Guy Thys
|
Guy Thys pictured in 1977 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Guy Jean Léonard Thys | ||
| Date of birth | 6 December 1922 | ||
| Place of birth | Antwerp, Belgium | ||
| Date of death | 1 August 2003 (aged 80) | ||
| Place of death | Antwerp, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1934–1939 | Beerschot | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1939–1950 | Beerschot | 143 | (60) |
| 1942–1943 | → Daring Bruxelles (loan) | 26 | (12) |
| 1950–1954 | Standard Liège | 104 | (46) |
| 1954–1958 | Cercle Brugge | 107 | (41) |
| Total | 380 | (159) | |
| National team | |||
| 1952–1953 | Belgium | 2 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1954–1958 | Cercle Brugge | ||
| 1958–1959 | Lokeren | ||
| 1960–1963 | Wezel Sport | ||
| 1963–1966 | Herentals | ||
| 1966–1969 | Beveren | ||
| 1969–1973 | Union Saint-Gilloise | ||
| 1973–1976 | Royal Antwerp | ||
| 1976–1989 | Belgium | ||
| 1990–1991 | Belgium | ||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
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Guy Thys (6 December 1922 – 1 August 2003) was the most successful Belgian national football manager in history.
Biography
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 Belgian 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. Antwerp was successful under Thys' leadership, being finalist in the Belgian Cup and twice finishing second in the championship. Partly due to these achievements 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 unlucky to be knocked out by the English 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 in the World Cup. In 1980, Belgium narrowly lost the European Championship final from 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. But Thys' most prominent success came in 1986 when Belgium ended fourth in the World Cup in Mexico. His team beat Spain and the Soviet Union, but was halted by Diego Maradona and his Argentine team in the semi finals.
Guy Thys died after a lingering disease and is survived by his wife Christiane.
Honours
Player
- Standard Liège
- Belgian Cup: 1953–54
Manager
- Beveren
- Belgian Second Division: 1966–67
- Royal Antwerp
- Belgian First Division Runner-up: 1973–74, 1974–75
- Belgian Cup Runner-up: 1974–75
- Belgium
- FIFA World Cup Fourth place: 1986
- UEFA European Championship Finalist: 1980
External links
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
Preceded by.svg.png){kind=small} Jozef Vandercruyssen |
Cercle Brugge top scorer 1955 |
Succeeded by François Loos |
| Preceded by François Loos |
Cercle Brugge top scorer alongside François Loos 1957 |
Succeeded by André Perot |