Guy Thys

Guy Thys

Guy Thys pictured in 1977
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
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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.

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 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 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. But Thys' most prominent success came in 1986 when Belgium finished 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.

Death

Guy Thys died on 1 August 2003 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

• UEFA European Championship Finalist: 1980
• FIFA World Cup Fourth place: 1986

Individual

• Belgian Sports Merit Award: 1980

• World Soccer Magazine Manager of the Year: 1986

External links

• Guy Thys at WorldFootball.net
• Profile at cerclemuseum.be