François ("Franky") Vercauteren (born 28 October 1956), nicknamed "The Little Prince", is a former Belgian football left winger and is now a football manager, who is currently working for KRC Genk.

[edit] Career

He made his first team debut for Anderlecht in 1975 against K.R.C. Mechelen, replacing Gilbert Van Binst. But a double surgery in October 1975 and January 1976 slowed down his development. Vercauteren won the 5 European titles of Anderlecht (2 Cup Winners' Cup, 1 UEFA Cup and 2 Supercups). He also won two Belgian Cups, four Belgian Championship titles and won the Belgian Supercup twice. In 1987 he moved to FC Nantes Atlantique in France and came back to Belgium three years later to play with R.W.D. Molenbeek until 1993. While at Nantes, Vercauteren finished twice the championship with the most assists.

[edit] International career

Vercauteren played 63 times with the Belgium national football team. He was involved in the 4th-placed team in the 1986 World Cup and also played in the 1982 tournament and in the 1984 European Football Championship. Though he made his national team debut on 16 November 1977 (lost 3-0 to Northern Ireland national football team), he was not selected for the 1980 Euro where Belgium finished runner-up.^[1]

[edit] Coaching career

At the end of his playing career, he became the trainer of the youth team from C.S. Braine, a small club in Walloon Brabant. A year after, he moved to KV Mechelen where he first trained the youth team, then the first team (in 1997-98). At the end of this season, he signed as an assistant manager at his first club, RSC Anderlecht. He was briefly named manager along with his fellow Jean Dockx in the 1998-99 season after a disappointing start by manager Arie Haan (Anderlecht fell to the 18th and last place in the beginning of the season). The two men secured among others a nice 0-6 win at Sclessin against old rival Standard Liège and a 2-5 win at K.R.C. Genk, to come back in the European places. Anderlecht then hired Aimé Anthuenis as a manager, and Vercauteren became assistant once again. After coach Hugo Broos, successor of Aimé Anthuenis, was dismissed in February 2005, Vercauteren signed as the new manager and won twice the Belgian Championship. On the 12th November 2007, after a string of poor and indifferent results, Franky Vercauteren and Anderlecht parted company with assistant coach Ariel Jacobs taking over until the end of the season.

Vercauteren was from 9 April 2009 to 10 September 2009 the Caretaker Manager of Belgium national football team,^[2] stepping down after Belgium's defeat in Armenia on 9 September 2009, he was replaced by Dick Advocaat. On 03 December 2009 signed an contract as Head Coach of KRC Genk.^[3]

[edit] References

v • d • e Belgium squad – 1982 FIFA World Cup 1 Pfaff • 2 Gerets • 3 L. Millecamps • 4 Meeuws • 5 Renquin • 6 Vercauteren • 7 Vandereycken • 8 Van Moer • 9 Vandenbergh • 10 Coeck • 11 Ceulemans • 12 Custers • 13 Van der Elst • 14 Baecke • 15 De Schrijver • 16 Plessers • 17 Verheyen • 18 Mommens • 19 M. Millecamps • 20 Vandersmissen • 21 Czerniatynski • 22 Munaron • Coach: Thys

v • d • e Belgium squad – UEFA Euro 1984 1 Pfaff • 2 Grün • 3 Lambrichts • 4 Clijsters • 5 De Wolf • 6 Vercauteren • 7 Vandereycken • 8 Claesen • 9 Vandenbergh • 10 Coeck • 11 Ceulemans • 12 Munaron • 13 Baecke • 14 De Greef • 15 Verheyen • 16 Scifo • 17 Voordeckers • 18 Czerniatynski • 19 Mommens • 20 De Coninck • Coach: Thys

v • d • e Belgium squad – 1986 FIFA World Cup Fourth Place 1 Pfaff • 2 Gerets • 3 F. Van der Elst • 4 De Wolf • 5 Renquin • 6 Vercauteren • 7 Vandereycken • 8 Scifo • 9 Vandenbergh • 10 Desmet • 11 Ceulemans • 12 Munaron • 13 Grün • 14 Clijsters • 15 L. Van der Elst • 16 Claesen • 17 Mommens • 18 Veyt • 19 Broos • 20 Bodart • 21 Demol • 22 Vervoort • Coach: Thys