Guy Thys

Guy 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]

Guy Thys
Guy Thys pictured in 1976
Personal information
Full name Guy Jean Léonard Thys
Date of birth (1922-12-06)6 December 1922
Place of birth Antwerp, Belgium
Date of death 1 August 2003(2003-08-01) (aged 80)
Place of death Antwerp, Belgium
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) 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)
International career
1952–1953 Belgium 2 (0)
Managerial career
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
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Belgium (as manager)
UEFA European Championship
Runner-up1980
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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]

Cercle Brugge[3]

Manager
Beveren[4]
Royal Antwerp[5]

International

Belgium

Individual

References
  1. "Guy Thys". The Telegraph. 4 August 2003. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  2. "Standard de Liège | Palmares".
  3. "Cercle Brugge | Geschiedenis".
  4. "SK Beveren | Geschiedenis".
  5. "FC Antwerp | Palmares".
  6. "UEFA Euro 1980".
  7. "FIFA 1986 World Cup". Archived from the original on 5 June 2016.
  8. "Nationale Trofee voor Sportverdienste".
  9. ""World Soccer" Awards".
  10. UEFA.com (15 January 2004). "Aruna voted Belgium's finest | Inside UEFA". UEFA.com. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  11. "Felice Mazzu wint de Guy Thys Award: "Heel belangrijk, want erkenning vanuit de voetbalwereld"" (in Dutch). Sporza. 10 September 2022.
  12. "Guy Thys désigné sélectionneur de l'équipe idéale des Diables Rouges" (in French).
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