K.V. Mechelen

KV Mechelen

Full name	Yellow Red Koninklijke Voetbalclub Mechelen
Nickname(s)	De Kakkers, Malinois, Malinwa, Geel-rood
Founded	1904(1904)
Ground	Achter de Kazerne
Capacity	16,672
Chairman	Luc Leemans
Head coach	Besnik Hasi
League	Belgian Pro League
2023–24	Belgian Pro League, 8th of 16
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Yellow Red Koninklijke Voetbalclub Mechelen(Dutch pronunciation:[ˌjɛloːˈrɛtˌkoːnɪŋkləkəˌvudbɑlklʏpˈmɛxələ(n)]), often simply calledKV Mechelen(Dutch pronunciation:[kaːˌveːˈmɛxələ(n)]) orKVM,or by their former French nameFC Malinois,is a Belgian professionalfootballclub based inMechelenin theAntwerpprovince. KV Mechelen plays in theBelgian Pro League.They have won four Belgian championships and twice theBelgian Cup,as well as the1987–88 European Cup Winners' Cupand the1988 European Super Cup.They collected most of their honours in the 1940s and in the 1980s.

KV Mechelen was founded in 1904 and, in1921–22,promoted to the first division. After two successive relegation and promotion, they were back for good between1928–29and1955–56.In the 1960s and 1970s, the club had several promotions and relegations between the first andsecond division.From1983–84to1996–97,they had a successful first division spell, with a title and several second- and third-place finishes. During that period, they also won a European Cup Winners' Cup and they reached the same competition semi-finals as well as theEuropean Cupquarter-finals.

KV Mechelen declined in the late 1990s though they had two more spells at the highest level from1999–2000to2000–01and in2002–03.At the end of that season, the club did not receive their Belgian professional football license. They were therefore relegated to thethird divisionwith a nine-point penalty. After two promotions in2004–05and in2006–07,KV Mechelen returned to the first division.

The club's outfits are a striped yellow and red shirt with black shorts and socks. They play their home matches at theAFAS-stadion Achter de Kazerne,where AFAS is their stadium sponsor andAchter de Kazernemeans 'Behind the Barracks'. The stadium has been named so because there used to be barracks next to stadium. KV Mechelen fans have a long-standing rivalry withKRC Mechelen.

History

Early days

The club was founded in 1904, a few months after the birth of city rivalKRC Mechelen.The club had a first successful period in the 1940s. During World War II, in 1943, the club won their first domestic title. The second title came a few years later, in 1946, and in 1948 the club was successful again. After that, the club fell back. In 1954, they managed to finish third, only one point behind championsAnderlecht,but that was their last good season. Two years later, Mechelen was relegated to second division. During the 1960s and the 1970s, Mechelen went up and down between the first and second division.

The club enjoyed a spell of both domestic and European success in the period from 1987 to 1992. During these five seasons, Mechelen won one Belgian championship and one Belgian cup title. They also finished second in the Belgian league twice and lost the Belgian Cup final twice. After winning the domestic cup title in 1987, and hence qualifying for the European Cup Winners' Cup, they completed the extraordinary achievement of winning this tournament in 1988. Mechelen are the last Belgian team that has won a European trophy.

Since 2000

KV Mechelen seemed to be on its way to becoming one of the top clubs in Belgium, but quickly declined when their chairman Cordier (who owned the rights to most of their players) was forced to sell many players due to his company's bad results. On 10 June 2007, the team achieved promotion to theBelgian First Division.Two years later in 2009, KV Mechelen played the final of the Belgian Cup, losing it 2–0 toGenk.One year after that, they stranded in the semi-finals with a 2–2 draw and a 1–0 loss against KAA Gent.

After a successful 2010 and four seasons for the yellow reds, coach Peter Maes decided to leave Malinwa and signed a four-year contract withLokeren.Malinwa made a deal with Marc Brys to take over from Maes.Marc Bryswas coach ofFC Den Bosch,a second division team in the Netherlands. After two seasons he was sacked and Harm Van Veldhoven was appointed for the 2012–13 season. Van Veldhoven also could not lead KV Mechelen to Play-off 1, the clubs' recent unspoken ambition. He was fired in December 2013. At the end of the 2013–14 season KV Mechelen appointedAleksandar Jankovićas head coach. Despite Janković's inability to lead the club to Play-off 1, Janković left for topclubStandard Liègeand Mechelen had to appoint a new manager. The club ended up choosingYannick Ferrerafor the vacant job, who had just been fired as manager of Standard Liège.

Match-fixing and 2017–19 Belgian football fraud scandal

2017 through 2019 proved to be a tumultuous period for the club. After eleven seasons at the highest level, the club was relegated on the last day of the2017–18 seasonas a 2–0 win overWaasland-Beverenleft them in last place on goal difference, due to Eupen beating Moeskroen by a bigger margin (4–0). During the following season, while the club was very successful on the pitch, winning both the2018–19 Belgian First Division Band the2018–19 Belgian Cup,the2017–19 Belgian football fraud scandalemerged in which the club was accused of match-fixing their final match of the 2017–18 season, allegedly having attempted to bribe certain players and officials of Waasland-Beveren. In March 2019, the club was found guilty and forced to relegate back to the First Division B despite winning promotion, and also denied to take part in the2019–20 Belgian Cupand2019–20 UEFA Europa League,the latter for which they had qualified by winning the cup. The club appealed the decision at the Belgian Arbitration Court for Sports which ruled on 10 July 2019 that, in accordance with the rules set by theRoyal Belgian Football Association,relegation was not a possible punishment in the circumstances. As a result, the club was punished with a one-season ban from European football and the Belgian Cup. The proceedings were plagued with controversy, with evidence (including witness statements) from an investigation into financial crimes in Belgian football not being made available during these disciplinary proceedings, as well as the impartiality of the prosecutor being called into question.

Rivalries

KV Mechelen's most traditional rival isRacing Mechelen.However the two have sparingly met in the modern era, the last time in 2005, where the game had to be stopped due to crowd violence.Traditionally KV Mechelen was the club of the catholic elite in the city while Racing was set up by the secular, liberal classes, with nationalist sympathies.KV Mechelen has since taken on a more broader support from the Antwerp province and beyond while Racing's support has died down due to being in inferior divisions.

KV Mechelen also have a rivalry with football clubs from the neighbouring town ofLier(mainlyLierse SKand its successors).They additionally have a rivalry withBeerschotAntwerp,which was heightened during the Match fixing scandal of 2017–2019, due to Mechelen's promotion instead of Beerschot despite being found guilty of match fixing in the previous season.

Honours

Domestic

• Belgian First Division A
  • Champions (4):1942–43,1945–46,1947–48,1988–89
• Belgian Cup
  • Winners (2):1986–87,2018–19
• Belgian Second Division
  • Winners (7):1925–26, 1927–28, 1962–63, 1982–83, 1998–99, 2001–02,2018–19
• Belgian Second Division final round
  • Winners:1981, 2007, 2019
• Belgian Third Division
  • Winners:2004–05

International

• European Cup Winners Cup
  • Winners:1987–88
• European Super Cup
  • Winners:1988

European record

KV Mechelen'sBelgian Cupwin in 1987 saw the club participate inUEFA club competitionfor the first time in their history, entering the1987–88 European Cup Winners' Cup.It proved to be a highly successful campaign, with Mechelen reaching the final undefeated by winning seven of their eight matchesen route.They then went on to defeatAjax1–0 in the final, Piet den Boer scoring the decisive goal early in the second half.The following season Mechelen played1988 European CupwinnersPSVin theUEFA Super Cup,and defeated the Dutch side 3–1 on aggregate. Mechelen remain the last Belgian club team to have won a European club competition.

As of December 2008.

Competition	A	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
European Cup / UEFA Champions League	1	6	2	3	1	9	3
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	2	17	13	3	1	26	8
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League	4	14	3	5	6	14	15
UEFA Super Cup	1	2	1	0	1	3	1

A = appearances, GP = games played, W = won, D = drawn, L = lost, GF = goals for, GA = goals against.

Results

• Q = qualification round
• PO = play-off
• R = round
• Group = group stage / Group 1 = first group stage / Group 2 = second group stage
• 1/8 = eighth finals / 1/4 = quarter-finals / 1/2 = semi-finals
• F = final

Season	Competition	Round	Country	Club	Score
1987–88	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1R		Dinamo București	1–0, 2–0
		2R		St Mirren	0–0, 2–0
		1/4		Dinamo Minsk	1–0, 1–1
		1/2		Atalanta	2–1, 2–1
		F		Ajax	1–0
1988	UEFA Super Cup	F		PSV	3–0, 0–1
1988–89	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1R		Avenir Beggen	5–0, 3–1
		2R		Anderlecht	1–0, 2–0
		1/4		Eintracht Frankfurt	1–0, 0–0
		1/2		Sampdoria	2–1, 0–3
1989–90	European Cup	1R		Rosenborg	5–0, 0–0
		2R		Malmö FF	4–1, 0–0
		1/4		Milan	0–0, 0–2 (AET)
1990–91	UEFA Cup	1R		Sporting CP	2–2, 0–1
1991–92	UEFA Cup	1R		PAOK	0–1, 1–1
1992–93	UEFA Cup	1R		Örebro SK	2–1, 0–0
		2R		Vitesse	0–1, 0–1
1993–94	UEFA Cup	1R		IFK Norrköping	1–1 (AET), 1–0
		2R		MTK Hungária	5–0, 1–1
		3R		Cagliari	1–3, 0–2

Summary of best results

(2 cups)

European Cup/UEFA Champions League:

- Quarter-finalists in 1990

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup(1):

-Winners in 1988

- Semi-finalists in 1989

UEFA Super Cup(1):

-Winners in 1988

Players

Current squad

As of 13 July 2024

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

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	BEL	Ortwin De Wolf
3	DF	ESP	José Marsà
4	DF	BEL	Toon Raemaekers
5	DF	IDN	Sandy Walsh
7	MF	BEL	Geoffry Hairemans
8	MF	GUI	Mory Konaté
9	FW	BEL	Julien Ngoy
11	FW	BEL	Nikola Storm
15	GK	BEL	Yannick Thoelen
16	MF	BEL	Rob Schoofs
17	DF	ALG	Rafik Belghali

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
19	FW	SWE	Kerim Mrabti
20	FW	GER	Lion Lauberbach
23	DF	BEL	Daam Foulon
27	DF	SCO	David Bates
29	MF	BEL	Bas Van den Eynden
31	GK	BEL	Oskar Annell
35	MF	BEL	Bilal Bafdili
36	MF	BEL	Dirk Asare
38	FW	ZIM	Bill Antonio
40	GK	BEL	Jannes Van Hof
77	FW	GER	Patrick Pflücke

Out on loan

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

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	BEL	Iebe Swers(atPatro Eisdenuntil 30 June 2024)

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	BEL	Amin Doudah(atHelmonduntil 30 June 2024)

Former players

Africa

Algeria

• Sofiane Hanni

Burkina Faso

• Hassane Bandé

DR Congo

• Roger Lukaku

Europe

Belgium

• Albert De Cleyn
• Marino Sabbadini
• Michel Preud'homme
• Lei Clijsters
• Koenraad Sanders
• Philippe Albert
• Theo Custers
• Marc Wilmots
• Christian Kabasele
• Bjorn Vleminckx
• Mats Rits
• Christian Benteke

Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Edin Cocalić
• Boris Pandža
• Marijo Dodik
• Senad Karahmet

Croatia

• Ljuban Crepulja

Denmark

• Nicklas Pedersen

Greece

• Sotiris Ninis

Israel

• Eli Ohana

Montenegro

• Fatos Bećiraj

Portugal

• Sérgio Oliveira

Sweden

• Klas Ingesson
• Kennet Andersson

The Netherlands

• Piet Den Boer
• Erwin Koeman
• Graeme Rutjes
• John Bosman
• René Eijkelkamp
• Wim Hofkens
• Michael Verrips

Coaching staff

As of 8 November 2023

Position	Staff
Head Coach	Besnik Hasi
Assistant Coach	Frédéric Vanderbiest Gunter Van Handenhoven
Goalkeeping coach	Stef Pauwels
Physical coach	Thibaut Meyer
Rehabilitation coach	Dennes De Kegel
Physiotherapist	Bart De Bruyn Dieter Devaere Iris De Clercq
Doctor	Christophe Sintebin Hendrik Gevers Robin Van Houdt
Kit manager	Marc Bols Paul Weemaes
Team manager	Greet De Jagher
Video analyst	Jordi Jansen

Coaching history

Aad de Mosis Mechelen's most successful manager, winning oneleague title,onecup,oneEuropean Cup Winners' Cupand oneEuropean Super Cup

• Désiré Bourgeois(1947–53), (1954–55)
• Albert De Cleyn(1955–57)
• Émile Stijnen(1959–61)
• Oliver Gaspar(1960–64)
• András Dolgos(1965–68)
• Piet Teughels(1968–69)
• Keith Spurgeon(1969–70)
• Staf Van den Bergh(1970–75)
• André Bollen(1975–77)
• John Talbut(1977–78)
• Piet Teughels(1979)
• Nedeljko Bulatović(1979–81)
• Kamiel Van Damme(1981–82)
• Leo Canjels(1982–85)
• Ernst Künnecke(1985–86)
• Aad de Mos(1 February 1986 – 30 June 1989)
• Ruud Krol,Fi Van Hoof(1 July 1989 – 14 January 1990)
• Fi Van Hoof(1990–91)
• Georges Leekens(1 July 1991 – 30 June 1992)
• Fi Van Hoof(1992–94)
• Walter Meeuws(1 July 1994 – 1 August 1995)
• Walter Meeuws,Willy Reynders(1995–96)
• Willy Reynders,Georges Heylens(1996–97)
• Franky Vercauteren(1997 – June 30, 1998)
• Rudy Verkempinck,Gunther Jacob&Valère Billen(1998–99)
• Gunther Jacob(1999–00)
• L. Clijsters,V. Billen&B. Hulshoff(1 July 2000 – 30 June 2001)
• Barry Hulshoff,Fi Van Hoof(2001–02)
• Stéphane Demol,Alex Czerniatynski(30 November 2002 – 30 June 2003)
• Alex Czerniatynski(2003–04)
• Rik Vande Velde,Živica Kanački(1 July 2004 – 25 January 2005)
• André Wetzel,Živica Kanački(2005 – June 30, 2006)
• Peter Maes(1 July 2006 – 30 June 2010)
• Marc Brys(1 July 2010 – 30 June 2012)
• Harm van Veldhoven(1 July 2012 – 30 December 2013)
• Franky Vercauteren(5 January 2014 – 5 May 2014)
• Aleksandar Janković(8 May 2014 – 6 September 2016)
• Yannick Ferrera(12 September 2016 – 22 October 2017)
• Aleksandar Janković(2 November 2017 – Jan 2018)
• Dennis van Wijk(Jan 2018 – Aug 2018)
• Wouter Vrancken(Aug 2018 – May 2022)
• Danny Buijs(1 June 2022 – 17 October 2022)
• Steven Defour(17 October 2022 – 2 November 2023)
• Besnik Hasi(8 November 2023 – present)

Chairmen history

Date Name 1904–06 Théophile Delvaulx 1906–51 Francis Dessain 1951–77 Patrick Dessain 1977–82 Herman Candries 1982–92 John Cordier 1992–94 Willy Dussart

Date Name 1994–97 Jef De Graef 1997–02 Willy Van den Wijngaert 2003 Mark Uytterhoeven 2003–2018 Johan Timmermans 2018–2020 Dieter Penninckx 2020– Luc Leemans

See also

• 2017–19 Belgian football fraud scandal

External links

• (in Dutch)Official website
• (in Dutch)Fanclub website
• KV Mechelen at UEFA.COM
• KV Mechelen at EUFO.DE(in German)
• KV Mechelen at Weltfussball.de(in German)
• KV Mechelen at Football Squads.co.uk
• KV Mechelen at National Football Teams.com
• KV Mechelen at Football-Lineups.com