From Michel Preud’homme to Rob Schoofs: Celebrating 120 years of KV Mechelen

KV Mechelen celebrate their 120th anniversary today. During that time, the club have won trophies, been relegated and seen themselves embroiled in a match fixing scandal that rocked Belgian football.

The city of Mechelen is just a short train ride from Brussels and, despite its relatively small size, packs plenty of history into its boundaries. The impressive Saint Rumbold’s Cathedral dates back to the 13th century and provides a great panorama across the city’s Grote Markt and, just on the other side of the river Dyle, the Acther de Kazerne. Mechelen have been playing football on this site since 1921 and there have been many famous moments there.

However, the side is older than the stadium. The side were founded in 1904, the same year as city rivals KRC Mechelen. Success took some time to materialise, with the side coming to prominence in the 1940s. They won three of their four top flight titles during this period, with the first coming during the Nazi occupation in 1942/43. They won again at the end of the war in 1945/46 before their third in 1947/48. Yet as Belgium emerged from years of foreign occupation, Mechelen began to decline. During the 1920s the side had been a yo-yo team, consistently winning the second tier and gaining promotion, only to be relegated again. This repeated itself throughout the 1960s and 1970s until the 1980s.

For many Mechelen fans, the 1980s saw the golden era of KV Mechelen. Under Aad de Mos, the side won their first ever Belgian cup during the 1986/87 season. This saw them qualify for the old European Cup Winners Cup competition. During the first round the side faced Romanian giants Dinamo Bucuresti, who they beat home and away for a 3-0 aggregate win. Up next was Scottish side St Mirren. After a 0-0 draw at the Acther de Kazerne, two goals from Eli Ohana gave the side a 2-0 win in Paisley. After a hard fought 2-1 win over Dinamo Minsk in the quarter-finals, Atalanta stood between the side and a first ever European final.

Ohana and Piet den Boer scored either side of Glenn Peter Strömberg’s goal for the Italians to give the Belgian’s a 2-1 lead. They repeated this score in Bergamo to set up a final against Dutch giants Ajax. In Strasbourg, a single goal separated the sides. Ajax went down to 10 men early on when Danny Blind was sent off. It took Mechelen until the second half to finally beat Stanley Menzo in the Ajax goal. Some wonderful work out wide by Ohana saw den Boer head home the only goal of the game.

Mechelen followed this victory in Europe by winning their fourth Belgian title in 1988/89. They also won the European Super Cup in 1988 by beating PSV Eindhoven 3-1 on aggregate. The side continued to have success in Europe during the subsequent years, making the semi-finals of the Cup Winners Cup in 1988/89 and the quarter finals of the European Cup in 1989/90, losing out to Italian opposition both times in Sampdoria and AC Milan. As of now, Mechelen are the last Belgian side to have won a European trophy.

They never reached the heights of the 1980s again, suffering relegations in the early 2000s and again in 2017/18 after 11 years back in the top flight. However, the club was then accused of attempting to bribe players and officials of Waasland-Beveren on the final day of that season. They would be subsequently punished, but this came only after they had won promotion back to the top flight during the 2018/19 season.

Remarkably, the side also won the Belgian Cup for the second time while being in the second tier. The side won the double that season when they beat Gent 2-1 in the final, with goals from Nikola Storm and German Mera. However, the situation over the final match of the 2017/18 season had been playing out in the weeks prior. The Belgian FA had tried to deny them promotion, but this was successful appealed by the club. Yet their cup win did not see them return to European football, as a ban on their participation in that remained in place.

Throughout their 120 years of history, the side have seen some great players. Koen Sanders remains the most capped player by the club with 419, with the legendary goalkeeper Michel Preud’homme behind him on 345. Preud’homme was the sides undisputed number one during their glory days of the 1980s before he left to join Benfica in 1994. The sides current captain Rob Schoofs will certainly go down in the clubs history as another legendary player. the 30-year-old has played 255 games for the side, scoring 38 goals and grabbing 46 assists. Schoofs shows no signs of slowing down and may well go level with Preud’homme if he remains with the side until he retires. It is unlikely he will catch the great den Boer in terms of goals, with the striker having scored 93 in 236 games. Of the current players at the club, Nikola Storm has the best chance to match den Boer. The winger has scored 49 goals in 218 games for the club.

Since winning promotion, Mechelen have become a stable top flight side and made another cup final, this time losing out to Antwerp. Early signs this season suggest that they could make a return to European football with a top six finish.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson – Author of The Africa Cup of Nations: The History of an Underappreciated Tournament