 Peeters in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1974-01-10)10 January 1974 (age 51) | ||
| Place of birth | Lier, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Beveren (sporting director) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1980–1982 | Ternesse VV Wommelgem | ||
| 1982–1992 | Lierse | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1997 | Lierse | 119 | (24) |
| 1997–2000 | Roda JC | 93 | (39) |
| 2000–2003 | Vitesse | 77 | (17) |
| 2003–2005 | Millwall | 25 | (3) |
| 2005–2006 | Genk | 21 | (9) |
| 2006–2008 | Lierse | 25 | (5) |
| Total | 360 | (97) | |
| International career | |||
| 1998–2002 | Belgium | 13 | (4) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2009–2010 | Gent (youth) | ||
| 2010–2012 | Cercle Brugge | ||
| 2012–2013 | Gent | ||
| 2013–2014 | Waasland-Beveren | ||
| 2014–2015 | Charlton Athletic | ||
| 2015 | Lokeren | ||
| 2015–2016 | Westerlo | ||
| 2017–2021 | Westerlo | ||
| 2021–2022 | TOP Oss | ||
| 2022–2024 | Helmond Sport | ||
| 2024– | Beveren (sporting director) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Bob Peeters (born 10 January 1974) is a Belgianfootball executive and former player and manager. He currently serves assporting director ofChallenger Pro League clubBeveren.
Noted for his large stature, measuring 1.96 m, Peeters grew up inWommelgem,Antwerp Province and joined Ternesse VV Wommelgem at a young age. He moved to theLierse academy at the age of eight, progressing through the youth teams before making his senior debut in 1992 under head coachHerman Helleputte.
In 1994, after the arrival ofEric Gerets as manager, Peeters experienced his breakthrough. The striker scored eight goals and formed a striking duo withDirk Huysmans, in a Lierse-team counting profiles such asNico Van Kerckhoven,Philip Haagdoren,Eric Van Meir andDavid Brocken which won theBelgian First Division A title in the1996–97 season.[1] In January 1997, Peeters was in contract negotiations with the Lierse board, but chose to leave, according to him because he was seen as a "tall, clumsy" striker.[2]
After winning the league title with Lierse, Peeters signed with DutchEredivisie clubRoda JC under theBosman ruling. There, he was united with fellow countrymenJoos Valgaeren,Gregory Delwarte andPeter Van Houdt.[3] In his first season, the club fromKerkrade finished fourteenth, but after the arrival of managerSef Vergoossen, Roda returned to mid-table. In 2000, Peeters also reached theKNVB Cup final with the club. InDe Kuip inRotterdam, Roda beatNEC 2–0 to claim their second ever cup win. Peeters opened the score after 18 minutes after heading in a free kick fromEric van der Luer.[4] During the celebrations after the game, Peeters damaged the trophy which caused a dent still visible to this day.[5]
In August 2000, Peeters signed withVitesse for a fee ofBEF 252 million – around €6.25 million – which made him the second most expensive Belgian transfer ever, only surpassed byÉmile Mpenza.[6][7] Earlier, Roda had rejected an offer fromIpswich Town.[8]
Under managerRonald Koeman, Peeters impressed. Seen in Belgium as a technically limited footballer, was known in the Netherlands as an intelligent player with overview and strength. With Vitesse, he finished above mid-table two consecutive seasons. In the2002–03 season, Peeters and his teammates dropped far in the rankings. The club was in financial turmoil and many high-earning were allowed to leave.[9]
Peeters signed a three-year contract with EnglishFootball League First Division clubMillwall on 20 August 2003, where he was set to replace regular target-manMark McCammon.[10] He struggled with injuries during his spell in England.[11][12]
In 2005, Peeters was poised for a return to Belgium,[13] and after negotiating withWesterlo, he eventually signed withGenk after being convinced by technical directorAriël Jacobs.[14] Peeters had to compete with fellow strikersKevin Vandenbergh,Paul Kpaka andNenad Stojanović. He scored nine goals for Genk, who finished the season in fifth place.[15]
Peeters was set for a return to childhood club Lierse after one season with Genk. Initially, Genk chairmanJos Vaessen was willing to let him leave on a free transfer, but this offer was withdrawn afterwards. In the end, 32-year-old Peeters was involved in a trade withOleksandr Yakovenko, who was then playing for Lierse.[16]
Peeters did make many appearances for Lierse. The club finished second to last in the 2006–07 league table and suffered relegation to theBelgian Second Division via the play-offs. In October 2008, he announced his retirement from professional football after suffering an achilles tendon injury.[17][18]
Peeters made his debut for theBelgium national team on 25 February 1998 in a friendly against theUnited States, which was won 2–0 thanks to a brace byNico Van Kerckhoven. Peeters came on as a substitute forLuc Nilis after 84 minutes.[19]
He participated in the2002 FIFA World Cup qualification but did not make the final squad for2002 FIFA World Cup main tournament. On 28 February 2001, he scored ahat-trick againstSan Marino at theKing Baudouin Stadium.[20]
He became manager ofGent one week after being released byCercle Brugge in October 2012 but was fired in January 2013.
Peeters was appointed as manager of English side,Charlton Athletic, in May 2014 on a 12-month contract. In January 2015 after only 25 games in charge he was dismissed. His Senior Professional Development Coach Patrick Van Houdt and Performance AnalystGuy Kiala were also fired. At the time Charlton had won once in the previous 12 games and had slipped to 14th in theChampionship table.[21][22]
In 2015, Bob Peeters got a new chance atLokeren, replacingPeter Maes who left toGenk. After 12 league games, with only 3 victories, he got sacked by the owner of the club, in spite of just winning away atWesterlo.
On 16 November 2015, Peeters was appointed head coach ofWesterlo. He succeededHarm van Veldhoven who was fired the day before. Peeters' main goal in the 2015–16 season was avoiding relegation, something that he succeeded in on 13 March 2016 by winning 1–0 againstWaasland Beveren.OH Leuven had lost their home game againstClub Brugge on the same day, making them the relegated club of that season. On 13 September 2016, Peeters was dismissed as head coach of Westerlo.
In December 2017, Peeters returned as head coach of Westerlo, who had meanwhile been relegated to theFirst Division B.[23] His first match in charge was a 1–0 win over OH Leuven on 9 December 2017.[24] Westerlo's last victory dated from 30 September that year, after which the club only gained three points out of 30 under Vedran Pelić, who later stayed on as assistant to Peeters, together with Eric Reenaers. Westerlo finished penultimate in the regular season that season. In the play-offs, however, they remained undefeated, after which Westerlo moved up to sixth place.
In November 2018, Peeters was linked to a return to Waasland-Beveren, but in the end he stayed with Westerlo after the club offered him a contract extension until 2023.[25] In the2018–19 season, Westerlo finished fifth out of eight clubs in both the first and second period, but in the final ranking the club finished fourth, which meant that it qualified for play-offs.[26]
In the2019–20 season, Westerlo competed for the first period championship, but in the end they finished three points below OH Leuven.[27] The second period championship was also a tight affair – with three match days to go, Westerlo were in the lead together with OH Leuven,Beerschot andVirton –,[28] but with two matchdays to go, Westerlo had their fate in their own hands: with six out of six points they had enough for a final spot in the play-offs.[29] However, on the final matchday, Westerlo lost 3–1 toUnion SG, so that Beerschot, not Westerlo, had the opportunity to promoted. Westerlo therefore no longer had a chance to promote, despite the fact that they had achieved the most points in the final ranking.[30]
Westerlo also made a run at promotion in the2020–21 season, especially considering that the period championships were abolished that season and therefore only the champion and possible vice-champion of the regular season were promoted. Westerlo competed for second place for a while that season, but eventually were surpassed bySeraing.[31][32][33] After a draw againstClub NXT on the final matchday, Westerlo ended in fourth place, nine points behind Seraing.[34] On 10 May 2021, it was announced that Peeters and Westerlo parted ways by mutual consent.[35] Peeters later indicated that both parties were keen on moving on, and that he was not interested in returning to another season in the First Division B, where clubs compete against each other four times per season.[36]
On 8 June 2021,Eerste Divisie clubTOP Oss appointed Peeters as their new head coach.[37] He succeededKlaas Wels, signing a one-year contract. Peeters started the season with a 1–0 away win overExcelsior.[38]
On 20 May 2022, the club announced that Peeters had been dismissed from his position as head coach, citing "insufficient synergy" between Peeters and newly appointed technical director Klaas Wels.[39]
Peeters was appointed new head coach ofHelmond Sport in December 2022, becoming part of a new staff alongside new technical directorJurgen Streppel and head of scoutingDirk Jan Derksen.[40] He was dismissed as head coach on 8 April 2024 after a string of disappointing results.[41]
On 12 June 2024, Peeters was appointed the new sporting director ofChallenger Pro League clubBeveren.[42][43]
During the2000 UEFA European Football Championship, during which he was injured, he worked as a journalist who interviewed people forVRT. Presenter Mark Uytterhoeven regularly sent him on the road for the program. Peeters' search for a Romanian in particular became a well-known segment.[44] In addition, for a while he was an analyst duringUEFA Champions League matches and ascolor commentator forBelgacom TV.
In 2001 Peeters was a guest in the talk showMen on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown.[45] In 2009, he became the presenter of the Belgian version ofWipeout alongsideWalter Grootaers. When he became the youth coach of Gent, he stopped presenting.[46]
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 October 2000 | Skonto Stadium,Riga |  Latvia | 0 – 4 | Won | 2002 World Cup Qualification |
| 2 | 28 February 2001 | Stade Roi Baudouin,Brussels |  San Marino | 10 – 1 | Won | 2002 World Cup Qualification |
| 3 | 28 February 2001 | Stade Roi Baudouin,Brussels | San Marino | 10 – 1 | Won | 2002 World Cup Qualification |
| 4 | 28 February 2001 | Stade Roi Baudouin,Brussels | San Marino | 10 – 1 | Won | 2002 World Cup Qualification |
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Cercle Brugge | 1 July 2010 | 27 October 2012 | 103 | 39 | 23 | 41 | 037.9 |
| Gent | 1 November 2012 | 3 January 2013 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 009.1 |
| Waasland-Beveren | 5 November 2013 | 23 May 2014 | 23 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 026.1 |
| Charlton Athletic | 27 May 2014 | 11 January 2015 | 28 | 7 | 13 | 8 | 025.0 |
| Lokeren | 3 June 2015 | 25 October 2015 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 030.77 |
| Westerlo | 26 November 2015 | 13 September 2016 | 22 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 027.3 |
| Westerlo | 5 December 2017 | 30 June 2021 | 114 | 46 | 33 | 35 | 040.4 |
| TOP Oss | 1 July 2021 | 30 June 2022 | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 028.9 |
| Helmond Sport | 23 December 2022 | 8 April 2024 | 54 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 029.6 |
| Total | 406 | 136 | 113 | 157 | 033.5 | ||
Lierse
Roda JC
Westerlo
