Guy Jean-Leonard Thys (6 December 1922 – 1 August 2003) was a Belgian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager, mostly known for being the most successful manager in the history of the

Belgium national football team The Belgium national football team has represented Belgium in men's international Association football, football since Évence Coppée Trophy, their maiden match in 1904. The squad is under the global jurisdiction of FIFA and is governed in E ...

as he managed to lead the national side to their only

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

final in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

and a fourth–place finish at the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-tea ...

. With 114 games between 1976 and 1991, he is the longest-serving national coach in the history of the Red Devils to date.

Career

Player career

Thys was born in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

as son of Belgian international Ivan Thys. He started his career in the 1940s and 50s as a football player with Beerschot, Daring Molenbeek and Standard. Because of the war, nearly five years of his career were lost. In 1952 and 1953 he played two matches with the ''Red Devils'', the Belgium national team.

Manager career

He combined the activities of player and trainer for Cercle Brugge from 1954 until 1958. In 1959 he performed the same functions for Racing Lokeren. He became a full-time trainer with Wezel the same year, followed by Herentals, Beveren, Union Sint-Gillis, and

. Under Thys' leadership Antwerp was a finalist in the

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

and twice finished second in the championship.

International management

Thys was appointed

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

manager in 1976 and remained in the job until 1989, managing the team for 101 games, 45 of which were victories. Under his lead the ''Red Devils'' participated twice in the European Championship, and three times at the World Cup. In 1980, Belgium narrowly lost the European Championship final to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. In the opening game of the 1982 World Cup, Belgium surprised the world by beating the reigning world champions

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

1–0. In 1986 Belgium finished fourth in the World Cup in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. His team beat

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, but was defeated by

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...

and his Argentine team in the semi-finals. 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 the

1990 World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

. The side duly qualified through the group stage and was knocked out by the England national team in the second round of the tournament. Thys retired again in 1991.

Death

Guy Thys died on 1 August 2003.

Honours

Player

; Standard Liège *

: 1953–54

Player/Manager

Cercle Brugge

Belgian Third Division The Belgian Third Division (, ) was the third highest level in Football in Belgium, Belgian football. It had two leagues of 18 teams each (Belgian Third Division A, A and Belgian Third Division B, B) at the same level. This competition, originall ...

: 1955–56

Manager

; Beveren *

Belgian Second Division The Belgian Second Division was the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was founded by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 1909 and folded in 2016, when it was replace ...

: 1966–67 ; Royal Antwerp *

Belgian First Division The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

Runner-up: 1973–74, 1974–75 *

Runner-up: 1974–75 ;

International

Belgium *

( runners-up) *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

: 1986 ( fourth place) * Belgian Sports Merit Award: 1980

Individual

* World Soccer Magazine Manager of the Year: 1986 * Coach of the Platina 11 (Best Team of 50 Years Golden Shoe Winners): 2003 *: From 2011 * RBFA 125 Years Icons Team Coach: 2020

References

External links

* *
Profile at cerclemuseum.be
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thys, Guy 1922 births 2003 deaths Belgian men's footballers Belgium men's international footballers Belgian football managers UEFA Euro 1980 managers 1982 FIFA World Cup managers UEFA Euro 1984 managers 1986 FIFA World Cup managers 1990 FIFA World Cup managers Footballers from Antwerp Cercle Brugge K.S.V. players Royale Union Saint-Gilloise managers Cercle Brugge K.S.V. managers Royal Antwerp F.C. managers K. Beerschot V.A.C. players Belgian Pro League players Belgium national football team managers Men's association football forwards R. Daring Club Molenbeek players Belgian Pro League managers K.S.K. Beveren managers K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen managers 20th-century Belgian sportsmen