the first round against Levski Sofia.

Stadium

The Pierre Cornelisstadion is located in Bredestraat, Aalst, near the city center. The Stadium has 3500 seats and 4000 standing places. It also has Business Seats. It was built in the early 1930s.

Honours

European cup history

Season Competition Round Country Club Home Away Aggregate
1995/96 UEFA Cup 1 Bulgaria Levski Sofia 1–0[1] 2–1[1] 3–1
2 Italy A.S. Roma 0–0[2] 0–4[2] 0–4

Current squad

As of 22 August 2014. 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 Kevin Van den Noortgaete
3 Belgium DF Wesley Vanbelle
4 Belgium DF Arnaud De Greef
5 Montenegro DF Predrag Filipović
6 Belgium DF Matthias Lievens
7 Belgium MF Tjendo De Cuyper
8 Burkina Faso FW Elis Koulibaly
9 Belgium MF Niels Martin
10 Belgium MF Kevin Janssens
11 Belgium MF Ken Van Damme
12 Netherlands MF Gigli Ndefe
No. Position Player
14 Belgium MF Philippe Janssens
15 Belgium DF Falco Geenens
16 Belgium FW Steve Bael
17 Belgium DF Jonas Bogaerts
18 Belgium FW Ratko Vansimpsen
19 Belgium DF Gianni De Neve
20 Albania MF Donjet Shkodra
21 Belgium FW Youri Lapage
22 Belgium DF Mike Smet
24 Belgium FW Stef Van Der Hoeven
25 Belgium GK Kevin Kempeneer

Previous trainers

Women football

The female team of Eendracht Aalst plays currently in the 2 A de Nationale A[3] and played his homematches in the Jeugdcentrum Zandberg.[4]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 UEFA Cup 1995/96, First round, UEFA.com, Retrieved 10. 11. 2013
  2. 2.0 2.1 UEFA Cup 1995/96, Second round, UEFA.com, Retrieved 10. 11. 2013 (English)
  3. htDAMES VC EENDRACHT AALST
  4. DAMES VC EENDRACHT AALST

External links