Belgian great Goethals dies
Monday, December 6, 2004
Article summary
Former Belgium coach Raymond Goethals has died at the age of 83 after a long and successful career.
Article body
The first man to lead a French club to victory in a European competition, Belgian Raymond Goethals, died today aged 83.
Marseille triumph
Goethals also guided his country to third place at the 1972 UEFA European Championship on home soil but achieved greater success at club level, notably in 1993 when he masterminded Olympique de Marseille's defeat of AC Milan in the inaugural UEFA Champions League final.
European finals
Born in Brussels in October 1921, Goethals also had a successful spell with Belgian side RSC Anderlecht. He led them to the final of the 1977 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, where they lost to Hamburger SV in Amsterdam, before going one better the following year, beating FK Austria Wien 4-0 in Paris.
World Cup
An attempt to repeat that success with R. Standard de Liège in 1982 was dashed by FC Barcelona as the Catalans ran out 2-1 winners in front of 100,000 fans at their Camp Nou home. The coach of Belgium between 1968 and 1976, he steered the Red Devils to the 1970 FIFA World Cup finals as well as third place in the European Championship two years later.