Standard Liège

Standard Liège

Full name	Royal Standard de Liège
Nickname(s)	Les Rouches (The Reds)
Founded	1898; 126 years ago (1898)
Ground	Stade Maurice Dufrasne
Capacity	27,670
Owner	777 Partners
Head coach	Ivan Leko
League	Belgian Pro League
2022–23	Belgian Pro League, 7th of 18
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won the Belgian league on ten occasions, most recently in 2007–08 and 2008–09. They have been in the top flight without interruption since 1921, longer than any other Belgian side. They have also won eight Belgian Cups, and in 1981–82 they reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup, which they lost 2–1 against Barcelona.

Standard players are nicknamed les Rouches [le ʁuʃ] because of their red jerseys. The French word for red, rouge, when pronounced with a Liège accent, sounds like rouche.

In March 2022, Standard Liège was acquired by US-based private investment firm 777 Partners.

 

On the first day of school in September 1898, the pupils of Collège Saint-Servais in Liège started a football club, which they called Standard of Liège in reference to Standard Athletic Club of Paris. Standard, whose official name is Royal Standard Club of Liège, was based in Cointe and Grivegnée before settling permanently in 1909 in Sclessin, an industrial neighbourhood in Liège. Standard initially joined the Belgian First League in 1909 before returning to the lower leagues a few years later. The club then gained promotion back to the top division in 1921 and has never been relegated since.

Shortly after World War II, Roger Petit, a former player and team captain, became general secretary of the club. Petit worked alongside President Henrard Paul to establish Standard among the elite of Belgian football. In 1954, Standard won their first club trophy, the Belgian Cup, which was soon followed by a first national title in 1957–58.

At European level, in the 1960s, the club reached the semi-finals of the European Cup in 1961–62, falling to beaten finalists Real Madrid 0–6 on aggregate, and the same stage of the Cup Winners' Cup in the year 1966–67, losing to eventual champions Bayern Munich. The 1960s and early 1970s brought much success to the club, as Standard won six Belgian First Division titles, two Belgian Cups and a League Cup.

 

Driven by the Austrian Ernst Happel, Standard won the Belgian Cup again in 1981. The following year, Raymond Goethals took control of the team. Playing by the "Raymond Science" philosophy of football, the club was twice the champions of Belgium, twice winners of the Belgian Supercup (in three appearances) and reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1982. Standard played against Barcelona in the final at the Camp Nou on 12 May 1982, losing the match 1–2 to the Spaniards.

In 1984, these exploits were tainted by the revelation of the Standard-Waterschei Affair [fr]. Just days before the match against Barcelona, to secure the championship of Belgium and guard against last minute injuries, Standard had approached Roland Janssen, the captain of Thor Waterschei, to ensure that Thor players threw the final game of the season. This scandal involved several players, including Eric Gerets, and coach Raymond Goethals, who fled to Portugal to escape suspension. In compensation the Standard players gave their game bonuses to the Waterschei players. Following the scandal, Standard was deprived of many of its playing staff due to long-term suspensions and it took the club several years to recover from the incident.

On 6 June 1993, Standard won the Belgian Cup for the fifth time in its history, defeating Robert Waseige's Charleroi at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium in Brussels. This led to another appearance in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, ending in a record 10–0 aggregate defeat to Arsenal— having lost 3–0 at Highbury in London, Standard were humiliated 0–7 in the second leg at home.^{[citation needed]}

Following the scandal of 1982, it took 25 years before Standard won the Belgium Championship again, lifting the title on 20 April 2008. The club won the Belgian league again the following year, securing the club's tenth league title on 24 May 2009 after a home-and-away game against rivals Anderlecht. Standard won the national cup once more in 2011, defeating Westerlo 2–0 in the final at the King Baudouin Stadium on 21 May 2011. The club was bought by businessman Roland Duchatelet on 23 June 2011, who then took over English club Charlton in December 2013, creating an affiliation between the two clubs.

On 20 October 2014, Guy Luzon resigned as manager of Standard with the club sitting in 12th position in the Pro League standings and having taken only two points from three UEFA Europa League matches. Luzon later became head coach of Charlton. Assistant and former midfielder Ivan Vukomanović took over as caretaker-manager.

Golden Shoe

On nine occasions, Standard players have won the Belgian Golden Shoe as the best player in the domestic league. Jean Nicolay won the award in 1963, Wilfried Van Moer in 1969 and 1970, Christian Piot in 1972, Eric Gerets in 1982, Sérgio Conceição in 2005, Steven Defour in 2007, Axel Witsel in 2008 and Milan Jovanović in 2009.

Standard Liège supporters share a fierce rivalry with RSC Anderlecht, dubbed the Belgian "Clasico". The rivalry not only reflects the traditional geographical one between the two cities of Liège and Brussels, but also a class divide, with Anderlecht being perceived as the team of the bourgeois elite and Standard, based in an industrial district, as the workers club. The two teams were also the two most successful teams in Belgium for long periods until the emergence of Club Brugge. Many players have played for both clubs, most notably Standard title winning captain Steven Defour, who when returning to Sclessin under Anderlecht's purple colours was greeted with a large tifo with his head decapitated.

Standard also has a traditional city derbies with RFC Seraing and RFC Liège. In recent years, they have also developed a rivalry with fellow Walloon club Sporting Charleroi, with several matches having been stopped due to crowd disturbances between the two sets of supporters.

Matches with Limburgish clubs Racing Genk and STVV also are characterised with heightened tensions. This is due to the proximity of Genk and Sint-Truiden with the city of Liège and the historical ties of the mining and steel industries of these regions in Belgium. The rivalry between Standard and Racing Genk was fueled by the events of May 17, 2011. In this title match Standard winger Mehdi Carcela was hit in the face with a tackle by Genk defender Chris Mavinga. Carcela lost consciousness and was subbed off. Mavinga was not sent off after his reckless intervention. Genk went on to win the title with 1–1 draw, but it left many Standard fans with a sour taste.

Domestic

• Belgian League

Champions (10): 1957–58, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1981–82, 1982–83, 2007–08, 2008–09
Runners-up (13): 1925–26, 1927–28, 1935–36, 1961–62, 1964–65, 1972–73, 1979–80, 1992–93, 1994–95, 2005–06, 2010–11, 2013–14, 2017–18

• Belgian Cup

Champions (8): 1953–54, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1980–81, 1992–93, 2010–11, 2015–16, 2017–18
Runners-up (10): 1964–65, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1983–84, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2006–07, 2020–21

• Belgian League Cup

Champions (1): 1975

• Belgian Supercup

Champions (4): 1981, 1983, 2008, 2009
Runners-up (5): 1982, 1993, 2011, 2016, 2018

International

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

Runners-up (1): 1981–82

• UEFA Intertoto Cup

Runners-up (1): 1996

Other

• Amsterdam Tournament:

Runners-up (1): 1981

A = appearances, GP = games played, W = won, D = drawn, L = lost, GF = goals for, GA = goals against.

Summary of best results

From the quarter-finals upwards:

• European Cup/UEFA Champions League:

semi-finalists in 1962
quarter-finalists in 1959, 1970 and 1972

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1):

runners-up in 1982
semi-finalists in 1967
quarter-finalists in 1968

• UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League:

quarter-finalists in 1981 and 2010

• UEFA Intertoto Cup (1):

runners-up in 1996
semi-finalists in 2000

Current squad

As of 1 February 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF   BEL Gilles Dewaele 3 DF   BEL Nathan Ngoy 4 DF   BEL Zinho Vanheusden (on loan from Inter Milan) 5 DF   ENG Jonathan Panzo (on loan from Nottingham Forest) 6 MF   JPN Hayao Kawabe 8 MF   NIR Isaac Price 9 FW   ITA Kelvin Yeboah (on loan from Genoa) 11 FW   ITA Seydou Fini (on loan from Genoa) 13 DF   USA Marlon Fossey 14 FW   CIV Wilfried Kanga (on loan from Hertha Berlin) 15 DF   CIV Souleyman Doumbia 16 GK   BEL Arnaud Bodart 17 MF   COL Steven Alzate (on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion)

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 MF   GHA Kamal Sowah (on loan from Club Brugge) 19 MF   MLI Moussa Djenepo 20 MF   COD Merveille Bokadi 22 MF   COD William Balikwisha 24 MF   AUS Aiden O'Neill 25 DF   BEL Ibe Hautekiet 28 FW   CRO Stipe Perica 30 GK   BEL Laurent Henkinet 34 DF   CYP Konstantinos Laifis 40 GK   BEL Matthieu Epolo 46 MF   LUX Rayan Berberi 51 DF   BEL Lucas Noubi 61 MF   TUR Cihan Çanak

SL16 FC

SL16 FC is the reserve squad of Standard that plays in the second-tier Challenger Pro League.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF   ENG Henry Lawrence 4 DF   MAR Samy Tory 5 DF   SEN Birame Diaw 6 DF   CRO Mate Šimičić 7 MF   BEL Steeven Assengue 9 FW   MAR Soufiane Benjdida 10 MF   BEL Adrien Giunta 11 MF   BEL Mouad El Fanis 12 FW   BEL Amine Benfriha 13 GK   BEL Matteo Godfroid 14 DF   BEL Johan N'Ganzadi 17 MF   MEX Jorge Ruvalcaba (on loan from Pumas UNAM) 18 GK   BEL Noah Radelet 20 MF   BEL Noah Makembo-Ntemo 22 MF   BEL Gabriel Pires de Carvalho 23 MF   BEL Rabby Mateta Pepa 24 FW   MAR Ilyes Ziani 25 DF   BEL Ibe Hautekiet 26 DF   BEL Noah Mawete Kinsiona 27 DF   BEL Thiago Paulo da Silva

No. Pos. Nation Player 28 DF   BEL Oscar Olivier 29 DF   BEL Daan Dierckx 31 DF   BEL Noah Dodeigne 32 MF   BEL Afonso N'Salambi 38 MF   BEL Gabriel Pires de Carvalho 40 GK   BEL Matthieu Epolo 42 FW   MAR Anisse Brrou 46 MF   LUX Rayan Berberi 47 DF   BEL Adriano Mansala-Mpudi 50 FW   MLI Boubou Diallo 55 FW   MAR Brahim Ghalidi 77 FW   RWA Hakim Sahabo 90 DF   GER Faroukou Cissé 93 DF   FRA William Bianda 99 GK   BEL Tom Poitoux — MF   BEL Noah Sy — MF   NED Junior van Beveren — MF   BEL Léandre Kuavita — FW   FRA Maxime Mejjati-Alami (on loan from Nantes)

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   MAR Elias Mago (at Meux until 30 June 2024) — DF   BEL Alexandro Calut (at OH Leuven until 30 June 2024) — FW   BFA Sacha Bansé (at Valenciennes until 30 June 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW   ROU Denis Drăguș (at Gaziantep until 30 June 2024) — FW   NED Noah Ohio (at Hull City until 30 June 2024) — FW   BFA Abdoul Tapsoba (at Amiens until 30 June 2024)

Most appearances

Rank	Player	Standard career	Apps
1	Guy Hellers	1983–2000	474
2	Gilbert Bodart	1981–96, 1997–98	469
3	Guy Vandersmissen	1978–91	465
4	Léon Semmeling	1959–74	449

Most goals

Rank	Player	Standard career	Goals (App.)
1	Jean Capelle	1929–44	245 (285)
2	Roger Claessen	1956–68	161 (229)
3	Maurice Gillis	1919–35	124 (275)

Captains

Player's name in bold when Standard won the title

Standard Liège are mentioned in the song "This One's for Now" by the band Half Man Half Biscuit on the album Urge for Offal.