Raymond Goethals (, ; 7 October 1921 – 6 December 2004) 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 ...

coach who led

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

to victory in the UEFA Champions League final in 1993, becoming the first coach to win a European trophy with a French club. Sometimes nicknamed ''"Raymond-la-science"'' ("Raymond-the-Science", previously the nickname of Belgian

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

and

Bonnot gang The Bonnot Gang (''La Bande à Bonnot''), or The Tragic Bandits (''Les Bandes Tragiques''), was a French criminal anarchist group that operated in France and Belgium during the late ''Belle Époque'' from 1911 to 1912. Composed of individuals wh ...

member Raymond Callemin), ''"le sorcier"'' ("the Wizard") or ''"le magicien"'' ("the Magician"), Goethals was known for his blunt way of speaking, his habit of mispronouncing players' names and his distinctive

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

accent. A

chain smoker Chain smoking is the practice of smoking several cigarettes in succession, sometimes using the ember of a finishing cigarette to light the next. The term chain smoker often also refers to a person who smokes relatively constantly, though not nec ...

, he was likened to TV police detective Lieutenant

Columbo ''Columbo'' is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...

. He was the father of the referee Guy Goethals, who officiated at the 1992 European Championship and 1996 European Championship.

Playing career

Goethals began his career as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

in the 1930s with Daring Brussels, making his way through the youth ranks of the club before joining Racing Club Brussel in 1947. He remained at Racing Club Brussel until 1948.

Coaching career

Early career

After a period spent playing for Renaisiènne, he moved into coaching with Hannutois and Waremme, and led

Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium. With more than 41,500 inhabitants, it is on ...

to second place in the

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– ...

in 1966.

Belgium national team

Goethals took charge of the Belgium national team in 1968. Belgium succeeded in qualifying for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, although they were eliminated in the first round of the tournament. Belgium hosted the 1972 European Championship, having knocked out holders

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in the qualifying stages, and defeated

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

in the match for third place after losing in the semi-final to eventual tournament winners

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 ...

. That marked Goethals' greatest success as national team coach. He also took great pride in the fact that Belgium had held the emergent

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

scoreless in both their meetings in 1974 World Cup qualifying. Belgium completed their qualifying campaign without having conceded a single goal, but lost out to the Netherlands on account of their inferior goal difference.

Return to club coaching

In 1976 Goethals' tenure as coach of the national side ended, and he joined

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

as coach. In his first season, Anderlecht reached the final of the

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

, where they lost to German side

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

, but won the trophy the following year with a comprehensive victory over FK Austria/WAC. After spells coaching in France at

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

and in Brazil as football director with

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Goethals returned to Belgium to coach

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

. Standard Liège were Belgian champions in 1982 and 1983, and they reached the Cup Winners' Cup Final in 1982, losing to

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, who were at a considerable advantage in that the final was played at their home ground,

Camp Nou Camp Nou (), meaning ''New Field'' and often referred to in English as the Nou Camp, is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increa ...

Controversy and Goethals' return to Anderlecht

Standard Liège's 1982 championship win was to become the subject of great controversy in 1984. Seemingly preoccupied with winning his first Belgian title, Goethals had suggested and initiated the bribing of the Waterschei players prior to the teams' meeting in the final match of the season, in order to secure championship honours for Standard Liège and ensure that none of his players would miss their European final against Barcelona through injury. Goethals was forced to resign in the wake of the scandal, and he moved to Portugal to take charge of

Vitória Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

. He then returned to Belgium to coach Racing Jet de Bruxelles before a second spell in charge of Anderlecht, where he won

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 ...

trophy in 1989.

again recruited Goethals, and they finished runners-up in the French championship in 1989–90 behind

. Approaching 70 years of age, Goethals' greatest triumph as a coach was yet to come.

Marseille

In 1990, Goethals was named coach of

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; , ), also known simply as Marseille, or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional Association football, football club based in Marseille which competes in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top f ...

and was entrusted with the task of leading the club to

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

success. In his first season, the club narrowly missed out on European glory, losing on penalties in the European Cup Final to

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

. There was recognition for Goethals' coaching abilities, as he was voted 1991 European Coach of the Year. In 1993, Marseille again reached the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, where they defeated favourites

A.C. Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

with a headed goal by

Basile Boli Basile Boli (born 2 January 1967) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender, and currently television sports presenter. He spent the majority of his career in the 1980s and 1990s with Auxerre and Marseille, and toward ...

. Having achieved his primary objective at Marseille, Goethals left the club. Marseille were later stripped of their

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

French championship when it emerged that three

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

players had been offered money to underperform in a crucial match against Marseille. The club were not allowed to defend their European title as a result, and were punished with relegation to the French second division.

Retirement

Goethals' coaching career ended at Anderlecht in season 1995–96, but he remained in demand as a television analyst for his insights into football. He died on 6 December 2004 of

bowel cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

aged 83. In 2005, the year following his death, he was voted 38th in

De Grootste Belg ''De Grootste Belg'' (The Greatest Belgian) was a 2005 vote conducted by Belgian public TV broadcaster Canvas, public radio broadcaster Radio 1, and newspaper ''De Standaard'', to determine who is the Greatest Belgian of all time. It could be ...

, a Flemish television programme based on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

100 Greatest Britons ''100 Greatest Britons'' is a television series that was broadcast by the BBC in 2002. It was based on a television poll conducted to determine who the British people at that time considered the greatest Britons in history. The series included i ...

. The number 2 stand at F.C. Brussels' home ground, Edmond Machtens Stadium, was renamed in honour of Goethals in late 2005. He remains today as the oldest winning manager of

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

Managerial statistics

Honours

Manager

Anderlecht *

: 1977–78; runner-up 1976–77 *

European Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

: 1987–88, 1988–89; runner-up 1976–77 *

Amsterdam Tournament The Amsterdam Tournament () was a pre-season association football competition, held in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The competition was hosted by Eredivisie club AFC Ajax, Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena. It was inaugurated in 1975 as the Amsterdam 700 T ...

: 1976 * Tournoi de Paris: 1977 * Jules Pappaert Cup: 1977 * Belgian Sports Merit Award: 1978 * Bruges Matins: 1988 Sao Paulo *

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

runner-up:

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

Standard Liège *

: 1981–82, 1982–83 *

Belgian Super Cup The Belgian Super Cup ( ; ; ), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian Pro League champions (also received the Super Cup host) and the Belgian Cup winners. If both teams are the same, ...

: 1981, 1983 *

runner-up: 1981–82 *

Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was discon ...

Group winner:

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

Bordeaux *

French Division 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de Football Professio ...

runner-up: 1989–90 Marseille * French Division 1: 1990–91, 1991–92 *

: 1992–93; runner-up 1990–91 *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

runner-up: 1990–91 Belgium *

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 ...

third place:

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

Individual

* Panchina d'Oro: 1990–91 * Panchina d'Argento: 1991–92 * Onze d'Or Coach of the Year: 1991, 1993 * : From 2011 *Golden Shoe Lifetime Achievement Award: 2014 *

France Football ''France Football'' is a French monthly magazine containing football news from all over the world. It is considered to be one of the most reputable sports publications in Europe, mostly because of its photographic reports, in-depth and exclus ...

47th Greatest Manager of All Time: 2019 * DH The Best Standard Liège Team Ever: 2020

References

External links

Raymond Goethals on www.belgium.be in Dutch/French and English

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goethals, Raymond 1921 births 2004 deaths People from Forest, Belgium Belgian men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers R. Daring Club Molenbeek players K.S.K. Ronse players Belgian football managers Sint-Truidense V.V. managers Belgium national football team managers R.S.C. Anderlecht managers FC Girondins de Bordeaux managers São Paulo FC non-playing staff Standard Liège managers Vitória S.C. managers Wavre Sports FC managers Olympique de Marseille managers Belgian Pro League managers Ligue 1 managers Primeira Liga managers UEFA Champions League–winning managers 1970 FIFA World Cup managers UEFA Euro 1972 managers Belgian expatriate football managers Belgian expatriate sportspeople in France Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate football managers in France Expatriate football managers in Brazil Expatriate football managers in Portugal Deaths from colorectal cancer in Belgium Footballers from Brussels 20th-century Belgian sportsmen