K.V.C. Westerlo

(Redirected from VC Westerlo)

Koninklijke Voetbal Club Westerlo (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkoːnɪŋkləkə ˈvudbɑl ˌklʏp ˈʋɛstərloː]; often simply called Westerlo) is a Belgian professional football club located in the municipality of Westerlo in the province of Antwerp. Since 1997–98, Westerlo has been mostly playing in the Belgian Pro League, save for a short stint in the Belgian Second Division between 2012 and 2014. Their highest finish is a 6th place in 1999–00, 2003–04 and 2008–09. They have won one Belgian Cup. The only player who has ever been called up for the Belgium national football team while at Westerlo is Toni Brogno (7 caps, all of them while at Westerlo).

Westerlo
Full nameKoninklijke Voetbal Club
Westerlo
Nickname(s)De Kemphanen
Founded5 September 1933; 90 years ago (5 September 1933)
GroundHet Kuipje
Capacity8,035[1]
ChairmanOktay Ercan
ManagerVacant
LeagueBelgian Pro League
2022–23Belgian Pro League, 8th of 18
WebsiteClub website
Current season

The club was founded in 1933, receiving the matricule number 2024. Their colours are yellow and blue. They play their home matches at the Het Kuipje.

History edit

K.V.C. Westerlo was founded in the city of Westerlo by students in 1917, and it was named Sportkring De Bist Westerlo. After five years of existence, the club retired. The club Bist Sport was created in 1931 and it changed its name to Sportkring Westerlo two years later. At that time. some players left the club to found Westerlo Sport, the ancestor of K.V.C. Westerlo. In 1939, the club won its league for the first time. Five years later, Sportkring Westerlo and dissident Westerlo Sport decided to merge in spite of the rivalry between the teams, and the new club was called V.C. Westerlo.

It became champion of the Antwerp second division in 1960. Eight years later it played its first season at the national level in Promotion and it won its league to play the third division in 1969. At the end of the season, Westerlo missed a third title in a row, finishing second behind Eupen. The next year, the club was relegated after the playoff and it stayed in the Promotion for ten seasons. The club then underwent two relegations in a row and thus played in the Antwerp second division in 1982–83. Westerlo was then promoted for three consecutive years to qualify for the third division once again. In 1993, the club promoted to the second division and then to the first division in 1997. In 1996, the club added the prefix Koninklijke (meaning "Royal" in Dutch) to its name.

On 18 June 2019 it was officially announced that the club was taken over by Turkish businessman Oktay Ercan. He immediately made it clear that KVC Westerlo will remain a regional family club, and that more attention will be paid to the social dimension and sporting ambitions. Ercan expressed his commitment in 2019 to a year-long plan called 'KVC Westerlo 2024'.[2]

Stadium edit

Westerlo plays its home matches at Het Kuipje, which is Dutch for "The Cockpit". Its capacity is 8,035.[3]

Honours edit

European record edit

Competition Appearances Matches Won Drawn Lost GF GA
UEFA Cup / Europa League 2 6 1 1 4 2 8
UEFA Intertoto Cup 2 4 0 1 3 0 14
Season Competition Round Nat Club Home Away
2000 UEFA Intertoto Cup 1R   Primorje 0–6 0–5
2001–02 UEFA Cup 1R   Hertha Berlin 0–2 0–1
2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup 2R   Tescoma Zlín 0–0 0–3
2011–12 UEFA Europa League Q2   TPS Turku 0–0 1–0
Q3   Young Boys 0–2 1–3

Current squad edit

As of 1 February 2024[4]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   TUR Sinan Bolat
2 DF   BEL Pietro Perdichizzi
4 MF   BEL Mathias Fixelles
5 DF   AUS Jordan Bos
6 MF   TUR Doğucan Haspolat
8 MF   DEN Nicolas Madsen
9 FW   CRO Matija Frigan
14 FW   BEL Kyan Vaesen
15 MF   UKR Serhiy Sydorchuk
17 FW   BEL Romeo Vermant (on loan from Brugge)
18 MF   USA Griffin Yow
19 FW   BEL Irsan Muric
20 GK   BEL Nick Gillekens
22 DF   USA Bryan Reynolds
24 DF   TUR Ravil Tagir (on loan from İstanbul Başakşehir)
No. Pos. Nation Player
25 DF   BEL Tuur Rommens
28 MF   POL Karol Borys
30 GK   BEL Koen Van Langendonck
32 DF   BUL Edisson Jordanov
33 DF   RUS Roman Neustädter
34 FW   MAR Ilias El Hari
39 MF   BEL Thomas Van den Keybus
40 DF   TUR Emin Bayram (on loan from Galatasaray)
46 DF   BEL Arthur Piedfort
76 FW   BEL Lucas Stassin
77 FW   CRC Josimar Alcócer
79 MF   JPN Yusuke Matsuo (on loan from Urawa Reds)
89 MF   BEL Nacer Chadli
90 FW   IRN Allahyar Sayyadmanesh

Out on loan edit

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF   BEL Rubin Seigers (at Zulte Waregem until 30 June 2024)
MF   SVK Ján Bernát (at Spartak Trnava until 30 June 2024)
MF   GUI Sékou Camara (at Houtvenne until 30 June 2024)
MF   TUR Muhammed Gümüşkaya (at Samsunspor until 30 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   BEL Simon Paulet (at Olympic Charleroi until 30 June 2024)
FW   MKD Erdon Daci (at Beveren until 30 June 2024)
FW   CIV Fernand Gouré (at DAC Dunajská Streda until 30 June 2024)
FW   SCO Adedire Mebude (at Bristol City until 30 June 2024)

Coaching staff edit

Position Staff
Manager   Vacant
Assistant Manager   Eric Reenaers
  Mohamed Messoudi
First-Team Coach   Kevin Van Haesendonck
  Bart Goor
Goalkeeping Coach   Paul Peeters
Fitness Coach   Rudger Van Snick
Head of Scouting   Niel Cuijvers
Scout   Francesco Carratta
  Stan Van den Buijs

Managers edit

References edit

  1. ^ het kuipje Archived 2018-03-30 at the Wayback Machine, kvcwesterlo.be (last check 30/03/2018)
  2. ^ "KVC Westerlo 2024". 21 November 2020.
  3. ^ het kuipje Archived 2018-03-30 at the Wayback Machine, kvcwesterlo.be (last check 30/03/2018)
  4. ^ "Doelmannen" (in Dutch). K.V.C. Westerlo. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2019.

External links edit