Ground Jan Breydel Stadium President Bart Verhaeghe Arena/Stadium Jan Breydel Stadium Location Bruges, Belgium | Ground Capacity 29.042 Head coach Michel Preud'homme Manager Michel Preud'homme | |
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Full name Club Brugge Koninklijke Voetbalvereniging (Club Bruges Royal Football association) Nickname(s) Blauw-Zwart (Blue-Black), Club, FCB Founded 13 November 1891, Bruges, Belgium CEO Vincent Mannaert (Mar 2011–) Leagues Belgian First Division A, Belgian Cup Profiles | ||
Club Brugge Koninklijke Voetbalvereniging ( [klɵˈbrɵɣə ˈkoːnɪŋkləkə ˈvudbɑlvəˈreːnəɣɪŋ]), commonly referred to as just Club Brugge, is a football club based in Bruges in Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,472.
Contents
- History
- Crest and colours
- Supporters
- Mascot
- Rivalries
- Gent
- Anderlecht
- Domestic
- International
- Pre Season Friendly
- First team squad
- Retired numbers
- Reserve team U21 and Club Academy U19 squad
- Board of Directors
- Management
- Coaching staff
- Medical staff
- Team Support
- Youth staff
- References
One of the most decorated clubs in Belgian football, it has been Belgian league champion on 14 occasions, second only to major rivals Anderlecht, and it shares the Jan Breydel Stadium with city rival Cercle Brugge, with whom they contest the Bruges derby.
Throughout its long history, Club Brugge has enjoyed much European football success, reaching two European finals and two European semi-finals. Club Brugge is the only Belgian club to have played the final of the European Cup (forerunner of the current UEFA Champions League) so far, losing to Liverpool in the final of the 1978 season. They also lost in the 1976 UEFA Cup Final to the same opponents. Club Brugge holds the European record number of consecutive participations in the UEFA Europa League (20), the record number of Belgian cups (11) and the record number of Belgian Supercups (14).
History
Club created by old students of the Catholic school Broeders Xaverianen and the neutral school Koninklijk Atheneum.
The club was recreated. This has since been adopted as the official date of foundation.
An official board was installed in the club.
Club created by 16 old members of Brugsche FC.
Club created in the city.
Financially it was difficult for FC Brugeois and so after only one year they had to leave the UBSSA.
FC Brugeois joined Brugsche FC but they continued under the name Football Club Brugeois.
Vlaamsche FC joined FC Brugeois.
They moved to a new stadium named "De Klokke".
FC Brugeois reached their first Belgian Cup final but they lost 2–1 from Union SG.
The club became for the first time champions of the first division.
The club get number 3 as their matricule number and in the same year they get the royal title.
A first low when the club was relegated to the second division.
President Albert Dyserynck changed the club's statute into a non-profit association.
When president Albert Dyserynck suddenly died they honoured him by changing the stadium's name into Albert Dyserynckstadion.
RFC Brugeois promoted to the first division and never relegated again in the future.
They won the Belgian Cup for the first time against Beerschot AC (1–1, 7–6 after penalty's).
The club changed their name into the Flemisch name Club Brugge KV
They moved from Albert Dyserynckstadion to Olympiastadion (current Jan Breydelstadion).
Under Austrian coach Ernst Happel, Club Brugge reached the finals of the UEFA Cup and lost against Liverpool (3–2 and 1–1).
Still under Ernst Happel, the club faced Liverpool again of a European final. This time it was in the European Champions Clubs' Cup final. And again they lost (1–0). Club Brugge is the only Belgian club that has reached the finals of the European biggest competition.
Daniel Amokachi is the first goal scorer in the Champions League. He scored against CSKA Moscow.
Olympiastadion had to be expanded for the EURO 2000 organisation. They also changed the name into Jan Breydelstadion.
Club Brugge was the first Belgian club to create its own TV channel.
Crest and colours
The club don a black and blue home kit traditional to their history, away they wear a red strip.
Supporters
Club Brugge is the most supported club in Belgium. it has fans all over the country. Attendances are high. The Jan Breydel Stadium is almost sold out at every home game. Some of these fans are part of 62 supporter clubs in Belgium, which have more than 10,000 members. The "Supportersfederatie Club Brugge KV", founded in 1967, is recognized as the official supporters club of Club Brugge.
Club Brugge's most vocal fans are known to gather in the 'Noord-tribune', the 'Kop', of the Jan Breydel Stadium. Club Brugge fans are known for their lively atmosphere, taking their inspiration from the British football culture. As such, the supporters of Club Brugge were labelled as 'the best supporters of Belgium' by a survey in 2015. The Blue Army is the club's main active supporter group. This group is responsible for the organization of tifos and the publishing of a fanzine. The North Fanatics are the club's second, smaller supporter group. They try to achieve a non-stop atmosphere in the stadium, by using smoke bombs, flags, flares, constant singing, etc.
In tribute the fans, often dubbed the twelfth man in football, Club Brugge no longer assigns the number 12 to players. Club Brugge also has a TV show, CLUBtv, on the Telenet network since 21 July 2006. This twice weekly show features exclusive interviews with players, coaches and managers.
Mascot
The official mascot of Club Bruges is a bear, symbol of the city of Bruges. The history of the bear is related to a legend of the first Count of Flanders, Baldwin I of Flanders, who had fought and defeated a bear in his youth. Since the end of 2000, a second mascot, always a bear, travels along the edge of the field during home games for fans to call and encourage both their favorites. These two bears are called Belle and Bene. In 2010, a third bear named Bibi, made its appearance. He is described as the child of the first two mascots, and is oriented towards the young supporters.
Rivalries
Like many historic clubs, Club Brugge contests rivalries with other Belgian clubs, whether at local (Cercle Brugge), regional level (Gent and Anderlecht).
Gent
At regional level, Club Brugge has maintained rivalry with Gent, a team in the neighboring province. The successes achieved by Club Bruges in the early 1970s, combined with very poor season performances by Gent in the same period, attracted many fans. Since the late 1990s, Gent again played a somewhat more leading role in Belgium, and matches against Club Brugge were often spectacles.
Anderlecht
The rivalry between Club Brugge and Anderlecht has developed since the 1970s. At that time, the Brussels-based club and Club Brugge won most trophies between them, leaving little room for other Belgian teams. Matches between these two teams were often contested for the title of champion of Belgium. Three Belgian Cup finals were played between the two clubs (with Anderlecht winning once and Club Brugge twice), and they played seven Belgian Supercups (Club Bruges won five). A match between these two sides is often called 'The Hate Game'. They are arguably the most heated fixtures in Belgian football.
Domestic
International
Pre-Season Friendly
First-team squad
As of 18 January 2017 – Notes: - 2 players are injured at the momentNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
For recent transfers, see the list of Belgian football transfers summer 2016.
Retired numbers
12 – The 12th man (reserved for the club supporters)
23 – François Sterchele, striker (2007–08). Posthumous; Sterchele died in a single-person car accident on 8 May 2008.
Reserve-team (U21) and Club Academy (U19) squad
As of 10 September 2016 – Note: Reserve players are given a "B" squad number.Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.