Aimé Anthuenis

Aimé Anthuenis (born 21 December 1943) is a Belgian former professional football player and manager. He managed the Belgium national football team between 2002 and 2005.

After a career as a defender, Anthuenis moved into coaching, first as the head coach of Lokeren's youth sector, then rising to the position of head coach of the club's first team. In 1994 he reached the semifinals of the Belgian Cup with Germinal Ekeren, while finishing the national championship in 10th place. The next season he moved to Waregem in the Belgian Second Division. Under his lead, Waregem was crowned league champion the same season.

In 1996, Anthuenis signed with Second Division club Racing Genk. He brought the club to the First Division that year, finishing second in the championship. The following season, Anthuenis finished second in the Belgian top tier, and won Genk's first Belgian Cup. The next year, he led the Limburg-based club to their first national championship, winning the 1998–99 Belgian First Division.

Anthuenis left Genk in 1999 to join Anderlecht. He immediately won Anderlecht's 25th title, also qualifying for the UEFA Champions League qualifying round. In August 2000, Anderlecht qualified for the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League by knocking out Porto in the last qualifying round. In the group stage, they won their group, which included also Manchester United, PSV Eindhoven and Dynamo Kyiv. Eventually, Anderlecht was eliminated in the second group stage, finishing third in their group. He finished the season by celebrating the club's 26th title.

Anthuenis won the Belgian Manager of the Year award for a record three times.

Club career Aimé Anthuenis was born and raised in Lokeren. He started his football career as a youth player of Racing Lokeren, which was renamed K.S.C. Lokeren after the merger with Standaard Lokeren. where he was reunited with Raymond Mommens. Under the leadership of Anthuenis, the "Zebras" once again finished safely in the middle bracket in the 1987–88 season.

Return to Lokeren Anthuenis returned to Lokeren in 1988. The club had had a bad year and hoped to rejoin the top ten with his return. However, Lokeren, which had lost many of its key players, fell out of the top ten two years in a row. The club was no longer eligible for European football and had several colorless seasons. At the end of January 1993, the 49-year-old trainer was fired and succeeded by Etienne D'Hondt. Eventually, Lokeren ended the season last but one and was relegated.

Germinal Ekeren Anthuenis was then hired by Germinal Ekeren, where he succeeded Urbain Haesaert. Anthuenis ended up in the middle bracket with Germinal, finishing tenth. Germinal also reached the semi-finals of the 1994 Belgian Cup, in which it was eliminated by Club Brugge.

Waregem After a year at the Antwerp-based club, Anthuenis moved to Waregem, which had been relegated to the second division in 1994. Led by Anthuenis, Waregem became champion of the second division in 1995. In the following season, Waregem had a difficult start and Anthuenis was sacked early in September. He was succeeded by André Van Maldeghem. The club eventually finished last in the championship and was relegated to the Second Division.

Genk A month after his resignation from Waregem, Anthuenis signed with Racing Genk. In his first season at the club, Anthuenis finished second in the Second Division with Genk. In the subsequent final round, Genk was able to achieve promotion to the First Division. At Genk, he was considered a father figure in that period, which earned him the nickname Papa.

Belgium was placed in Group 8 in the UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying. They finished behind Bulgaria with the same points as Croatia, tying also on head-to-head points. However, Croatia advanced to the play-offs due to a better head-to-head goal difference.

Despite the failed qualifying campaign, Anthuenis stayed as head coach of Belgium. He was now tasked with guiding the Belgians to the World Cup in Germany. Belgium ended up in Group 7, a group that included Spain. Anthuenis didn't reach the target, with the national team finishing fourth in their group, and failing to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1978.

Third stint at Lokeren A few months after his last international match as national coach, Anthuenis started working again at Lokeren, despite offers from abroad and the plan to take a break from football. In December 2005, he became Lokeren's new coach. Anthuenis soon had to deal with depression and heart problems. He later explained that he actually had a burnout, after going back to work right away. When Lokeren lost 2–0 to Lierse on 11 February 2006, he was so tired that he called it quits, temporarily withdrawing from football.

Lierse In February 2010, Anthuenis signed with Second Division club Lierse. With players like Jurgen Cavens, Tim Matthys and Seth De Witte, he led Lierse to the league title the same year.

Personal life Aimé Anthuenis is the brother of PVV politician and the uncle of VLD politician Filip Anthuenis. His brother was mayor of Lokeren from 1995 to 2000. His son Filip succeeded him in 2001.

Honours Manager Waregem Belgian Second Division: 1994–95

Anderlecht Belgian First Division A: 1999–2000, 2000–01 Belgian Super Cup: 2000, 2001 Jules Pappaert Cup: 2000, 2001

Lierse Belgian Second Division: 2009–10

Individual Belgian Manager of the Year: 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01