Eugène Gerards

Eugène Gerards (7 May 1940 − 2 January 2018) was a Dutch football player, manager and scout. As a player, Gerards played for Limburgian clubs SV Limburgia and Fortuna '54. As a manager, he spent the majority of his career in Greece, where he acquired the Greek citizenship. He became the longest serving manager in Greek football, serving at the bench of OFI for 15 years.

Club career Gerards began his career at Limburgia as a defender-turned-striker in 1957. In 1963 he moved to Fortuna '54, before returning to Limburgia in 1967. He followed the club to amateur competitions in 1971 and retired in 1974. Gerards was a member of the Dutch national military team, as well as the Netherlands national under-21 football team. Despite being called-up for the Netherlands national football team by manager Denis Neville in 1964, Gerards made no senior national appearances.

Managerial career Roda JC Still in his playing years, Gerards attended the German Sport University Cologne, earning various German managerial certificates. In 1974, he received his "Fußballehrer", highest professional football manager certificate in Germany, while working as municipality ambassador for Brunssum. Immediately after retirement as a player in May 1974, Gerards signed a contract as assistant manager for Dutch football club Roda JC, where he was also appointed manager of the club's youth team. He held his position for the Kerkrade-based club for 12 years, serving under head managers Bert Jacobs (1974–1980), Piet de Visser (1980–1983), Hans Eijkenbroek (1983–1984) and Frans Körver (1984–1986). During the last managerial change, Gerards replaced Eijkenbroek as interim manager for a single game in December 1984, before returning to his post under arriving manager Frans Körver for the remainder of the 1984−85 season.

OFI At the start of the 1985−86 season, Gerards assumed his first job as manager for an ambitious Greek Alpha Ethniki side OFI.

At OFI, Gerards set an outstanding record for both the club as well as Greek football in general, as he remained the team's manager for 15 consecutive years, which to this day remains the longest managerial tenure in Greek football history. in a penalty shoot-out against Iraklis during the competition Final. He came close to repeat this feat in 1990, but OFI were defeated in the Final by eventual Cup winners Olympiacos. During his 15 years with the club, Gerards qualified OFI six times for European competitions, winning one Balkans Cup in 1989, and advancing OFI through to the UEFA Cup Round of 16 during the 1993−94 edition of the competition, most notably eliminating Spanish club Atlético Madrid in the process.

The 1999−2000 season was his last as manager at OFI. He was honored by the club for his longtime services, and was subsequently offered the position of chief scout and football advisor. However, in November 2000 he was surprisingly fired from his position, as the club's board of directors decided his presence was causing trouble for the club's new manager, former player Ioannis Samaras.

Later career In January 2001, Gerards accepted the position of technical director at AEK Athens until the end of the season. There, he worked as a duo with their captain who had turned into a manager overnight, Toni Savevski He then revived his managerial career at Cypriot First Division side APOEL Nicosia, winning the Cypriot Championship in his first season with the club. He married his third wife Katerina in 2004, and became a permanent resident of Crete. Characteristic of his love for Crete, he acquired Greek citizenship and founded his own winery "Geraldakis", adopting the Cretan diminutive surname ending -akis to his Dutch surname in order to signal his identification as a Cretan, a form he also used in public appearances.

Recognition Gerards was widely considered as one of the greatest managers in Greek football. He has been honored by the club where he made his name as a manager, OFI on several occasions. A friendly game was held in his honor in 2000 at the club's home ground Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium, in which he later was offered a permanent, leather seat with his name engraved on it. In 2017 the club's board of directors decided to name the stadium's Gate 9 after him. On 20 November 2017, a special international friendly game was held to celebrate his service to the club in which Gerards' "children" (former Greek and foreign OFI players during the years 1985–2000) played against some of the most recognized players in recent Greek football history (Gerards' "friends").

Health issues and death Gerards first cited being plagued by health issues as the foremost reason for him retiring as manager in 2000 after 15 years of service at OFI. In 2005, he was diagnosed with Progressive supranuclear palsy. His health had since deteriorated over the years, and by his mid-70s he was a wheelchair user. He died on 2 January 2018 aged 77. He is survived by his daughter Nathalie (1968) from his first marriage and son from his second marriage Frank (1981), his third wife Katerina and her two sons Manolis and Minas.

Managerial statistics

Team From To Record Roda JC 26 November 1984 2 December 1984 OFI 1 July 1985 30 June 2000 APOEL 1 July 2001 28 December 2002 Iraklis 28 December 2002 9 November 2003 Panachaiki 23 February 2010 19 April 2010Total

Honours Manager OFI Greek Cup: 1986–87

APOEL Cypriot First Division: 2001–02

Records OFI: all-time longest serving manager: 1985–2000. Hellenic Football Federation all-time longest serving manager in a single club: 1985–2000 (OFI).