Ten claims to fame: Club Brugge
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
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Jean Pierre-Papin and 14th-century rebel Jan Breydel are among Club Brugge KV's heroes, as UEFA.com gets the lowdown on a side that once played at the rats' stadium.
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Formed: 1891
Nicknames: Blauw-Zwart (Blue-Blacks)
UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• European Champion Clubs' Cup: (1978)
• UEFA Cup: (1976)
Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
• League title: 13 (2005)
• Domestic cup: 10 (2007)
• English involvement in the local linen trade almost certainly brought football to Bruges. Bruges's first team – Brugsche Football Club – were founded by a band of former students in 1891 under the Latin motto 'mens sana in corpore sano' (a healthy mind in a healthy body). They soon had healthy competition when Football Club Brugeois were formed by breakaway club members. The two sides were reunited in 1897 under the French name; they did not take on the Flemish title Club Brugge until 1972.
• Club Brugge have had royal approval since winning their first national championship in 1920. They celebrated by changing their title to Royal FC Brugeois – with their regal status now reflected in their modern prefix KV, standing for Koninklijke Vereniging (royal club). However, lean times followed as they spent much of the 1940s and 50s in the second division. Happily, though, they have not left the top flight since returning in 1959.
• Club Brugge remain the only Belgian team to have reached the final of Europe's top club competition. Under Ernst Happel, they got to the final of the 1977/78 European Champion Clubs' Cup, and indeed of the 1975/76 UEFA Cup, losing both to Liverpool FC. That came during a golden era between 1973 and 1980 when they landed five Belgian championships.
• The club's original home in the Sint-Andries district of Bruges was known as the Rattenplein (rats' stadium) since it was owned by the local fox terrier club, who used it for another imported English pastime: rat baiting. This non-UEFA affiliated 'sport' involved getting dogs to chase and kill rats. In 1911, the team moved to a new ground, called De Klokke (after a nearby pub), which was renamed the Albert Dyserynckstadion after the sudden death of Club Brugge chairman Albert Dyserynck.
• Their current stadium (since 1975) was rebranded in honour of local butcher and revolutionary Jan Breydel in 1998. Breydel led a rising against the city's French overlords in the 1300s. The venue – which Club Brugge share with local rivals KSV Cercle Brugge – was previously named the Olympiastadion.
• Raoul 'Lotte' Lambert is the man to beat in terms of Club Brugge goalscorers. Lior Refaelov has notched five UEFA Europa League goals for Club Brugge this season but has a way to go to match Lambert's tally of 269 in 458 official games between 1962 and 1980. Amazingly, he received just two yellow cards in his entire career. Other local favourites include Jan Ceulemans, who reportedly turned down AC Milan to continue his Club Brugge career in his pomp.
• Jean-Pierre Papin owes a debt to Club Brugge. "Bruges is where it all started for me," stated the France great, who hit 32 goals in 43 outings for Club Brugge in 1985/86 after arriving from Valenciennes FC. "Club Brugge will always have a special place in my heart as this is where my international breakthrough came." 'JPP' later played for Olympique de Marseille, Milan and FC Bayern Munchen, and was chosen as Club Brugge's greatest ever foreign player in 2008 – despite competition from Nigerian Daniel Amokachi.
• Michel Preud'homme's men are not to be underestimated this season. Club Brugge are one of just three sides in the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League round of 16 to have made it unbeaten through 12 UEFA Europa League fixtures (W9 D3). The last time they progressed to a round of 16 was the 2003/04 UEFA Cup, when they found FC Girondins de Bordeaux too hot to handle.
• The Blauw-Zwart are in the hunt for a treble. Club Brugge have not claimed any silverware since the 2006/07 Belgian Cup, but as well as being in the UEFA Europa League running, they top the Belgian First League and will face Anderlecht in the Belgian Cup final on 22 March. Fans therefore found themselves in the unusual position of wanting Anderlecht to survive the round of 32, to ensure their final opponents did not get too much rest this month. However, Preud'homme – a 1987/88 European Cup Winners' Cup winner as KV Mechelen goalkeeper – was to be disappointed. "It is a pity Anderlecht are not in the Europa League any more," he said. "We are still competing on three fronts and we have to deal with that, but we always play to win."
• Club Brugge captain Timmy Simons is up for the challenge of taking on Beşiktaş JK. The 38-year-old was not involved in the teams' 2006/07 UEFA Cup meeting in Istanbul, but featured in the Club Brugge side that beat Galatasaray AŞ 3-1 at home and drew 0-0 in Turkey in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League first group stage. "We will face real football fanatics and can expect a hot atmosphere," he said. "There is nothing wrong with that. The hotter the mood in the stands, the more a professional can play above himself."