K.A.A. Gent

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Gent
Full nameKoninklijke Atletiek Associatie Gent
Nickname(s)De Buffalo's (The Buffalos) Gantoise
Founded1864; 160 years ago (1864) (as a gymnastics association)
1900; 124 years ago (1900) (as a football association)
GroundGhelamco Arena
Capacity20,175[1]
ChairmanSam Baro
Managing directorMichel Louwagie
ManagerHein Vanhaezebrouck
LeagueBelgian Pro League
2022–23Belgian Pro League, 5th of 18
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Koninklijke Atletiek Associatie Gent (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkoːnɪŋkləkə ˌʔɑtləˈtik ˌɑsoːˈʃaːsi ˈɣɛnt], English: Royal Athletic Association Ghent), often simply known as Ghent or by their nickname De Buffalo's (English: The Buffalos), is a Belgian professional sports club, based in the city of Ghent, East Flanders. Their football team is the best known section within the club and has been playing in the Belgian First Division A since the 1989–90 season. They won the national league once, in 2014–15, in addition to four Belgian Cup victories. Ghent played their home matches in the Jules Ottenstadion in Gentbrugge from 1920 until 2013, when they moved to the Ghelamco Arena. Their team colours are blue and white. The principal sponsor is Baloise.

The field hockey and track and field divisions were founded in 1864, making it one of the oldest sports clubs in Belgium. The club was then known under its French name La Gantoise (and it is still referred to as such in the French-speaking part of Belgium). They changed their name to the current Dutch version in 1971. The football division opened in 1900. The nickname of the club is De Buffalo's, a term coined after a visit of the original Buffalo Bill and his Wild West circus to the city in the early 20th century.[2]

Gent enjoyed its first spell at the highest level in Belgian football between 1913–14 and 1928–29, and a second one from 1936–37 to 1966–67. In the 1970s and 1980s, the club had several promotions and relegations between the first and second divisions, before returning to the highest level in 1989. The club reached the quarter-finals of the 1991–92 UEFA Cup, which is their best achievement ever in European competitions.

Aside from football, Gent also have other sports sections in track and field and field hockey.

History[edit]

In 1864, an association called the 'Société Gymnastique la Gantoise', which was tasked with promoting gymnastics, was founded. Some branches quickly became independent and in 1891 the team merged with the Association Athlétique, which was in itself a merger of younger teams, such as Racing Club, Running Club and Red Star. The new merger team was called Association Athlétique La Gantoise, and aside from gymnastics, the activities were broadened to athletics, boxing, cricket, cycling, fencing, hockey, swimming and tennis. In this context, the athletics team KAA Gent was founded.[3]

1914 logo of La Gantoise

In the last decade of the 19th century, organized football was introduced in Ghent. Different small teams were founded and some merged into Racing Club Gantois on 1 April 1899, which would later become the biggest challenger of KAA Gent. Only in 1900, a football section was founded by the students of the College of Melle, which is a place close to Ghent. The first president of the team was doctor Hector Priem. The games were played on the Carpentierplein, which was situated at the crossroads of the Kortrijksesteenweg, the Clementinalaan, the Oostendestraat and the Astridlaan. Initially, the colours black and white were chosen, but by 31 October 1900, when the team became an official member, the colours were changed to blue and white. On 15 November 1900, the first regular game was played, against Omnium Sporting Club. In January 1901, the team played against Racing Club Gantois, which was, at that time, the larger of the two. KAA Gent lost the game with 10–0. Nevertheless, at the end of the 19th century the team already became a member of the UBSSA (Union Belge des Sociétés de Sports Athlétiques or the Belgian Union of the Athletic Sports Society, and although Racing Club Gantois was the elder team in the city, KAA Gent would receive a lower matricule number than Racing Club, which would receive 11. In 1901 AA La Gantoise played its first games in the lower divisions.[4]

For the first few years, the team mostly played in the Belgian Second Division, and later on in the First Division. In 1904 the team moved to the Mussenstraat. In 1913, the World Exposition was held at that place, and the team moved once more, this time to the Albertlaan. Over there, a football pitch, training fields, tennis courts, an athletics court, galleries and other accommodations were being built. At 9 December 1915, during the First World War, the stadium completely burned down. In 1912–13, AA La Gantoise became champion in the Second Division. In 1914, the team received the royal title and was called Association Royale Athlétique La Gantoise, which was abbreviated to ARA La Gantoise. During the world exposition, the team organized several sporting events. The first season in the First League, 1913–14, was nevertheless very difficult for the team and only by means of a test match against Standard Club Liégois, relegation was avoided.[5]

In 1920, the team moved again, this time to Gentbrugge, where the Jules Ottenstadion was built. La Gantoise fell back to the Second Division and it was not until 1936 it managed to win the promotion play-offs and return to the First Division.[6] In the mid-fifties, the team played their strongest football yet. In 1953–54 it ended third with an equal total of points as KFC Malinois and only one point behind the champions Anderlecht. The next season, La Gantoise was alone on the second spot, this time with three points less than the champions.[7] In 1964 it won the Belgian Cup (Beker van België), which was the first major tournament victory for the team. Because of their cup win, it became the first Belgian team to participate in the European Cup Winners' Cup. La Gantoise was defeated in the first round by West Ham United.[8] In 1967, the club relegated once more, after three decades of playing in the First Division. It did, however, only take them one year to clinch promotion again.[9]

In 1971, the name of the team was translated into Flemish, as it became "Koninklijke Atletiek Associatie Gent" (commonly known as KAA Gent or AA Gent). The 1970–71 season was the start of a bad decade for Ghent. They were relegated to the Second Division six games before the season's ending, after the defeat to Club Brugge. In 1974, they even relegated to the Third Division. Ghent had ended last and couldn't assure its promotion to the Second Division in the final round.[10] After one season, they would return to the Second Division and remained there until 1980, when the team returned to the First Division.[11] The 1980s would become a much better period for the team. In 1984 they won the Belgian Cup again, and during that period the team played in European competitions four times.[12] In 1986–87, Ghent reached the Third round in the UEFA Cup. In 1988 the team fell back to the Second Division for a short while, but thanks to the promotion play-offs, they were able to return to First Division after one season.[13] A crucial role was played by a member of the Board of Directors, Marc Mortier, who consulted the Prime Minister of Belgium, Wilfried Martens, in order to establish an organisation named Foot Invest, to get the team financially back on track. Marc Mortier gathered more than 50 million Belgian francs (1.25 million euros) in sponsoring in a couple of months and introduced VDK Spaarbank as the main sponsor of the team.

During a 2010 game against SV Zulte Waregem

In 1990–91, the team played at the top of the standings for a long time, under the guidance of René Vandereycken and players such as Frank Dauwen, Eric Viscaal and Erwin Vandenbergh, but finally it ended on the third spot. So instead of competing in the UEFA Champions League, the team played in the UEFA Cup in 1991. After defeating Lausanne-Sport, Eintracht Frankfurt and Dynamo Moscow, Ghent played the quarter finals against Ajax.[14] The following years, Ghent fell back to the lower places in the standings. From 1994 until 1997, they finished just above the relegation places in the league.[15] By the end of the 1990s the results improved again, and with coach Trond Sollied, KAA Gent qualified for European football once more in 1999–00.[16] In these series, Ghent lost heavily against Ajax, under new coach Henk Houwaart. The next season, Ghent reached the UEFA Intertoto Cup, where it would reach the semi-finals against PSG. The following seasons, league results varied between lower sub-top places and top four finishes.[17]

In 2004, Ghent signed coach Georges Leekens. In his first season, the team ended at the sixth spot in competition. With Leekens as a coach, KAA Gent made some impressive performances, such as the 4–1 victory over rival Club Brugge on 1 April 2006. In 2006–07, despite a weak start of the competition, the team managed to reach the fourth place in the Belgian Pro League. It repeated that achievement the following year.[18]

The next season, coach Georges Leekens left the club and joined Lokeren. Trond Sollied, the Norwegian trainer who had been very successful seven years before, succeeded him. Under his guidance, KAA Gent played its third Cup Final, in which it only lost at the end from Anderlecht. Sollied left Ghent again after one season, this time for Heerenveen.[19] Michel Preud'homme, who had just become champion of the Jupiler Pro League with Standard Liège, signed a contract for three seasons, together with his colleagues Manu Ferrera and Stan van den Buys. In 2008–09, the team ended at the fourth spot, after a strong comeback in the second part of the competition, with an equal number of points as Club Brugge, who had won one more game and ended third.[20]

In 2009–10, there was a heavy battle for the second place in the Belgian Pro League between AA Gent and Club Brugge and the Champions League ticket that came with it. They played each other on 8 May 2010. Ghent won with a convincing 6–2 score and won second place because of that victory.[21] One week later, Ghent also won the Belgian Cup for the first time in 26 years, defeating the other Bruges Pro League team, Cercle Brugge.[22]

On 17 July 2013, the club officially inaugurated their new stadium, the Ghelamco Arena, with a 2–0 win over VfB Stuttgart in a gala match.[23]

On 21 May 2015, Ghent clinched their first Belgium League title by defeating Standard Liège 2–0 at home, automatically qualifying for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.[24] Gent were drawn in Group H, against Russian champions Zenit Saint Petersburg, the Spanish team Valencia and the French Lyon. The Belgian champions were able to perform better than expected. On matchday 1, Ghent draw 1–1 with Olympique Lyon at Ghelamco Arena, securing their first point in Champions League group stages, after Milićević scored to bring the score to a tie, conceding Jallet's goal. In matchday 2, they were beaten by Zenit 1–2 at Petrovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia; they were led 0–1 with a goal by Dzyuba and managed to bring the score to a 1–1 tie with a goal by Matton, but Russian international Shatov scored for Ghent's first Champions League group stage defeat. On matchday 3, they lost again 1–2 against Valencia on Mestalla, Valencia, Spain; they hold Valencia in a 1–1 tie before the half break, but Mitrović's own goal in the 71st minute put an end to their hopes for a draw. On matchday 4, at Ghelamco Arena, Gent beat Valencia 1–0, after Kums successfully converted a penalty kick in the 49th minute to obtain their historical first Champions League victory. On matchday 5, at Stade de Gerland, Lyon, France, Ghent beat Lyon 2–1; Ferri's 0–1 goal was conceded when Milićević brought the score to a tie, only for substitute Coulibaly to score the most dramatic goal of winners with the last touch of the match, in the 95th minute as Gent earned qualification in either Champions League or Europa League knockout phases. In order to qualify for the Champions League knock-out phases, Gent needed a victory against group leaders Zenit, as it could qualify even if Valencia would win at Lyon thanks to their away goal. On marchday 6, Gent won 2–1 against Zenit, finishing the group on second place and becoming only the second Belgian team to advance to the Champions League knockout phase, as Lyon beat Valencia, after Anderlecht in 2000–01. In the round of 16, they were drawn against Wolfsburg. In the first leg at Ghelamco Stadium, Ghent, Belgium, Gent were defeated 2–3 by Wolfsburg, after being led with 0–3 and managing to score two goals in the last ten minutes. The second game, this time in Wolfsburg, ended 1–0, setting an end to Ghent's European tournament. However, It was the best european season for them. In the 2016/17 season, they played Europe League. They faced Tottenham, first winning at home in the Ghelamco Arena and then drawing in Wembley, thus advancing on aggregate. Around 8000 KAA Gent fans attended the match in the away-end, after they were awarded an extra 1000 tickets for their excellent reputation.[25][26] In the next round they faced fellow Belgian side KRC Genk, this time on the losing end. That set an end for their 2nd best european season.

Rivalries[edit]

KAA Gent have a fierce rivalry with Club Brugge, in what is dubbed as the "Battle of Flanders" in the media[27] as it is between Flanders' two cultural capitals (Antwerp having been historically a part of the Duchy of Brabant). There are also many Club Brugge supporters in the city of Ghent due to internal migration from West Flanders to the city, while KAA Gent pride themselves on their local identity. The nickname that KAA Gent fans give to the Club Brugge fans is the Flemish word "boeren" ("peasants"),[28] mainly because of the agricultural background of West-Flanders but also because of the insolence that Club Brugge fans have displayed in the past.

Honours[edit]

European record[edit]

Accurate as of 24 August 2022
Competition Played Won Drew Lost GF GA GD Win%
UEFA Champions League 13 4 1 8 14 23 −9 030.77
Cup Winners' Cup 4 1 1 2 2 5 −3 025.00
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League 81 28 21 32 108 122 −14 034.57
UEFA Europa Conference League 15 8 2 5 19 10 +9 053.33
Total 113 41 25 47 143 160 −17 036.28

Legend: GF = Goals For. GA = Goals Against. GD = Goal Difference.

Matches[edit]

Notes
  • 1R: First round
  • 2R: Second round
  • 3R: Third round
  • QR: Qualifying round
  • 2Q: Second qualifying round
  • 3Q: Third qualifying round
  • PO: Play-off round
  • KPO: Knockout round play-offs
  • R32: Round of 32
  • R16: Round of 16
  • QF: Quarter-finals
Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
1964–65 European Cup Winners' Cup 1R England West Ham United 0–1 1–1 1–2
1982–83 UEFA Cup 1R Netherlands Haarlem 3–3 1–2 4–5
1983–84 UEFA Cup 1R France Lens 1–1 1–2 2–3
1984–85 European Cup Winners' Cup 1R Scotland Celtic 1–0 0–3 1–3
1986–87 UEFA Cup 1R Luxembourg Jeunesse Esch 1–1 2–1 3–2
2R Romania Sportul Studențesc 3–0 1–1 4–1
3R Sweden IFK Göteborg 0–1 0–4 0–5
1991–92 UEFA Cup 1R Switzerland Lausanne-Sport 0–1 1–0 (a.e.t.) 1–1
(4–1 p)
2R Germany Eintracht Frankfurt 0–0 1–0 1–0
3R Soviet Union Dynamo Moscow 2–0 0–0 2–0
QF Netherlands Ajax 0–0 0–3 0–3
2000–01 UEFA Cup QR Iceland ÍA Akranes 3–2 3–0 6–2
1R Netherlands Ajax 0–6 0–3 0–9
2008–09 UEFA Cup 2Q Sweden Kalmar 2–1 0–4 2–5
2009–10 UEFA Europa League 2Q Belarus Naftan Novopolotsk 1–0 1–2 2–2 (a)
3Q Italy Roma 1–7 1–3 2–10
2010–11 UEFA Champions League 3Q Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv 1–3 0–3 1–6
UEFA Europa League PO Netherlands Feyenoord 2–0 0–1 2–1
Group C Portugal Sporting CP 3–1 1–5 3rd
France Lille 1–1 0–3
Bulgaria Levski Sofia 1–0 2–3
2012–13 UEFA Europa League 2Q Luxembourg Differdange 3–2 1–0 4–2
3Q Hungary Videoton 0–3 0–1 0–4
2015–16 UEFA Champions League Group H France Lyon 1–1 2–1 2nd
Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg 2–1 1–2
Spain Valencia 1–0 1–2
R16 Germany VfL Wolfsburg 2–3 0–1 2–4
2016–17 UEFA Europa League 3Q Romania Viitorul Constanța 5–0 0–0 5–0
PO North Macedonia Shkëndija 2–1 4–0 6–1
Group H Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 3–5 0–5 2nd
Portugal Braga 2–2 1–1
Turkey Konyaspor 2–0 1–0
R32 England Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 2–2 3–2
R16 Belgium Genk 2–5 1–1 3–6
2017–18 UEFA Europa League 3Q Austria Rheindorf Altach 1–1 1–3 2–4
2018–19 UEFA Europa League 3Q Poland Jagiellonia Białystok 3–1 1–0 4–1
PO France Bordeaux 0–0 0–2 0–2
2019–20 UEFA Europa League 2Q Romania Viitorul Constanța 6–3 1–2 7–5
3Q Cyprus AEK Larnaca 3–0 1–1 4–1
PO Croatia Rijeka 2–1 1–1 3–2
Group I Germany VfL Wolfsburg 2–2 3–1 1st
France Saint-Étienne 3–2 0–0
Ukraine Oleksandriya 2–1 1–1
R32 Italy Roma 1–1 0–1 1–2
2020–21 UEFA Champions League 3Q Austria Rapid Wien 2–1
PO Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv 1–2 0–3 1–5
UEFA Europa League Group L Germany 1899 Hoffenheim 1–4 1–4 4th
Serbia Red Star Belgrade 0–2 1–2
Czech Republic Slovan Liberec 1–2 0–1
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League 2Q Norway Vålerenga 4–0 0–2 4−2
3Q Latvia RFS 2–2 1–0 3–2
PO Poland Raków Częstochowa 3–0 0–1 3–1
Group B Serbia Partizan 1–1 1–0 1st
Estonia Flora 1–0 1–0
Cyprus Anorthosis Famagusta 2–0 0–1
R16 Greece PAOK 1–2 0–1 1–3
2022–23 UEFA Europa League PO Cyprus Omonia 0–2 0–2 0–4
UEFA Europa Conference League Group F Norway Molde 4–0 0–0 2nd
Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers 3–0 1–1
Sweden Djurgårdens IF 0–1 2–4
KPO Azerbaijan Qarabağ 1–0 (a.e.t.) 0–1 1–1
(5–3 p)
R16 Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir 1–1 4–1 5–2
QF England West Ham United 1–1 1–4 2–5
2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League 2Q Slovakia Žilina 5–1 5–2 10–3
3Q Poland Pogoń Szczecin 5–0 1–2 6–2
PO Cyprus APOEL 2–0 2–1 4–1
GS Ukraine Zorya Luhansk 4–1 1–1 2nd
Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv 2–0 1–3
Iceland Breiðablik 5–0 3–2
KPO Israel Maccabi Haifa 1–1 0–1 1–2

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

As of 8 February 2024[29]

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 France FRA Paul Nardi
3 DF England ENG Archie Brown
4 DF Japan JPN Tsuyoshi Watanabe
5 DF Morocco MAR Ismaël Kandouss
6 MF Israel ISR Omri Gandelman
7 MF South Korea KOR Hong Hyun-seok
8 MF Belgium BEL Pieter Gerkens
9 FW Sweden SWE Momodou Sonko
10 FW Morocco MAR Tarik Tissoudali
12 DF Central African Republic CAF Hugo Gambor
13 MF Belgium BEL Julien De Sart
14 MF Japan JPN Daisuke Yokota
16 GK Japan JPN Daniel Schmidt
17 MF Denmark DEN Andrew Hjulsager
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF Belgium BEL Matisse Samoise
19 FW Switzerland SUI Franck Surdez
20 DF Serbia SRB Stefan Mitrović
21 DF Cameroon CMR Brian Agbor
22 DF Senegal SEN Noah Fadiga
23 DF Nigeria NGA Jordan Torunarigha
24 MF Belgium BEL Sven Kums (vice-captain)
25 DF Angola ANG Núrio Fortuna
26 GK Belgium BEL Louis Fortin
28 FW Belgium BEL Matias Fernandez-Pardo
29 FW Belgium BEL Laurent Depoitre
30 GK Belgium BEL Célestin De Schrevel
33 GK Belgium BEL Davy Roef

Out on loan[edit]

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 Belgium BEL Bram Lagae (at Dunkerque until 30 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF Australia AUS Keegan Jelacic (at Brisbane Roar until 30 June 2024)

Technical staff & management[edit]

Name Position
Hein Vanhaezebrouck Belgium Manager
Franky Vandendriessche Belgium Goalkeeper Coach
Stijn Matthys Belgium Physical Coach
Frank Wezenbeek Belgium Physiotherapist
Gunther Schepens Belgium Technical coordinator
Ivan De Witte Belgium Chairman
Michel Louwagie Belgium Managing Director
Manu Ferrera Belgium Youth director
Gilbert De Groote Belgium Scouting director
Patrick Lips Belgium Commercial director
Sébastien Ronse Belgium Juridical & Administration Director
Luc Adriaensens Belgium Financial Director
Dirk Piens Belgium Organisational Director & Safety Officer
Wim Beelaert Belgium Community manager
Xavier Louwagie Belgium Communication Manager
Marc Van Lysebetten Belgium Press Officer

Well-known former players of the team[edit]

Six players of AA Gent held top scorer positions in the UEFA: Maurice Willems (1956–57, 28 games, 35 goals), Ronny Martens (1984–85, 34 games, 23 goals), Erwin Vandenbergh (1990–91, 34 games, 23 goals) and Ole Martin Arst (1999–00, 33 games, 30 goals), Jonathan David (2019-20, 29 games, 18 goals), Hugo Cuypers (2022-23, 39 games, 27 goals).

The Belgian player Roland Storme, central defender of KAA Gent in 1958–59, received the Golden Shoe award. Three other AA Gent players were presented with awards and honors: René Vandereycken got the award for trainer of the year 1991. Frédéric Herpoel was chosen as the best goalkeeper in 2004.

Mbark Boussoufa received multiple awards and honors including: pro-player of the year, best young player and the award of the 12th man, as well as the Ebony Shoe. Another AA Gent player, the Egyptian Ahmed "Mido" Hossam was also presented with the Ebony Shoe 8 years earlier in 2001.

Maurice Willems has scored more goals than any other KAA Gent player, with 185 goals between 1952 and 1962.

Armand Seghers holds the record of the most games played in the first team of KAA Gent: 507 between 1949 and 1960.

Marc Van Der Linden was in the national selection of Belgium for the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

Richard Orlans holds the most selections for the Belgium National Team, more than any other KAA Gent player. He was selected 21 times from 1955 – 1958.

Frédéric Herpoel was four times honoured with the Jean-Claude Bouvy Trophy for "most valuable player of the season" between 2002 – 2005.

Tore André Dahlum was a Norwegian international who played one year in Ghent.

Kevin De Bruyne is a Belgium international and Manchester City player who spent six years at Gent during his youth career.[30]

Congolese player Leon Mokuna was the first African player in Belgian competition, in 1957. Compatriot Pierre Mwana Kasongo would join the club in 1965 and Kiyika Tokodi would do so in 1980.

Jean-Claude Bouvy Trophy[edit]

The Jean-Claude Bouvy Trophy is an award that is annually handed out to the most valuable player of Belgian football club K.A.A. Gent. It was established in 1979 and later named after Jean-Claude Bouvy, a player of Gent who died in a car crash in 1986.[31]

Winners[edit]

Season Player Nationality
1978–79 Filip Benoot Belgium Belgium
1979–80 Roger Coenye Belgium Belgium
1980–81 Luc Criel Belgium Belgium
1981–82 André Laurijssen Belgium Belgium
1982–83 Søren Busk Denmark Denmark
1983–84 No trophy awarded
1984–85 Ronny Martens Belgium Belgium
1985–86 Michel De Wolf Belgium Belgium
1986–87 Michel De Wolf Belgium Belgium
1987–88 André Laurijssen Belgium Belgium
1988–89 Augustine Eguavoen Nigeria Nigeria
1989–90 Henri Balenga Democratic Republic of the Congo DR Congo
1990–91 Erwin Vandenbergh Belgium Belgium
1991–92 Eric Viscaal Netherlands Netherlands
1992–93 Zsolt Petry Hungary Hungary
1993–94 Tony Herreman Belgium Belgium
1994–95 Suvad Katana Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia-Herzegovina
1995–96 Suvad Katana Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia-Herzegovina
1996–97 Tony Herreman Belgium Belgium
1997–98 Stijn Vreven Belgium Belgium
1998–99 Pieter Collen Belgium Belgium
1999–00 Eric Joly France France
2000–01 Geri Çipi Albania Albania
2001–02 Frédéric Herpoel Belgium Belgium
2002–03 Frédéric Herpoel Belgium Belgium
2003–04 Frédéric Herpoel Belgium Belgium
2004–05 Frédéric Herpoel Belgium Belgium
2005–06 Mbark Boussoufa Morocco Morocco
2006–07 Adékambi Olufadé Togo Togo
2007–08 Bryan Ruiz Costa Rica Costa Rica
2008–09 Bryan Ruiz Costa Rica Costa Rica
2009–10 Bojan Jorgačević Serbia Serbia
2010–11 Bojan Jorgačević Serbia Serbia
2011–12 Bernd Thijs Belgium Belgium
2012–13 Hannes Van der Bruggen Belgium Belgium
2013–14 Christophe Lepoint Belgium Belgium
2014–15 Laurent Depoitre Belgium Belgium
2015–16 Nana Asare Ghana Ghana
2016–17 Lovre Kalinić Croatia Croatia
2017–18 Samuel Gigot France France
2018–19 Dylan Bronn Tunisia Tunesia
2019–20 Jonathan David Canada Canada
2020–21 Alessio Castro-Montes Belgium Belgium
2021–22 Tarik Tissoudali Morocco Morocco
2022–23 Hugo Cuypers Belgium Belgium

Coaching history[edit]

[32]

Presidents[edit]

Years President
1901 Hector Priem
1902–08 Adolphe Dangotte
1908–12 Adolf Gaeremijnck
1912 Hector Priem
1912–13 Jacques Feyerick
1913–29 Pierre Van Bleyenberghe
1929–39 Adrien Stassart
1939–64 Achiel Delongie
1964–67 René Hoste
1967–76 Freddy Mastelinck
1976–85 Albert De Meester
1985–88 Robert Naudts
1988–99 Jean Van Milders
1999–2023 Ivan De Witte
2023– Sam Baro

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors[edit]

Period Kit supplier Shirt sponsor (chest)
1977–1980 Beton-Wegenbouw Gent
1980–1984 Le Coq Sportif
1984–1986 Bellewaerde Park
1986–1988 Maes-Pils
1988–1996 adidas vdk bank
1996–2004 Umbro
2004–2007 Nike
2007–2013 Jako
2013–2015 Masita
2015–2018 Jartazi
2018–2023 Craft
2023– Baloise

References[edit]

  1. ^ De Ghelamco Arena kaagent.be (last check 30 March 2018)
  2. ^ "KAA Gent and Their Unusual Nickname". 18 February 2016.
  3. ^ Rombaut, Heli (2009). "Chapter 1: The Pioneers". De Buffalo-bijbel [The Buffalo Bible] (in Dutch). Heli Rombaut. pp. 10–25. ISBN 978-90-9024650-5.
  4. ^ "Een stukje clubgeschiedenis" [A little piece of the club's history] (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  5. ^ "Een stukje clubgeschiedenis" [A little piece of the club's history] (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  6. ^ "Een stukje clubgeschiedenis" [A little piece of the club's history] (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  7. ^ Rombaut, Heli (1998). "Chapter 2: The end of the golden years". Bruilofstraat 42 (in Dutch). p. 14.
  8. ^ Rombaut, Heli (1998). "Chapter 3: To fall and rise with youthful talent". Bruilofstraat 42 (in Dutch). pp. 21–31.
  9. ^ Rombaut, Heli (1998). "Chapter 4: Shot at title ends in... second division". Bruilofstraat 42 (in Dutch). pp. 38–49.
  10. ^ Rombaut, Heli (1998). "Chapter 6: Travel to Hell". Bruilofstraat 42 (in Dutch). pp. 73–88.
  11. ^ Rombaut, Heli (1998). "Chapter 8: After Hell and Purgatory... finally Heaven!". Bruilofstraat 42 (in Dutch). pp. 117–139.
  12. ^ Rombaut, Heli (1998). "Chapter 9: Three phenomenal seasons". Bruilofstraat 42 (in Dutch). pp. 140–171.
  13. ^ Rombaut, Heli (2009). "Chapter 7: The post De Meester era". De Buffalo-bijbel [The Buffalo Bible] (in Dutch). Heli Rombaut. pp. 134–147. ISBN 978-90-9024650-5.
  14. ^ Rombaut, Heli (2009). "Chapter 8: The Vandereycken boys". De Buffalo-bijbel [The Buffalo Bible] (in Dutch). Heli Rombaut. pp. 148–171. ISBN 978-90-9024650-5.
  15. ^ Rombaut, Heli (1998). "Chapter 13: The demise of a rich football tradition". Bruilofstraat 42 (in Dutch). pp. 235–253.
  16. ^ Rombaut, Heli (2009). "Chapter 10: About bombers and rubble removal". De Buffalo-bijbel [The Buffalo Bible] (in Dutch). Heli Rombaut. pp. 186–209. ISBN 978-90-9024650-5.
  17. ^ Rombaut, Heli (2009). "Chapter 11: The transition years". De Buffalo-bijbel [The Buffalo Bible] (in Dutch). Heli Rombaut. pp. 210–229. ISBN 978-90-9024650-5.
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