Royal Antwerp F.C.

association football club in Belgium

Royal Antwerp Football Club is a Belgian football club from Antwerp. Founded in 1880 as the Antwerp Cricket Club by English students, the club is regarded as the oldest club in Belgium.[2] The football division was founded in 1887 and named the Antwerp Football Club.

Royal Antwerp
Full nameRoyal Antwerp Football Club
Nickname(s)The Great Old, The Reds
Founded1880; 144 years ago (1880)
GroundBosuilstadion
Antwerp, Belgium
Capacity16,144[1]
OwnerHouse of Orange-Nassau
ChairmanPiet van Boldwijn
ManagerMark van Bommel
LeagueBelgian First Division A
2021–22Belgian First Division A, 4th
WebsiteClub website
Current season

History

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Royal Antwerp has won four Belgian league titles as well as three Belgian Cups. In 1900 most of the players left the club to K. Beerschot V.A.C.. This was the start of a long rivalry between the two clubs.

The club is the last Belgian team to reach a UEFA competition final. In the 1993 European Cup Winners' Cup Final they lost 3–1 against Parma at Wembley Stadium.[3]

Royal Antwerp had a partnership with the English club Manchester United[4] An example is Dong Fangzhuo. He was unable to play for United immediately due to work permit problems and was loaned to Antwerp.

Although the club is on Belgium's best-supported they reached no trophies. They have not won a league title since 1957 and also spent several seasons in the second division. They were promoted to the top flight in 2000 and relegated in 2004. They returned to the first division after 13 years in 2017.[5] In August 2020 they won the first title since 1957. They won the Belgian Cup versus Club Brugge .[6]

Stadium

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Royal Antwerp plays their home matches at the Bosuilstadion since 1923.[7]

Honours

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National

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Belgian First Division

Belgian Second Division

Belgian Cup

  • Winners: 1954–55, 1991–92, 2019–20, 2022/23
  • Runners-up: 1974–75

Belgian Super Cup

  • Runners-up: 1992

International

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Challenge International du Nord

  • Winners: 1902, 1906

European Cup Winners' Cup

Runners-up: 1992–93

Players

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Current squad

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As of 8 August 2022.[8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   France Jean Butez
2 DF   Belgium Ritchie De Laet
3 DF   Belgium Björn Engels
4 MF   Belgium Radja Nainggolan
6 MF   Belgium Birger Verstraete
7 FW   Denmark Viktor Fischer
8 MF   Nigeria Alhassan Yusuf
10 FW   Belgium Michel-Ange Balikwisha
11 FW   Kosovo Arbnor Muja
16 MF   Belgium Pieter Gerkens
18 FW   Netherlands Vincent Janssen
19 FW   Japan Koji Miyoshi
21 DF   United States Sam Vines
22 DF   Argentina Gastón Ávila
23 DF   Belgium Toby Alderweireld
24 MF   Netherlands Jurgen Ekkelenkamp
No. Pos. Nation Player
25 MF   Belgium Alexis De Sart
26 GK   Belgium Ortwin De Wolf
30 DF   Senegal Abdoulaye Seck
32 MF   Germany Christoper Scott
33 DF   Belgium Zeno Van Den Bosch
34 DF   Belgium Jelle Bataille
38 MF   Belgium Faris Haroun (captain)
48 MF   Belgium Arthur Vermeeren
50 DF   Kosovo Laurit Krasniqi
51 DF   Ecuador William Pacho
55 FW   Ecuador Anthony Valencia
61 DF   Portugal Dinis Almeida
71 GK   Croatia Davor Matijaš
80 MF   Belgium Pierre Dwomoh
87 GK   Belgium Davino Verhulst
99 FW   Switzerland Michael Frey

Coaching staff

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Position Name
Manager   Mark van Bommel
Assistant Manager   Andries Ulderink
Assistant Manager   John Stegeman
Assistant Coach   Jürgen Dirkx
Assistant Coach   Egid Kiesouw
Goalkeeping Coach   Brian Vandenbussche
Fitness Coach   Peter Catteeuw
Match Analyst   Jerry Vanacker

Manchester United Players loan partnership

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This is a list of former players on-loan via Manchester United's partnership with Royal Antwerp from 1998 to 2013.

Other websites

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References

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  1. Bosuil mag voortaan 16.144 supporters ontvangen GVA, 7 April 2018
  2. "Blow for Royal Antwerp FC, Belgium's oldest football club". VRT. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  3. "Parma 3, Royal Antwerp 1". AP. 12 May 1993. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  4. "Manchester United's Royal Antwerp Loanees". Five Cantonas. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  5. "New life breathed into the Great Old as Royal Antwerp return to top flight". Inside World Football. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  6. "Antwerp wins Belgian Cup as soccer resumes in Belgium". Washington Post. 1 August 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  7. "Stadiums & Pitches". rafc.be. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  8. "Eerste ploeg" [First team] (in Dutch). Royal Antwerp F.C. 22 July 2022. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.