.jpg) 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 | 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
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Guy Jean-Leonard Thys (6 December 1922 – 1 August 2003) was aBelgianfootball manager, mostly known for being the most successful manager in the history of theBelgium national football team as he managed to lead the national side to their onlyUEFA European Championship final in1980 and a fourth–place finish at the1986 FIFA World Cup.[1] With 114 games between 1976 and 1991, he is the longest-serving national coach in the history of the Red Devils to date.[2]
Thys was born inAntwerp as son of Belgian internationalIvan Thys. He started his career in the 1940s and 50s as a football player with Beerschot, Daring Molenbeek and Standard. Because of thewar, nearly five years of his career were lost.[3] In 1952 and 1953 he played two matches with theRed Devils, theBelgium national team.[4]
He combined the activities of player and trainer forCercle Brugge from 1954 until 1958. In 1959 he performed the same functions forRacing Lokeren. He became a full-time trainer with Wezel the same year, followed byHerentals,Beveren,Union Sint-Gillis, andAntwerp. Under Thys' leadership Antwerp was a finalist in theBelgian Cup and twice finished second in the championship.
Thys was appointedBelgium manager in 1976 and remained in the job until 1989, managing the team for 101 games, 45 of which were victories.[5]
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Under his lead theRed Devils participated twice in the European Championship, and three times at the World Cup. In 1980, Belgium narrowly lost theEuropean Championship final toGermany inRome. In the opening game of the1982 World Cup, Belgium surprised the world by beating the reigning world championsArgentina 1–0.[6] In 1986 Belgium finished fourth in theWorld Cup inMexico.[7] His team beatSpain and theSoviet Union, but was defeated byDiego Maradona and his Argentine team in the semi-finals.[8]
Walter Meeuws succeeded as coach in 1989 him and Thys became a kind of technical director. However, Meeuws was fired after one defeat and two ties. Eight months after stepping down as manager Thys was re-appointed in early 1990 in order to take charge of the team for the1990 World Cup.[9] The side duly qualified through the group stage and was knocked out by theEngland national team in the second round of the tournament.[10] Thys retired again in 1991.[3]
Guy Thys died on 1 August 2003.[1]
Belgium
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Cercle Brugge top scorer 1955 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Cercle Brugge top scorer alongsideFrançois Loos 1957 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
