Eric Maria Gerets[1] (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈeːrɪk ˈxeːrəts];[a] born 18 May 1954) is a Belgian football manager and former player.

As a striker, he started his playing career as an amateur for his local team AA Rekem, before achieving success as a right-back with Standard Liège and PSV. Nicknamed "The Lion (of Flanders)", Gerets was regarded as one of the top right-backs in Europe at his peak and is considered one of the greatest players in Belgian football history. He is famous for having captained PSV to their first and only European Cup win in 1988.

As a coach, Gerets is one of six managers – along with José Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Giovanni Trapattoni, Tomislav Ivić and Ernst Happel – to have won top domestic league championships in at least four countries.

Club career

Gerets began his career playing for amateur side AA Rekem before joining then titleholders Standard de Liège. Making his debut 16 April 1972 coming on for Silvester Takač against FC Diest. In the 1972–73 season Standard reached the Cup final, manager Vlatko Marković let Gerets start despite not being an established first team member as Standard lost 2–1 to fierce rivals Anderlecht. The following season, Gerets replaced 29-year-old Jacques Beurlet and became the first choice right-back for the Rouches. In 1975 Gerets made his debut for the national team.

Gerets played for Standard Liège, A.C. Milan, MVV Maastricht and PSV, winning among others the 1987–88 European Cup, two Belgian championships and six Dutch championships.

Gerets was an offensively-minded right-back, known for his stamina, tactical discipline, grit and mental toughness. In combination with his physical appearance (hair blowing in the wind, a full but elegant beard, slumped trunk) he was soon nicknamed "The Lion".[2] He was also known for long distance throw-ins.

Standard Liège

Eric Gerets in 1976

In the 1980s, a new generation of players emerged at Standard. Noted manager Ernst Happel was hired, and later the club brought Raymond Goethals back to Belgium. Players like Arie Haan, Guy Vandersmissen, Michel Preud'homme, Walter Meeuws, Jos Daerden and Simon Tahamata became key players, whilst Gerets was the captain of the team. In 1980, Standard finished runners-up in the league, before winning the 1981 National Cup with a 4–1 win over Lokeren SC. In 1982, Standard won the title by beating Waterschei SV Thor in the last match of the season. A few days later, they faced Barcelona in the European Cup Winners' Cup final, which they lost 2–1. The influence of Gerets on Standard's success was recognised when he was awarded the 1982 Belgian Golden Shoe. The following year he captained Standard to another league title, their ninth overall, which would prove to be their last until 2007–08.

With Standard, Gerets eventually won 2 national titles, a National Cup, a Super Cup and a League Cup.[3]

AC Milan

Gerets signed with Italian giants AC Milan in 1983. However, his contract was terminated prematurely, but not for sporting reasons. It was discovered that, in order to secure the championship title and to spare players from injuries for the European final against Barcelona, Standard had approached the Waterschei players in 1982 to take it easy in their final league match against Standard. Several Standard players at the time and trainer Raymond Goethals were subsequently suspended for this.[4]

MVV

MVV Maastricht contracted Gerets in 1984, but he would eventually only play four matches for the club. Three of those were against PSV, after which the Eindhoven club was convinced and quickly signed the Belgian to a contract in the summer of 1985.[5]

PSV

In 1985, Gerets joined PSV playing together with Ruud Gullit, Frank Arnesen, Huub Stevens and Willy van de Kerkhof followed by Brazilian star Romário. In 1986, Gerets won the title with PSV, and after the departure of Gullit in 1987, Gerets became the new captain. Under Guus Hiddink PSV won the league and cup double three consecutive seasons, Gerets scoring twice in the 1987–88 cup final against Roda JC. In 1988, PSV reached the UEFA European Cup final after eliminating Real Madrid in the semi-finals. The score against Benfica was also 0–0 after 120 minutes; PSV eventually won on penalties.[6]

Gerets (left) and Frits Philips (right) posing with the European Cup

In 1990, Bobby Robson was appointed as Hiddink's successor. Under Robson, Gerets won another two titles with PSV then he retired at the end of the 1991–1992 season at the age of 38. In his 7 seasons at the club, Gerets had won 6 national titles, 3 national cups and 1 European cup.[7]

In the following years, Gerets would be regularly honored as a true club icon ("Best PSV team ever",[8] "PSV player of the century",[9] "PSV Walk of Fame"[10]).

International career

Gerets registered 86 caps for the Belgium national team. He made his debut for the squad in 1975, and played at four major tournaments: the 1980 European Championship, 1982 World Cup, 1986 World Cup, and 1990 World Cup.

Ludo Coeck and Gerets during a training of Belgium in 1980

In 1980, Gerets played in his first European Championship in Italy. He scored the opening goal in a 2–1 win against Spain which ensured Belgium qualified as group winners. The tournament is remembered for the inspired performance of the offensively-minded Belgium (around rising stars such as Jan Ceulemans, Eric Gerets, Jean-Marie Pfaff and Erwin Vandenbergh) who unexpectedly reached the final, only losing to West Germany (1–2) by a Hrubesch goal two minutes from time.

At the 1982 World Cup, Belgium, captained by Gerets, recorded one of their most famous victories with a 1–0 win over defending champions Argentina in the first game of the tournament held at Camp Nou with a goal by Erwin Vandenbergh, and an excellent defensive display to hold off a young Diego Maradona. Four years later, they achieved their best World Cup run at that time in 1986 when they placed fourth under command of players like Jan Ceulemans, Jean-Marie Pfaff and captain Gerets. Belgium surprisingly won against favourites the Soviet Union with stars such as Igor Belanov and Rinat Dasayev (3–4) after extra time.

"The best right back in the world."

Johan Cruyff on Gerets [11]

Belgium also beat Spain on penalties, but they lost to eventual champions Argentina in the semi-final (0–2), inspired by Maradona.

Gerets trying to stop Maradona in the semi-finals of the 1986 World Cup

Despite their defeat, Belgium would end up in fourth place – their best finish in World Cup competition until it was surpassed in 2018 when they reached third place.

36 year-old Gerets would also captain his nation to the 1990 World Cup finals. Belgium failed to convert their chances against England in the second round. They lost in the last minute of extra time after a goal by David Platt. After a few qualification matches for the 1992 European championship, Gerets decided to quit international football early 1991 to focus on his club career with PSV Eindhoven.[12]

For decades, he was the third-most capped player for the Belgium national team, with 86 appearances and two goals.

Managerial career

As a manager, Gerets worked successively for RFC Liège, Lierse, Club Brugge, PSV, 1. FC Kaiserslautern and VfL Wolfsburg before joining Galatasaray at the end of the 2004–05 season. In the 1996–97 season, he won the Belgian championships with Lierse, reprising the feat in the season 1998–99 with Club Brugge. He also won the Dutch championships twice (1999–2000 and 2000–01) with PSV. In the 2005–06 season, Gerets won the Turkish Premier Super League with Galatasaray. In May 2007, he left the club, and on 25 September became Marseille's coach.

In his first year with Marseille in 2007, he managed to get the team from the bottom of the league up to finish their 2007–08 season in third place. In 2009, Gerets turned down an offer of the RBFA to coach the Belgian national team after Rene Vandereycken was sacked.[13] On 29 April 2009, he confirmed that he would not be in charge of Marseille after the summer when his contract expired.[14] On 26 May 2009, he signed a contract to take over as head coach of Saudi club Al-Hilal for two years for an annual fee of €1.8 million.[15]

Gerets after the celebration of Al Hilal in the 2009–10 Saudi Pro League

On 6 July 2010, he signed a four-year contract with Morocco. He would do the job part-time until he completed the Asian Champions League campaign with Al Hilal but stranded in the semi-finals.[16] He was in charge of Morocco for almost two years. He was sacked on 15 September 2012 after a Morocco's 2–0 defeat against Mozambique in the first-leg of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification.[17]

Less than a month after leaving Morocco, he accepted a contract offer to become the head coach of Qatari defending champions Lekhwiya on 9 October 2012.[18] In the 2013–14 season, he brought another Qatari championship title to Lekhwiya.

Gerets departed Lekhwiya and became the head coach of the United Arab Emirates team Al Jazira Club on 20 May 2014.[19] He completed his two-year contract and decided to retire as club coach.

He did hint that he might only be active as a coach of a country.[20] Gerets was subsequently regularly mentioned as a top candidate for the position of head coach of Belgium. But due to health problems, he would never become it.[21] In 2013, Gerets suffered a brain hemorrhage.[22] Since then, his health has gradually deteriorated and he has difficulty speaking and walking. In 2022, he was diagnosed with cerebral calcification.[23]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[24]
Club Season League National cup[b] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Standard Liège 1971–72 First Division 1 0 — — — 1 0
1972–73 9 0 2 0 — — 11 0
1973–74 30 1 — 12[c] 0 2[d] 0 44 1
1974–75 37 5 3 1 1[e] 0 2[d] 0 43 6
1975–76 34 6 — 1[e] 0 — 35 6
1976–77 31 1 2 0 6[e] 1 — 39 2
1977–78 25 2 3 0 6[f] 0 — 34 2
1978–79 33 4 3 0 4[f] 0 — 40 4
1979–80 27 3 6 0 9[g] 0 — 42 3
1980–81 29 0 6 0 10[h] 0 — 45 0
1981–82 31 3 — 10[i] 0 — 41 3
1982–83 33 2 1 0 1[j] 1 — 35 3
Total 320 27 26 1 60 2 4 0 410 30
AC Milan 1983–84 Serie A 13 1 7 0 — — 20 1
Total 13 1 7 0 0 0 0 0 20 1
MVV Maastricht 1984–85 Eredivisie 2 0 2 0 — — 4 0
Total 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
PSV Eindhoven 1985–86 Eredivisie 29 0 2 0 3[f] 0 — 34 0
1986–87 30 1 3 0 2[j] 0 — 35 1
1987–88 30 4 5 2 9[j] 0 — 44 6
1988–89 31 1 5 0 5[k] 0 2[l] 0 43 1
1989–90 33 1 5 0 6[j] 0 — 44 1
1990–91 24 0 33 0 1[m] 0 — 28 0
1991–92 23 1 1 0 3[j] 0 — 27 1
Total 200 8 24 2 29 0 2 0 225 10
Career total 535 36 59 3 89 2 6 0 689 41
  1. ^ In isolation, Gerets is pronounced [ˈɣeːrəts].
  2. ^ Includes Belgian Cup, Coppa Italia, KNVB Cup
  3. ^ 6 appearances in UEFA Cup, 6 appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup
  4. ^ a b Appearances in Belgian League Cup
  5. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup
  6. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Cup
  7. ^ 6 appearances in UEFA Cup, 3 appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup
  8. ^ 7 appearances in UEFA Cup, 3 appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup
  9. ^ 9 appearances in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, 1 appearance in UEFA Intertoto Cup
  10. ^ a b c d e Appearances in European Champion Clubs' Cup
  11. ^ 4 appearances in European Champion Clubs' Cup, 1 appearance in UEFA Super Cup
  12. ^ Appearances in Intercontinental Cup
  13. ^ Appearances in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

International

National
Team 		Year Friendlies World Cup European Championships Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Belgium

[25]

1975 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
1976 0 0 1 0 2 0 3 0
1977 2 0 0 0 2 0 4 0
1978 2 0 2 0 0 0 4 0
1979 1 0 6 0 0 0 7 0
1980 4 0 4 1 3 0 11 1
1981 1 0 0 0 4 0 5 0
1982 4 0 2 0 3 0 9 0
1983 2 0 4 0 0 0 6 0
1984 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1985 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 0
1986 3 0 2 1 6 0 11 1
1987 2 0 3 0 0 0 5 0
1988 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
1989 1 0 0 0 5 0 6 0
1990 4 0 0 0 3 0 8 0
1991 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0
Total 27 0 27 2 32 0 86 2
List of international goals scored by Eric Gerets
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 15 June 1980 Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan  Spain 1–0 2–1 Euro 1980
2. 14 October 1986 Stade Municipal, Luxembourg  Luxembourg 1–0 6–0 Euro 1988 qualifier

Managerial statistics

Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Liège July 1992 June 1994 71 20 19 32 028.17
Lierse July 1994 June 1997 113 55 29 29 048.67
Club Brugge June 1997 June 1999 91 60 15 16 065.93
PSV July 1999 May 2002 141 86 29 26 060.99
1. FC Kaiserslautern September 2002 February 2004 58 19 13 26 032.76
VfL Wolfsburg April 2004 May 2005 44 18 5 21 040.91
Galatasaray June 2005 May 2007 91 50 22 19 054.95
Marseille September 2007 June 2009 97 47 23 27 048.45
Al-Hilal July 2009 November 2010 48 35 7 6 072.92
Morocco July 2010 September 2012 18 7 5 6 038.89
Lekhwiya October 2012 May 2014 77 44 13 20 057.14
Al-Jazira June 2014 June 2015 27 16 3 8 059.26
Total 876 457 183 236 052.17

Honours

Standard Liège[26]

PSV[29]

Belgium

Individual

Manager

Lierse[50]

Club Brugge[51]

PSV[29]

Galatasaray[52]

Al Hilal[citation needed]

Morocco[53]

Lekhwiya[54]

Individual

Notes

References

  1. ^ a b "Ficha Estadistica de ERIC GERETS -eric maria gerets- (Perfil, ficha, profile, stats)".
  2. ^ "Eric Gerets - Standard Hall of Fame". halloffame.standardliege.be/en. 22 February 2025.
  3. ^ "Standard Palmarès". standarddeliege.be/ (in Dutch). 17 June 2020.
  4. ^ "1984, of hoe de affaire-Bellemans het Belgische voetbal een doodsteek gaf". VRT (in Dutch). 10 October 2018.
  5. ^ "PSV Legends - Eric Gerets: Vlaamse Leeuw die na omkoopschandaal slaagde bij PSV". psvfans.nl (in Dutch). 18 May 2024.
  6. ^ "PSV in finale Europacup 1: 'Na 30 jaar zit ticket nog in mijn portemonnee'" [PSV in European Cup 1 final: 'After 30 years, the ticket is still in my wallet']. ed.nl (in Dutch). 28 May 2018.
  7. ^ "Eric Gerets - Stats et palmarès". footballdatabase.eu (in French). 17 January 2025.
  8. ^ "PSV's All-Time XI". totaldutchfootball.com. 4 January 2014.
  9. ^ "Eric Gerets verkozen tot PSV'er van de eeuw" [Eric Gerets elected PSV player of the century]. hbvl.be (in Dutch). 20 December 1999.
  10. ^ "Gerets en Van Kraaij ontvangen tegel in Walk of Fame". energiedirect.nl (in Dutch). 6 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Eric Gerets is 70: 'Misschien ben ik tegenover Luc Nilis af en toe over de schreef gegaan'" (in Dutch). BikeRaceInfo. 9 October 1999.
  12. ^ "Eric Gerets (70) trekt nog één keer naar PSV en Galatasaray: "Ik haal alles uit het leven wat ik er nog uit kan halen"". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 26 June 2024.
  13. ^ "Gerets turns down Belgium". thedailystar.net. 19 April 2009.
  14. ^ "Gerets to stand down at Marseille". Uefa.com. 29 April 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  15. ^ "Official Website of Al-Hilal". Alhilal.com. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  16. ^ "Gerets appointed Morocco coach | Reuters". Af.reuters.com. 6 July 2010. Archived from the original on 24 October 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  17. ^ "Morocco sack coach Eric Gerets". BBC Sport. 16 September 2012.
  18. ^ "Gerets signs three-year deal with Lekhwiya". Qatar Stars League. 9 October 2012. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013.
  19. ^ "Al Jazira confirm Eric Gerets as new coach to replace Walter Zenga". The National. 20 May 2014.
  20. ^ "Het laatste nieuws over Eric Gerets". psvfans.nl (in Dutch). 17 May 2024.
  21. ^ "Eric Gerets: 'Bijna was ik nu bondscoach, en je weet nooit...'". hbvl.b (in Dutch). 20 November 2014.
  22. ^ "Eric Gerets had een hersenbloeding". Sporza (in Dutch). 26 November 2013.
  23. ^ "PSV-icoon openhartig over gezondheid: 'Weet niet hoelang ik nog leef, maar wil vooral geen gezeik meer met mensen'" [PSV icon candid about health: 'Don't know how long I'll live, but above all don't want any more fussing with people']. fcupdate.nl (in Dutch). 23 May 2024.
  24. ^ "Eric Gerets " Club matches". WorldFootball.net.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  25. ^ "Eric GERETS - Footballer stats by year". eu-football. 31 March 2011. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  26. ^ "Standard de Liège | Palmares".
  27. ^ "Wildstat | Intertoto Cup 1980".
  28. ^ "Wildstat | Intertoto Cup 1982".
  29. ^ a b "PSV Eindhoven | Palmares". 16 July 2014. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  30. ^ "UEFA Euro 1980".
  31. ^ "FIFA 1986 World Cup". Archived from the original on 5 June 2016.
  32. ^ "Nationale Trofee voor Sportverdienste". 7 November 2019.
  33. ^ "Winnaars Gouden Schoen". 11 January 2012.
  34. ^ "Erwin Vandenbergh: Bij Vercauteren wist je dat de bal zou komen en waar hij zou komen". 29 June 2016.
  35. ^ "Ballon d'Or 1982".
  36. ^ "Ballon d'Or 1983".
  37. ^ ""Onze Mondial" Awards". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  38. ^ "Soulier d'or belge du 20ème siècle".
  39. ^ "The Best x Players of the Century/All-Time". rsssf.org. 1999.
  40. ^ "Erik Gerets PSV'er van de eeuw" [Erik Gerets PSV player of the century]. psv.nl (in Dutch). 24 August 2013.
  41. ^ UEFA.com (15 January 2004). "Aruna voted Belgium's finest | Inside UEFA". UEFA.com. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  42. ^ "UEFA Awards". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 21 December 2006. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  43. ^ "Het beste Gouden Schoen-elftal ooit". 18 January 2011.
  44. ^ "RBFA - Discover our 125 Years Icons Team".
  45. ^ "Het beste PSV ooit: onze experts kiezen de beste elf spelers".
  46. ^ "IFFHS". www.iffhs.com. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  47. ^ "Eric GERETS | Hall of Fame". halloffame.standardliege.be (in French). 24 February 2025.
  48. ^ "12 Gouden Schoenen en meer dan 3.000 wedstrijden in België: dit is de Pro League Hall of Fame" [12 Golden Boots and more than 3,000 matches in Belgium: this is the Pro League Hall of Fame]. Sporza (in Dutch). 5 November 2024.
  49. ^ "Walk of Fame | Eric Gerets en Adrie van Kraaij vereeuwigd in het Philips Stadion". psv.nl (in Dutch). 18 August 2024.
  50. ^ "Lierse SK | Geschiedenis".
  51. ^ "Club Brugge | Palmares". 8 July 2017.
  52. ^ "Palmarès de Galatasaray".
  53. ^ "Morocco shock favourites to lift cup".[dead link‍]
  54. ^ "Al Duhail | Palmarès".
  55. ^ "Trofee Raymond Goethals". 21 March 2014.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Gerets
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