Guy Thys

Guy Thys

Personal information
Date of birth	6 December 1922(1922-12-06)
Place of birth	Antwerp, Belgium
Date of death	1 August 2003(2003-08-01) (aged 80)
Playing position	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1939–1942	K. Beerschot V.A.C.
1942–1943	Daring Club de Bruxelles
1943–1950	K. Beerschot V.A.C.
1950–1954	Standard de Liège	105	(47)
1954–1958	Cercle Brugge
1958–1959	K.S.C. Lokeren
National team
1952–1953	Belgium	2	(0)
Teams managed
1954–1958	Cercle Brugge
1958–1959	K.S.C. Lokeren
1960–1963	K. Wezel Sport FC
1963–1966	KFC Herentals
1966–1969	KSK Beveren
1969–1973	R. Union Saint-Gilloise
1973–1976	Royal Antwerp FC
1976–1989	Belgium
1990–1991	Belgium
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Guy Thys (6 December 1922 – 1 August 2003) was the most successful Belgian national football coach in history.

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 fulltime trainer with Wezel the same year, followed by Herentals, Beveren, Union Sint-Gillis, and Antwerp. Antwerp was successful under Thys' leadership, including winning the Belgian Cup and twice finishing second in the championship. Partly due to these achievements Thys was appointed as national coach in 1976 and remained in the job until 1989, coaching the team for 101 games, 45 of which were victories. Eight months after stepping down as manager Thys was re-appointed in early 1990 to try to ensure qualification for the 1990 World Cup. The side duly qualified and was unlucky to be knocked out by the English national team. in the first match of the second round of the tournament. Thys again retired 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 by 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.

External links

• Profile at weltfussball
• Profile at Standard de Liège

Sporting positions
Preceded by 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