SC Anderlecht

Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht, commonly abbreviated to RSC Anderlecht (, , ) or RSCA (, , ), is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht, Brussels Capital-Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian First Division A and is the most successful Belgian football team in European competitions, with five trophies, as well as in the Belgian domestic league, with 34 championship wins. They have also won nine Belgian Cups and hold the record for most consecutive Belgian championship titles, winning five between the 1963–64 and 1967–68 seasons.

Founded in 1908, the club first reached the highest level in Belgian football in 1921–22 and have been playing in the first division continuously since 1935–36 and in Europe since 1964–65. They won their first major trophy after World War II with a championship win in 1946–47. They never finished outside the top six of the Belgian first division with the exception of 2019–20 (8th) and 2022–23. They are ranked 14th amongst all-time UEFA club competition winners, tenth in the International Federation of Football History & Statistics continental Clubs of the 20th Century European ranking and were 41st in the 2012 UEFA team rankings. In 1986, they achieved their best UEFA ranking with a joint first place with Juventus.

Anderlecht have been playing their matches in the Astrid Park in the municipality of Anderlecht since 1917. Their current stadium was renamed Lotto Park in 2019. Previously it was called Constant Vanden Stock Stadium which was first opened in 1983 to replace the former Emile Versé Stadium. They play in purple and white outfits. They have long-standing rivalries with Club Brugge and Standard Liège.

History

Founded as Sporting Club Anderlechtois on 27 May 1908 by a dozen football lovers at the Concordia café (located in the ''Rue d'Aumale/Aumalestraat'' in the municipality of Anderlecht), the club beat Institut Saint-Georges in their first match, 11–8. They joined the official competition in 1909–10, starting at the lowest level in the Belgian football league system, then the third provincial division. In 1912–13, they gained promotion to the second-higher level of football, then named the Promotion. After only one season at that level, the championships were suspended due to World War I, and resumed in 1919–20. With the popularity of the team increasing, Anderlecht had moved to a new stadium in the Astrid Park in 1917 (then known as Meir Park). They baptized the stadium ''Stade Emile Versé'' in honor of the club's first major patron, the industrialist Emile Versé.

At the end of the 1920–21 season, Anderlecht was promoted to the first division for the first time in their history. In the next 14 seasons, Anderlecht was relegated four times (1923, 1926, 1928 and 1931) and promoted four times (1924, 1927, 1929, 1935), earning themselves the mockery of local rival clubs Union Saint-Gilloise and Daring Club de Bruxelles, who nicknamed them the "lift club". In 1933, 25 years after their formation, the club changed their name to Royal Sporting Club Anderlechtois. Since their promotion in 1935, Anderlecht has remained at the top level of football. With Jef Mermans, a striker signed from K Tubantia FC in 1942 for a record fee of 125,000 Belgian francs, Anderlecht won their first league title in 1947. Their success increased in the following years as they won six more titles between 1949–50 and 1955–56 (winning three consecutive titles twice) and two more in 1958–59 and 1961–62. In the 1960s, under the coaching of Pierre Sinibaldi and then of Andreas Beres, the club even won five titles in a row (from 1963–64 to 1967–68), which is still a Belgian league record. The star of this team was Paul Van Himst, topscorer in 1965, 1967 and 1969 and Belgian Golden Shoe winner in 1960, 1961, 1965 and 1974.

Anderlecht played in the first European Champion Clubs' Cup in 1955–56, and lost both legs of their tie against Vörös Lobogo. They had to wait until the 1962–63 season to win their first European tie, with a 1–0 victory over Real Madrid, which followed a 3–3 draw in Spain. For the first time, they advanced to the second round, where they beat CSKA Sofia before losing to Dundee in the quarter-finals. In the 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Anderlecht lost in the final against Arsenal. Between 1975 and 1984, Anderlecht only won one championship but they achieved considerable European success: they won the 1975–76 and 1977–78 European Cup Winners' Cups against West Ham United and Austria Wien respectively, as well as the two subsequent European Super Cups.

The 1982–83 season was a noteworthy season for the club for numerous reasons: former Anderlecht favourite Paul Van Himst was named the new coach, they won the 1982–83 UEFA Cup and under the impulse of sporting director Michel Verschueren, the rebuilding of the club stadium began. But in the domestic league, Anderlecht had to settle for second place behind Standard. Their bid to retain the UEFA Cup in 1983–84 failed at the final hurdle against English side Tottenham Hotspur. Anderlecht reached the final by bribing the semi-final referee to the equivalent of £27,000, ensuring passage against another English side, Nottingham Forest.

After three second-place finishes in a row, the ''Purple and Whites'' secured an easy 18th title in 1984–85, 11 points ahead of Club Brugge. In 1985–86, Anderlecht won the championship again, but this time after a two-legged play-off against Club Brugge. Anderlecht won their 20th championship on the last matchday of the 1986–87 season. They then lost key players Franky Vercauteren, Enzo Scifo (transferred in the summer of 1987) and Juan Lozano (heavily injured in a game at KSV Waregem a few months earlier). A weakened team coached by Raymond Goethals finished only fourth in 1988 behind Club Brugge, KV Mechelen and Royal Antwerp, but they nonetheless managed to lift the Belgian Cup for the sixth time in club history after a 2–0 victory over Standard Liège, with goals by Luc Nilis and Eddie Krnčević. The next year, Anderlecht retained the trophy with goals by Eddie Krncevic and Milan Janković (again with a 2–0 win over Standard), but finished second in the championship. After his second cup win, Goethals left for Bordeaux in the French Ligue 1.

During the 1990s, Anderlecht reached one more European final, the 1990 European Cup Winners' Cup final, which they lost to Italian club Sampdoria. The club then declined in European competitions, with the 1990–91 and 1996–97 UEFA Cup quarter-finals their best results. In national competition, they won four championship titles and a cup. During the 2000s, Anderlecht secured five more Belgian champion titles, reaching a total of 29 titles in 2007, in addition to one more cup victory. In the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League, they qualified for the first time to the second round, then another group stage, where they finished third in their group behind Real Madrid and Leeds United.

In 2009–10, the ''Purple and Whites'' won their 30th Belgian league title, while in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League, Anderlecht made history by becoming the first Belgian team to finish the group stage of a European competition with the maximum number of points, dominating group opposition Lokomotiv Moscow, Sturm Graz and AEK Athens. They were also the only team of that year's Europa League to achieve this feat. On 6 May 2012, Anderlecht won their 31st Belgian championship, while on 22 July, they won their tenth Belgian Super Cup.

The seasons 2014–15 and 2015–16 were a disappointment sportively. After the appointiment of young Swiss coach René Weiler, Anderlecht, with youth players like Youri Tielemans and Leander Dendoncker, became champions again in the 2016–17 season.

In the Europa League they were eliminated in the quarter final by Manchester United in extra time.
After businessman Marc Coucke took over the club in 2018, structural changes followed, together with regular personnel changes. Sportingly, a low point was reached in 2019–20: despite the return of club icon Vincent Kompany, the club did not qualify for the European club competitions the following season, which it had managed for the previous 55 years.

After a few disappointing seasons, Anderlecht could again compete for the championship title in the 2023-24 season, finishing 2nd on the regular season of Belgian Pro League.

Colours and badge

The Anderlecht colours are purple and white, and the club's home kit is generally purple with white trim, though they did wear a black and purple home kit in the 2005–06 season, and a grey in the 2007–08 season. In the beginning, purple was the main colour of the shirts.

The origin of the colours is not entirely clear. According to journalist Robert Wyckaert, they were the colours of a flower parade held in the municipality of Anderlecht. In it, the future Queen Elisabeth was driven around in a carriage decorated with white and purple orchids. Purple is as well the color of the Belgian monarchy. The first outfits consisted of white pants and a purple and white shirt.

Anderlecht's colours inspired other football clubs. United Arab Emirates' Al Ain FC, for instance, decided to change their colours to purple, after they saw Anderlecht play in a friendly tournament in 1977.

The motto of Anderlecht ("''Mens sana in corpore sano''") is written on its badge as are the three letters "SCA", referring to the initial name of the club (Sporting Club Anderlechtois). In 1933, the club celebrated its 25th anniversary and received royal statute. A crown was added following the name change to Royal Sporting Club Anderlechtois. In 1959, the badge with 2 rings was implemented in a new crest, to mark the 50th anniversary of the club.

Kit evolution

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

Crest evolution

File:Logo Anderlecht 1933–1959.svg, Crest of Anderlechtois (1933–1959). ''Similar to the crest of the Brussels based Union and Daring Molenbeek''
File:Logo Anderlecht 1959–1979.svg, Crest of Anderlechtois (1959–1979)
''Following the 50th anniversary''
File:Logo Anderlecht 1979–1989.svg, Crest of Anderlecht (1979–1989) ''The French-language name disappeared''
File:Logo Anderlecht 1989–2010.svg, Crest of Anderlecht (1989–2010)
File:Logo Anderlecht 2010–2024.svg, Crest of Anderlecht (2010–2023)
''3 stars represent 30 titles''
File:R.S.C. Anderlecht.svg, Crest of Anderlecht (2023–)
''All yellowish colors were converted to one golden color''

Stadium

Anderlecht play their home matches at the Lotto Park stadium located within the Astrid Park in the municipality of Anderlecht. Initially the stadium had a capacity of 40,000 seats and standing places, but through the years the amount was reduced to 22,500 seats for safety reasons.

Anderlecht has been playing in the Astrid Park since the building of the Emile Versé Stadium in 1917. The stadium was completely rebuilt in 1983 and renamed in honour of the then chairman Constant Vanden Stock. Prior to 1917, the club has played on a pitch in the current ''Rue du Serment/Eedstraat'' for a couple of years since 1908, then in a stadium located in ''Rue Verheydenstraat'' (now ''Rue Démosthènestraat''). In 2013 the stadium was refurbished, with installation of new scoreboards and advertising strips alongside the border of the pitch in accordance with UEFA regulations for the Champions League. AIM Sport was chosen as the provider for the ultra-modern LED strips and their controllers.

Anderlecht would move to the 60,000-capacity Eurostadium when it was expected to be completed in 2019. The Eurostadion would also become home to the Belgium national team and host UEFA Euro 2020. However, during the years that followed, the project was plagued by numerous delays caused by political infighting. In February 2017, Anderlecht eventually pulled out of the project. In the 2018–19 season, Anderlecht drew an average home attendance of 18,536 in 15 league games at their stadium.

In July 2019, the new owner Marc Coucke sold the naming rights of the Constant Vanden Stockstadion to the firm Lotto, and changed the name to Lotto Park.

Club's anthem

Before the start of every home match, the song " Anderlecht Champion" by Lange Jojo is played in the stadium. It was released in 1985 in French and Flemish (Brussels dialect) after Anderlecht became national champions. The song was reworked into a Belgian national supporters' song and was used at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, after which the chorus " Oléé, Olé, Olé, Oléé" became an international anthem used in sports, musical performances and political activities.

Supporters

The club had the highest average attendance in the Belgian First Division for ten years, until 2004–05. Anderlecht supporters hail from all over the country and only a minority come from the Brussels Capital Region. Anderlecht counts 77 fan clubs, of which 5 are abroad (one in France, one in Poland, one in Texas, USA, one in Montreal, Canada and one in Sunderland, England). On 1 January 2024, RSC Anderlecht had 4 million followers on social media, the highest among Belgian football clubs.

The nickname of rival supporters for Anderlecht supporters is "dikkenekken". This Flemish expression (translated as "thick necks") refers to their exaggerated pride towards their club, as well as themselves. In recent years, the term has also been used jokingly among Anderlecht supporters.

Rivals

Anderlecht's main rivals are Standard Liege and Club Brugge, the two other teams of the " ''Big Three''" in Belgium. Only a few players made the transfer from Club Brugge to Anderlecht, and when it happened it often caused controversy. For example, during his ninth season with Club Brugge, the transfer of Lorenzo Staelens to Anderlecht was already announced in April 1998, after which he had to finish the remaining 10 games for Club Brugge with constant whistling of furious Bruges supporters. Even when Staelens had to take a penalty for their club he was booed, and there were cheers when he eventually missed it. Transfers from players to and from Standard are more common. A tifo of a Standard supporters association, with the image of a decapitated Steven Defour in 2015 directed to their former player caused a lot of controversy in Belgium, after which the Federal Public Service Interior launched an investigation.

Honours

*
* shared record

Minor

* Tournoi de Paris:
**Winners (3): 1964, 1966, 1977
*Amsterdam Tournament:
**Winners (1): 1976
*Mohammed V Cup:
**Winners (1): 1976
* Tournoi Indoor de Paris-Bercy:
**Winners (1): 1985
* Bruges Matins:
**Winners (2): 1985, 1988
* Youth tournaments (selection):
** Toulon Tournament (1): 1967, Future Cup (3): 2011, 2013, 2015, Torneo di Viareggio (1): 2013, Copa Amsterdam (1): 2015, Otten Cup (1): 2016, Kevin De Bruyne Cup (1): 2018

Individual

* Belgian First Division topscorer:
** Jef Mermans ( 1946–47, 1947–48, 1949–50), Hippolyte Van Den Bosch ( 1953–54), Jacky Stockman ( 1961–62), Paul Van Himst ( 1963–64, 1965–66, 1967–68), Jan Mulder ( 1966–67), Robbie Rensenbrink (1972–73), Attila Ladynski ( 1973–74), François Van Der Elst ( 1976–77), Erwin Vandenbergh ( 1982–83, 1985–86), Arnór Guðjohnsen ( 1986–87), Eddie Krncevic ( 1988–89), Tomasz Radzinski ( 2000–01), Nenad Jestrović ( 2004–05), Romelu Lukaku ( 2009–10), Aleksandar Mitrović ( 2014–15), Łukasz Teodorczyk ( 2016–17), Hamdi Harbaoui ( 2017–18)
* European League topscorer: Jef Mermans ( 1949–50)
*European Cup topscorer: Paul Van Himst ( 1966–67)
*World League Topscorer: Jef Mermans ( 1949–50)

Awards

Club

* Belgian Sports Merit Award: 1978
* Belgian Sports Team of the Year: 2000

Individual

*Belgian Golden Shoe:
** Jef Jurion (1957, 1962), Paul Van Himst (1960, 1961, 1965, 1974), Wilfried Puis (1964), Rob Rensenbrink (1976), Franky Vercauteren (1983), Enzo Scifo (1984), Marc Degryse (1991), Philippe Albert (1992), Pär Zetterberg (1993, 1997),  Gilles De Bilde (1994), Lorenzo Staelens (1999), Jan Koller (2000), Aruna Dindane (2003), Vincent Kompany (2004), Mbark Boussoufa (2006, 2010), Matías Suárez (2011), Dieumerci Mbokani (2012), Dennis Praet (2014)
* Belgian Professional Footballer of the Season:
** Juan Lozano ( 1986–87), Marc Degryse ( 1989–90), Pär Zetterberg ( 1996–97, 1997–98), Walter Baseggio ( 2000–01), Aruna Dindane ( 2003–04), Vincent Kompany ( 2004–05), Mohammed Tchité ( 2006–07), Mbark Boussoufa ( 2008–09, 2009–10), Matías Suárez ( 2011–12), Youri Tielemans ( 2016–17)
* Belgian Young Professional Footballer of the Season:
**Bertrand Crasson ( 1990–91), Johan Walem ( 1991–92), Celestine Babayaro ( 1994–95, 1995–96), Walter Baseggio ( 1998–99, 1999–2000), Alin Stoica ( 2000–01), Vincent Kompany ( 2003–04, 2004–05), Lucas Biglia ( 2006–07), Youri Tielemans ( 2013–14, 2014–15), Yari Verschaeren ( 2018–19)
* Belgian Professional Goalkeeper of the Season:
** Filip De Wilde ( 1993–94, 1999–2000), Daniel Zitka ( 2006–07), Silvio Proto ( 2011–12, 2012–13)
* Belgian Professional Manager of the Season:
**Paul Van Himst ( 1982–83), Aimé Anthuenis ( 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01), Hugo Broos ( 2003–04), Ariël Jacobs ( 2009–10), René Weiler ( 2016–17)
*Onze d'Or:
**Rob Rensenbrink (1976)
* Danish Footballer of the Year:
** Morten Olsen (1983)
* Swedish Golden Ball:
** Pär Zetterberg (1997)
* Canadian Footballer of the Year:
** Tomasz Radzinski (1998)
*Czech Footballer of the Year:
** Jan Koller (1999)
* Hungarian Golden Ball:
** Roland Juhász (2009, 2011)

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

RSCA Futures (Reserves and Youth Academy)

Notable former players

Most successful players

Other notable players

Club staff

Club presidents

Managers

There have been a total of 37 permanent managers and 3 caretaker managers of Anderlecht since the appointment of the first manager, Sylva Brébart, in 1920. The club's longest-serving manager is Englishman Bill Gormlie, who served during nine seasons between 1950 and 1959. Frenchman Georges Perino is the first Anderlecht manager to have claimed a trophy, with the first championship win in 1946–47. Seven Anderlecht managers have managed the club on two occasions: Ernest Churchill Smith, Pierre Sinibaldi, Urbain Braems, Raymond Goethals, Arie Haan, Johan Boskamp and Franky Vercauteren. Other managers have also played another role in the club before being appointed manager, including Jean Dockx, who served three times as caretaker before being appointed manager

Youth academy

The youth complex is located in Neerpede, a district in Anderlecht. RSC Anderlecht has one of the most productive youth academies outside the Big Five. In August 2023, it was announced that head of youth development, Jean Kindermans, was leaving the team after 16 years. Under his leadership, youth players such as Romelu Lukaku, Youri Tielemans and Jérémy Doku made their breakthrough.

Women's football team

In 1993, Brussels Dames 71 became Anderlecht's women team. The team has won ten Leagues, seven Super Leagues and eleven Belgian Cups since.

Other sections

Rugby

The oldest, still active rugby team in Belgium is R.S.C. Anderlecht Rugby, established in 1931. The club won the Belgian Elite League for a record of 20 times.

Superleague Formula

The Superleague Formula was a race class that existed between 2008 and 2011. The competition counted 16 to 19 teams, with every race car typically linked to an international football club. The team of R.S.C. Anderlecht won the championship in the 2010 season.

Futsal

For the 2022–23 season, RSC Anderlecht took over the First Division and multiple UEFA Futsal Champions League participant FP Halle-Gooik and renamed it RSC Anderlecht Futsal. The team plays in Roosdaal, at the Belleheide Center, a new arena with a capacity of 1,200 spectators.

RSCA Futsal hosted the venue for the main round of the 2022–23 UEFA Futsal Champions League. After advancing in the main round, they were able to beat the previous year's winner, FC Barcelona, in the elite round of the UEFA Futsal Champions League due to a better goal difference. Then the team advanced to the UEFA Champions League semifinals against Sporting Lisbon where they were eliminated.

Bibliography

* ''Anderlecht Champion 1973–1974'' by Frank Baudoncq in 1974, Arts et Voyages, 128 p.
* ''Anderlecht – La Chasse aux Titres'' by Frank Baudoncq in 1977, Gamma Sport, 176 p.
* ''Anderlecht – Geschiedenis van een Grote Club'' by Eugene Steppe in 1977, Het Volk, 174 p.
* ''Rensenbrink Robby'' by Jacques Hereng, Rob Rensenbrink in 1977, Rossel, 124 p.
* ''Anderlecht Coupes Européennes 76 77 78'' by Goethals in 1978, Rossel, 52 p.
* ''Haan-derlecht'' by Frank Baudoncq in 1979, Gamma, 188 p.
* ''100 Matches de Coupe d'Europe'' by Christian Hubert in 1981, Tournai, 176 p.
* ''Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht 1908–1983 75 Jaar Voetbal'' by Herman Pauwels, Frank Baudoncq, Albert Durenne & Jacques Levebvre in 1983, Gamma Sport, 154 p.
* ''Koning Anderlecht'' by Eddy Soetaert in 1987, Reinaert, 128 p.
* ''Anderlecht: L'apothéose Européenne'' by Michel Dubois in 1989, Reinaert, 193 p.
* ''Anderlecht Uniek'' by Henry Guldemont in 1992, Roularta, 237 p.
* ''Constant vanden Stock – Een Leven, Twee Carrières'' by Hugo Camps & Philippe Majersdorf in 1993, Kritak, 155 p.
* ''De Goden van Anderlecht'' by Frank Buyse & Henry Guldemont in 1995, Roularta, 156 p.
* ''Anderlecht in Europa : van Old Trafford tot San Siro'' by Rudy Nuyens in 1999, Globe, 304 p.
* ''25 Titels. Een Levende Legende'' by Michel Dubois in 2000, Euro Images Productions, 210 p.
* ''Mister Michel: De Zilveren Vos van Anderlecht'' by Stefan van Loock in 2004, Van Halewyck, 310 p.
* ''Le Dictionnaire du RSC Anderlecht. Un Club de Légende, 557 Joueurs'' (2 Volumes) by Marcel Gallez & Johan Serkijn in 2008, Magnad, 486 p.
* ''100 jaar Anderlecht'' by Stefan van Loock in 2008, Van Halewyck, 336 p.
* ''De Overwinning in 100 Jaar'' (comic book) by Yves Duval, Jarry Charles in 2008, Dupuis, 46 p.
* ''Circus Voetbal-Straffe Verhalen uit de Glorietijd van het Belgisch voetbal'' by Gilbert van Binst in 2009, Sport Voetbalmagazine, 303 p.
* ''11 RSC Anderlecht'' by Raf Willems in 2010, Lannoo, 176 p.
* ''RSCA'' by Stijn Vanderhaeghe, David Steegen, Jan Mulder in 2013, Hannibal Books, 346 p.
* ''Elke Dag een Wonder : Leven achter de Schermen van Paars-Wit'' by David Steegen in 2018, Borgerhoff & Lamberigts, 319 p.
* ''RSC Anderlecht: 110 Jaar Voetbaltraditie'' by Sam van Clemen in 2019, Aspekt B.V., 360 p.
* ''Eeuwige 25 van Anderlecht: van Mermans tot Kompany'' by Raf Willems in 2019, Willems Uitgevers, 100 p.
* ''Gang of Brussels: L'histoire vraie de hooligans d'Anderlecht, entre foot et banditisme'' by Louis Dabir and Barthelemy Gaillard in 2020, Cherche Midi, 100 p.
* ''RSCA: We are Anderlecht!'' by Marc van Staen in 2021, Lannoo, 253 p.
* ''Jef Mermans : Bombardier : de Voetballer die Anderlecht naar de Top Loodste'' by Stefan van Loock in 2022, Sportumi, 272 p.
* ''Achter de Schermen bij Sporting Anderlecht'' by Hubert Lemaire in 2024, Lannoo, 192 p.

Notes

References

External links

*
Anderlecht
on UEFA.com
The Anderlecht academy way
– ''These Football Times'' (2015)
Daily Anderlecht news and largest online fanzone

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderlecht

R.S.C. Anderlecht
1908 establishments in Belgium
Association football clubs established in 1908
Multi-sport clubs in Belgium
Football clubs in Belgium
Football clubs in Brussels
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winning clubs
UEFA Europa League winning clubs
UEFA Super Cup winning clubs
Belgian Pro League clubs