K.R.C. Genk

Koninklijke Racing Club Genk (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkoːnɪŋkləkə ˈreːsɪŋ ˌklʏp ˈɣɛŋk]),[3] commonly known as KRC Genk, Racing Genk or simply Genk, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Genk in Belgian Limburg. Racing Genk plays in the Belgian Pro League and have won four championship titles; in 1998–99, in 2001–02, in 2010–11 and in 2018–19. They have also won five Belgian Cups, most recently in 2020–21. They qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stage in the 2002–03, 2011–12 and 2019–20.

KRC Genk
Full nameKoninklijke Racing Club Genk
Nickname(s)Blauw-Wit (Blue-White)
Racing
KRC
De Smurfen (The Smurfs)
Founded1988 (1988), after merging with KFC Winterslag
GroundCegeka Arena, Genk
Capacity23,718[1]
21,500 (UEFA matches)[2]
ChairmanPeter Croonen
ManagerWouter Vrancken
LeagueBelgian Pro League
2022–23Belgian Pro League, 2nd of 18
WebsiteClub website

The club formed in 1988 by the merger of Waterschei Thor with KFC Winterslag, from which it took over the matricule number. It has been one of the most successful clubs in Belgium since the late 1990s and so they regularly qualify for European competitions. The club has been playing in the first division since the 1996–97 season. They play their home matches in the Cegeka Arena. Their main outfit is blue and white.

History

KFC Winterslag history (1923–1988)

The club FC Winterslag was founded in 1923 and that gave it the matricule number 322. On its 35th anniversary the club added the Royal prefix Koninklijke to their name to become KFC Winterslag. In 1972–73 Winterslag reached the second division and they eventually qualified for the 1974–75 Belgian First Division after finishing second in the second division final round. They had taken advantage of the increase in the number of first division clubs (from 16 to 20). The club ended the season in last place but won the second division right after.

KFC Winterslag reached the 5th place in 1981 which allowed them to play UEFA Cup matches, where it defeated Bryne FK from Norway and English Premier league giant Arsenal.[4] In the next round it was knocked out by Dundee United from Scotland. Two seasons later it was relegated to the second stage after a disappointing last place. That season Standard Liège won the championship on bribery in a match against the club of Waterschei Thor that would eventually merge with the matricule number 322. Following a spell of four seasons in the second division, Winterslag found its place again in the first division by winning the 1987 final round, one point ahead of Tongeren. It finished 15th on 18 but at the end of the season, the club merged with the neighbour club of Waterschei Thor which was playing in the second division since its relegation in 1986.

K Waterschei SV Thor Genk

K Waterschei SV Thor was created in 1919 as Waterschei's Sport Vereeniging Thor with Thor being the acronym of Tot Herstel Onzer Rechten (English: To recover our rights). It received matricule number n°533. The club enjoyed a spell in the first division in the late 1950s to the early 1960s and again from 1978 to 1986.

During the 1982–83 season, the match between Standard Liège and Waterschei had been fixed and Standard eventually won the championship. Waterschei won the Belgian Cup twice (1980 and 1982). The latter victory led to them reaching the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners Cup in the 1982–83 season. After defeating PSG in the quarter-finals, Waterschei lost the first leg of the semi-final 5–1 at Pittodrie Stadium, home of the eventual winners, Aberdeen A 1–0 victory in Waterschei, courtesy of Eddy Voordeckers, could not reverse the position.

After two seasons in the second division, K. Waterschei SV Thor Genk merged with KFC Winterslag in 1988 to form the current KRC Genk.

K.R.C. Genk (1988–present)

1990s and 2000s

The new club was named KRC Genk and as it kept the Winterslag ranking, it began in the first division but finished last. The next year Genk managed to win the final round in 2nd division and then played 4 seasons in the first division. In 1995 the club hired Aimé Anthuenis a coach and Racing finished second and skipped the final round as two first division teams merged (Seraing and Standard Liège). After an eighth place in 1997, the club had a good 1997–98 season with a cup win and a second place in the championship. In its first European season, Racing Genk eliminated successively Apolonia Fier and MSV Duisburg but it lost to Mallorca in the round of 16 after two draws (1–1 on aggregate) in the last Cup Winners' Cup ever. The season was ended well as Genk won its first Belgian championship in May, with manager Aimé Anthuenis then moving to Anderlecht.

Genk played in the UEFA Champions League in 1999–2000 but lost in the second qualifying round to Maribor. The season was salvaged by winning the Belgian Cup again, this time to Standard, but Genk ended the championship in 9th place. It finished 11th in the following season and lost in the UEFA Cup second round to Werder Bremen after a win against FC Zürich. After this poor spell, Genk managed to win the championship once more in the 2001–02 season. In 2002–03, they reached the Champions League group stages for the first time in their history. Although they came 4th, they impressed fans with draws against Real Madrid, Roma and AEK Athens.

In the 2006–07 season, Genk finished second to Anderlecht. The Limburgians had been ahead almost the entire season but were pipped at the post by Anderlecht after losing at Germinal Beerschot. The 2007–08 season was a disaster, as Genk failed to finish in the top half of the division, ending in a disappointing tenth place.

Three bad seasons followed. Genk finished the 2007–08 season on 45 points and in 10th spot in the league: their worst result in seven years. The 2008–09 season was poor for Genk as well, finishing 8th in the league. The season ended on a positive note with them winning the Belgian Cup, which gave them a ticket to the fourth Europa League qualifying round. The 2009–10 season started badly when they were knocked out of the Europa League by Lille. Things did not go well in the domestic league either. Manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck was fired in December and was replaced by Franky Vercauteren. Genk finished 11th, but Vercauteren managed to lead the club to European football by beating derby rival Sint-Truiden in the final of Play-offs II.

2010s

The 2010–11 season started well for KRC Genk when they beat Inter Turku with 1–5 in Finland. They progressed to the 4th qualifying round of the Europa League and drew the Portuguese club Porto. Genk lost both games against Porto, despite two good performances.

On 30 January 2010, KRC Genk announced that coach Franky Vercauteren signed a new contract that ran untl June 2013.

They only lost their first game of the season on the 20th matchday and started the Play-offs in second place. The club won the 2010–11 Belgian Pro League after drawing 1–1 with title challengers Standard Liége.[5] This was KRC Genk's third league win in its history and its supporters celebrated with a pitch invasion straight after the final whistle.

On 11 August, coach Frank Vercauteren confirmed he was leaving Genk and signed with Abu Dhabi club Al-Jazira. In the 3rd Qualifying Round of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League KRC Genk beat FK Partizan over two legs and drew Maccabi Haifa in the play-off Round. Maccabi Haifa beat Genk 2–1 in the first leg in Israel, while the second leg was won by Genk with the same 2–1 score in Belgium. During the penalty shoot-out, goalkeeper László Köteles helped Genk to qualify by saving two penalties.[6] For the second time in its history, KRC Genk reached the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. They were drawn in Group E with Chelsea, Valencia and Bayer Leverkusen.

In late August 2011, Mario Been was announced as the new manager. The Champions League campaign was one with ups and downs. Genk managed to get a 1–1 result against both Chelsea and Bayer Leverkusen and a goalless draw against Valencia. Away from home, Genk lost all three games. The season in the Jupiler League was a difficult one, with Genk only just qualifying for the play-offs by finishing sixth in the regular competition. In the play-offs however, Genk started to play better and climbed up to third place. By finishing in third place, KRC Genk qualified for the third qualifying round of the Europa League.

The 2012–13 season started well for Genk by qualifying for the Europa League group stage after beating Aktobe and FC Luzern. In this group stage KRC Genk performed very well and ultimately won the group without a single defeat. Genk finished first with three points more than Basel and by doing so, qualified for the next round where they faced VfB Stuttgart. It was the first time in the club's history that they played European football after Christmas. Stuttgart got the better of Genk over the two games. In the league, Genk qualified for the play-offs and performed well until the title was out of reach; fifth place was the result. Genk ended their season on a positive note by winning the Belgian Cup. They defeated Cercle Brugge in the final, in front of 30,000 Genk fans.

In the 2016–2017 season, Genk participated in the UEFA Europa League; they started playing in the second qualifying round and qualified for the third qualifying round (on 21 July 2016)[7] and the play-off round (on 4 August 2016).[8] They won their group with 3 home victories over Athletic Bilbao, Rapid Wien and Sassuolo and after defeating Astra Giurgiu (2–2 and 1–0) in the 2nd round they drew KAA Gent from the domestic Belgian Pro League with 2 confusing games Gent-Genk, Genk-Gent and an impressive 2–5 away victory. Even when Genk got beaten in the quarter final against Celta de Vigo (3–2 and 1–1), it was Genk's most successful European season.

Genk won the 2018–19 Belgian First Division A for the fourth time in their history, hence they qualified for the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League after an eight-year absence.[9]

Genk started their 2019–20 UEFA Champions League campaign with a poor 6–2 loss against Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg. In the second match they drew 0–0 against Napoli, and in the third match they lost 1–4 against Liverpool.

Youth academy

Genk is well known for its outstanding youth academy. In 2003 they built their youth center next to their stadium and set up a youth program with Ronny Vangeneugden. There are further plans to build a boarding school and some synthetic pitches. In the past and now, many young players have found their way through the youth system. Some examples are Yannick Carrasco, Jelle Vossen, Dennis Praet, Steven Defour, Christian Benteke, Thibaut Courtois, Divock Origi, Timothy Castagne, Leandro Trossard and Kevin De Bruyne.

Their scouting is also highly regarded. Players such as Kalidou Koulibaly, Wilfred Ndidi, Leon Bailey, Sergej Milinković-Savić and Sander Berge all played for Genk.

Honours

Winners (4): 1998–99, 2001–02, 2010–11, 2018–19
Runners-up (4): 1997–98, 2006–07, 2020–21, 2022–23
Winners (5): 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2020–21
Runners-up (1): 2017–18
Winners (2): 2011, 2019
Runners-up (7): 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2009, 2013, 2021
Winners (1): 1975–76
Runners-up (2): 1986–87, 1995–96
Winners (2): 1987, 1990
Runners-up (1): 1974

European record

Updated 31 August 2018.
Tournament Pld W D L GF GA GD Win%
Champions League / European Cup 22 5 8 9 20 41 −21 022.73
Europa League / UEFA Cup 60 34 12 14 117 80 +37 056.67
Cup Winners' Cup 6 3 3 0 16 3 +13 050.00
UEFA Intertoto Cup 10 5 2 3 19 13 +6 050.00
Total 98 47 25 26 172 137 +35 047.96

Summary of best results

From the quarter-finals upwards:

UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League:

- Quarter-finalists in 2016–17

UEFA Intertoto Cup:

- Semi-finalists in 2003–04

UEFA club coefficient ranking

Genk got its highest ranking (44th) in the season 2016/17.

Ranking in season 2021/22: Source:

RankTeamPoints
88Norway Molde FK19.000
89Ukraine Luhansk18.000
90Belgium Genk18.000
91Cyprus APOEL18.000
92Romania FCSB17.500

Players

Current squad

As of 7 September 2023[10]

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 Belgium BEL Hendrik Van Crombrugge
2 DF United States USA Mark McKenzie
3 DF Spain ESP Mujaid Sadick
4 MF Ivory Coast CIV Aziz Ouattara Mohammed
5 DF Mexico MEX Gerardo Arteaga
7 MF The Gambia GAM Alieu Fadera
8 MF Belgium BEL Bryan Heynen (captain)
9 FW Switzerland SUI Andi Zeqiri
14 MF Nigeria NGA Yira Sor
17 MF Slovakia SVK Patrik Hrošovský
18 DF Democratic Republic of the Congo COD Joris Kayembe
19 MF Belgium BEL Anouar Ait El Hadj
23 DF Colombia COL Daniel Muñoz
No. Pos. Nation Player
24 MF Belgium BEL Luca Oyen
25 MF Argentina ARG Matías Galarza
26 GK Belgium BEL Maarten Vandevoordt
28 FW Ghana GHA Joseph Paintsil
30 GK Belgium BEL Vic Chambaere
34 MF Morocco MAR Bilal El Khannous
41 GK Belgium BEL Mike Penders
46 DF Colombia COL Carlos Cuesta
70 MF Guinea GUI Ibrahima Sory Bangoura
77 MF Morocco MAR Zakaria El Ouahdi
90 MF Ghana GHA Christopher Bonsu Baah
99 FW Nigeria NGA Tolu Arokodare

Out on loan

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 Denmark DEN Rasmus Carstensen (at 1. FC Köln until 30 June 2024)
MF Argentina ARG Nicolás Castro (at Elche until 30 June 2024)
MF Belgium BEL Mike Trésor (at Burnley until June 30 2024)

Jong Genk

As of 1 September 2023

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
20 FW Tanzania TAN Kelvin John
48 DF Belgium BEL Adnane Abid
52 FW Belgium BEL Wilson Da Costa
57 MF Belgium BEL Deniz Arabaci
58 MF Belgium BEL Kamiel Van De Perre
59 FW Belgium BEL Robin Mirisola
62 DF Belgium BEL Michiel Cauwel
63 DF Belgium BEL Faissal Al Mazyani
64 DF Belgium BEL Nolan Martens
65 MF Nigeria NGA Christian Akpan
66 MF Belgium BEL Zaïd Bafdili
66 MF Belgium BEL Lars Michiels
No. Pos. Nation Player
67 FW Belgium BEL Noah Adedeji-Sternberg
68 MF Belgium BEL Thomas Claes
70 MF Guinea GUI Ibrahima Bangoura
71 GK Belgium BEL Matthias Pieklak
72 DF Belgium BEL Josue Ndenge Kongolo
73 MF United States USA Evan Rotundo
74 FW Belgium BEL Cédric Nuozzi
75 MF Ecuador ECU Alfred Caicedo
76 DF Belgium BEL Brad Manguelle
78 MF Belgium BEL Konstantinos Karetsas
79 FW Nigeria NGA Victory Beniangba
80 FW Belgium BEL Saïdou Touré
DF Belgium BEL Sofiane Et Taïbi

Former players

Club officials

As of 1 July 2022
Position Staff
PresidentBelgium Peter Croonen
Vice-PresidentBelgium Mathieu Cilissen
Chief Executive OfficerBelgium Erik Gerits
Board MemberBelgium Herbert Houben
Head coachBelgium Wouter Vrancken
Assistant coachBelgium Domenico Olivieri
Belgium Michel Ribeiro
First-team coachBelgium Kevin Van Dessel
Belgium Jan Wuytens
Goalkeeper coachBelgium Guy Martens
Fitness coachBelgium Glenn Vanryckeghem
Video analystBelgium Peter Persoons
Club doctorBelgium Philip Thys
Belgium Dr. Johan Jespers
PhysiotherapistBelgium Matthias Didden
Netherlands Martijn Smeets
Belgium Erwin Kelchtermans
Medical departmentBelgium Jan Theunis
Finance DirectorBelgium Filip Aerden
Director of Marketing and SalesBelgium Stephan Poelmans
Head of Youth ScoutingBelgium Jochen Janssen
Coordinator of talent managementBelgium Jos Daerden
Team ManagerBelgium Pierre Denier
Technical directorBelgium Dimitri De Condé

Managers

References

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