K.A.S. Eupen
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| Full name | Königliche Allgemeine Sportvereinigung Eupen | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Pandas | |||
| Founded | 1945 | |||
| Ground | Kehrwegstadion, Eupen | |||
| Capacity | 8,363 | |||
| Owner | ASPIRE Zone Foundation | |||
| Chairman | Dieter Steffens | |||
| Manager | Beñat San José | |||
| League | Belgian First Division A | |||
| 2020–21 | Belgian First Division A, 12th | |||
| Website | Club website | |||
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Königliche Allgemeine Sportvereinigung Eupen (often simply known as Eupen) is a Belgian association football club based in the city of Eupen in the German-speaking Community of Belgium, in the province of Liège. They currently compete in the Belgian First Division A, and play their home matches at the Kehrwegstadion.
History
K.A.S. Eupen were formed in 1945 from the merger of Jugend Eupen and FC Eupen 1920.[1]
They first reached the Belgian Pro League in the 2010–11 season
In June 2012, the club was purchased by the government of Qatar and its Aspire Zone Foundation, who also own Paris Saint-Germain. Aspire Academy announced their intent use the club as a launching pad into European football for its academy graduates from Africa, South America and Asia.[2]
Eupen finished second in the 2015–16 Second Division, gaining promotion to the top flight of Belgian football for the second time in their history, staying up at the end of the season for the first time.[1]
The 2017/18 season began with a major upheaval in the squad; the best scorers of the last season, Onyekuru and Sylla, were given up. Until the winter break, AS Eupen never got past third from last place and were bottom of the table from matchday 14 to 23 before they defeated the runners-up, RSC Charleroi, 1-0 at home. In the meantime, head coach Jordi Condom was dismissed on November 7, 2017 and replaced by the former French international Claude Makélélé. KV Mechelen became their main relegation competitor. Before the last game day, both teams were tied in points. Eupen had a goal difference that was one goal worse, but scored more goals, so if both teams won or lost at the same time, they had to change goal difference in order to stay up.
On the last day of the regular competition Eupen played against Royal Excel Mouscron, whilst Mechelen played against Waasland-Beveren. At halftime, it was still 0-0 in both places. In the 51st minute, the hosts took a 1-0 lead in Mechelen and increased to 2-0 in the 59th minute. Now Eupen had to score three goals to stay in the league. Winter newcomer Yūta Toyokawa scored the first goal in the 73rd minute after a free-kick from captain Luis García, with another goal three minutes later by García 2-0. In the 79th minute, Toyokawa with his second goal increased the result to 3-0, which meant Eupen was "saved" at this point. Since nothing changed in the score in Mechelen, and Toyokawa even scored again 4-0 in the 89th minute, the "miracle of the Kehrweg" was perfect and Eupen stayed in the first division.
2018 In the 2018/19 season , the club reached 12th place in the table. For the first time, Eupen was not involved in the relegation battle. Nevertheless, on June 14, 2019, the dismissal of Claude Makélélé was announced. Despite his statement that he will be available to the club as an ambassador for various projects, he resigned after a month and moved to Chelsea as a mentor for youth players.
On June 24, 2019, Beñat San José was announced as the new head coach with a contract term of two years.
Current squad
- As of 27 February, 2021[3]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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References
- ^ a b "Club history". as-eupen.be. K.A.S. Eupen. Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- ^ Borden, Sam; Eder, Steve; Williams, Jack; Harress, Christopher (15 July 2014). "Qatari Soccer Empire Buys a Foothold in Europe". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 March 2018.
- ^ "Squad List and numbers". K.A.S. Eupen.
External links
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