Wouter Vrancken
Personal information
Date of birth (1979-02-03) 3 February 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth Sint-Truiden, Belgium
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Genk (Head coach)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2004 Sint-Truidense 173 (14)
2004–2006 Gent 61 (9)
2006–2008 Genk 56 (10)
2009–2010 Mechelen 35 (3)
2010 Kortrijk 2 (0)
International career
1997 Belgium U18 1 (0)
2000–2002 Belgium U21 17 (0)
Managerial career
2009–2011 RDK Gravelo
2011–2013 Overpelt VV
2014–2017 Thes Sport
2017 Lommel SK
2017–2018 Kortrijk (assistant)
2018–2022 Mechelen
2022– Genk
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Wouter Vrancken (born 3 February 1979) is a Belgian football manager and a former defensive midfielder. He is the head coach of Genk.

Playing career

Wouter Vrancken started his playing career as a youth at lower division clubs, beginning at FC Oud Groot Gelmen, progressing through Concordia Duras, Sporting Aalst-Brustem and KSK Tongeren before ending up in the Belgian top flight with home-town club Sint-Truiden.[1] During the build-up to the 1997-98 season, Vrancken moved on from the youths set-up into the Sint-Truiden first team at the age of 18.

Vrancken made his professional debut on September 13, 1997, in the First Division against RWDM. [2] Vrancken initially combined football with studying for a Bachelors in PE, but was soon urged by STVV coach Poll Peters to stop his studies and concentrate on his football career instead.[3] After his first season in the Belgian Pro League, Vrancken was attracting interest from Racing Genk, but STVV did not follow through on a deal.[4]

After eight seasons at the Stayen, Vrancken moved to Gent,[1] forming a good midfield partnership with Mbark Boussoufa[5] for one season together, before both secured transfers elsewhere: Boussoufa to Anderlecht, Vrancken to Genk, who finally came good on their previous interest.[6] Vrancken immediately became vice national champion in his first season with Genk, 2006-07, finishing runners-up five points behind champions Anderlecht.

Having enjoyed two seasons in Limburg, Vrancken moved to Mechelen in August 2008, signing a four-year deal.[7] 18 months into his time with the Yellow-Reds, Vrancken moved to Georges Leekens-coached Kortrijk during the 2009-10 winter break in a player-exchange, with Tom Soetaers going in the opposite direction. But only managing two league appearances in the calendar year of 2010 saw Vrancken forced to retire from football through a persistent hip injury and osteoarthritis at the age of 31 on advice from KVK’s then coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck.[8] Vrancken had his contract with Kortrijk dissolved in October 2010, barely nine months after moving from Mechelen.[9]

Coaching career

After seven years coaching in the lower divisions, beginning with part-time roles in the fourth division at RDK Gravelo and Overpelt VV while working in accountancy,[8] Vrancken had a one-year spell back in the top-flight as assistant to Glen De Boeck at Kortrijk for the 2017-18 season.

Vrancken took charge at recently-relegated Mechelen in the summer of 2018, guiding the club back to the Belgian Pro League at the first attempt, winning Division 1B[10][11] and the 2018-19 Belgian Cup, beating Gent 2-1 in the final at the King Baudouin Stadium. Mechelen are the first club ever to do such a double, and only the second club in history from outside the Belgian top-flight to win the Cup.[12]

However, due to match-fixing investigations from the season Mechelen were relegated (2017-18) prior to Vrancken's hiring, the Yellow-Reds were not allowed defend the Cup or to play in the 2019-20 UEFA Europa League.[13]

Vrancken steered Mechelen into top-eight finishes for the next three seasons - the highest being sixth in the curtailed 2019-20 season - but feeling the club were not ambitious enough to start competing higher up the table,[14] departed for Racing Genk in the summer of 2022.[15]

Losing their opening game of the season 3-2 away to champions Club Brugge, Genk then went on an unbeaten run of 15 games, winning 14, propelling them to the top of the 2022-23 Belgian Pro League. They would stay top to the end of the regular season, qualifying Racing for the 2023-24 UEFA Europa Conference League, ahead of the 2022-23 title play-offs against Union St-Gilloise, Royal Antwerp and Club Brugge.

Vrancken was named Coach of the Year for 2022 at the Belgian Golden Shoe Awards, off the back of their long unbeaten run.[16] Up to April 2023, Vrancken has never been fired from any of his coaching roles.[17]

Family

He is married and has two daughters and a son.

Honours

Manager

Mechelen

Individual


References

  1. ^ a b "Wouter Vrancken, van voetballer tot vader (Wouter Vrancken, a footballer and father" (in Dutch). Voetbal Belgie. 12 June 2006. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Vijf vragen aan Wouter Vrancken en Kris Vincken: je bent jong en je wil wat" (in Dutch). Het Belang van Limburg. 29 April 1998. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Zo piepen de jongen (The boys peep)" (in Dutch). 20 September 2000. Archived from the original on 1 September 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Edgard Troonbeeckx is nieuwe voorzitter van Racing Genk - "De tol van de roem" (Edgard Troonbeeckx is new chairman of Racing Genk - "The toll of fame")" (in Dutch). Het Belang van Limburg. 29 May 1998. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Malinwacoach Wouter Vrancken: 'Bij KAA Gent ontdekte ik mezelf als voetballer' (Malinwa coach Wouter Vrancken: "I discovered myself as a footballer at KAA Gent")" (in Dutch). Sport/Voetbalmagazine. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Wouter Vrancken tekent voor vier jaar bij Genk (Wouter Vrancken signs with Genk for four years)" (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 22 June 2006. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  7. ^ "Wouter Vrancken ruilt Genk voor KV Mechelen" (in Dutch). Gazet van Antwerpen. 29 August 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  8. ^ a b "De speciale band tussen Wouter Vrancken en zijn laatste coach: "Hein liet me niet vallen. Daar ben ik hem nog altijd dankbaar voor" (The special bond between Wouter Vrancken and his last coach: "Hein did not let me down. I am still grateful to him for that.")" (in Dutch). Het Laatste Niewus. 5 February 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Vrancken is revalideren beu en zet punt achter zijn loopbaan" (in Dutch). Voetbalzone. 14 October 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  10. ^ "Vrancken: "Als je de statistieken bekijkt, verdienen wij de promotie" (Vrancken: "If you look at the statistics, we deserve the promotion")" (in Dutch). Sporza. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  11. ^ "Het motivatiefilmpje dat KV Mechelen naar de titel loodste(The motivation film that guided KV Mechelen to the title)" (in Dutch). Sporza. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  12. ^ "Succescoach Vrancken tekent bij in Mechelen: "Los van de reeks waarin we volgend seizoen spelen" (Coaching success Vrancken signs at Mechelen)" (in Dutch). Sporza. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  13. ^ "Footgate: «200.000 euros pour le match contre KV Mechelen»" (in French). L'Avenir. 20 October 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  14. ^ "KV Mechelen bevestigt vertrek van coach Wouter Vrancken: "Hij wil hogerop" (KV Mechelen confirms departure of coach Wouter Vrancken: "He wants to go higher")" (in Dutch). Sporza. 15 May 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  15. ^ "Racing Genk bevestigt de komst van Wouter Vrancken: "Bouwen aan een nieuw succesverhaal" (Racing Genk confirms the arrival of Wouter Vrancken: "Building a new success story")" (in Dutch). Sporza. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  16. ^ a b ""Ik moet mezelf in de arm knijpen": geëmotioneerde Wouter Vrancken is de 'Coach van het Jaar' ("I have to pinch myself": emotional Wouter Vrancken is the 'Coach of the Year')" (in Dutch). Het Laatste Niewus. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  17. ^ "Wouter Vrancken: "Na mijn spelerscarrière had ik het gehad met het voetbal" (Wouter Vrancken: "After my playing career I had had it with football")" (in Dutch). Sporza. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  18. ^ "Geel-rood delirium op de Heizel: KV Mechelen wint Beker van België". sporza.be. Retrieved 25 March 2021.

External links

K.R.C. Genk – current squad
Current Belgian Pro League managers
Wouter Vrancken managerial positions
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