Beerschot A.C.

Beerschot AC
Full name	Koninklijke Beerschot Antwerpen Club
Nickname(s)	De Mannekes, De Ratten
Founded	1920; 104 years ago (Germinal Ekeren); 1999; 25 years ago (merger; as Germinal Beerschot)
Dissolved	2013; 11 years ago
Ground	Olympisch Stadion, Antwerp
Capacity	12,771
Home colours	Away colours

Koninklijke Beerschot Antwerpen Club (Dutch pronunciation:

1999–2000 (as Germinal Beerschot) until 2012–13

, when they were relegated not only through their league position, but also lost their professional licence through financial issues, being officially declared bankrupt on 21 May 2013 – one week after the season had ended.

K.F.C. Germinal Ekeren, established in 1920, rebranded themselves as Germinal Beerschot in 1999, retaining the

matricule number and history but adopting some of the identity of K Beerschot VAC, seven-times Belgian champions but struggling with financial problems in the third division. Germinal Ekeren had been a first division club for the past decade, and were Belgian Cup

winners in 1997.

Following the merger in 1999, the club moved from the Veltwijckstadion in the municipality of Ekeren to the Olympisch Stadion in the Kiel neighbourhood in Antwerp. Their outfits mixed the yellow and red of Germinal Ekeren with the purple of Beerschot. Their biggest rival was Royal Antwerp F.C. They won the Belgian Cup in 2005.

On 17 May 2011, the club changed its name again to Koninklijke Beerschot Antwerpse Club or Beerschot AC. The name change was the result of an internal struggle which split the board of directors which ended with the former Germinal Ekeren board members vacating their position, giving a free path to remove the mention of Germinal

Belgian Provincial leagues.^[2]

The youth academy of Beerschot produced the likes of Thomas Vermaelen, Mousa Dembélé, Radja Nainggolan, Jan Vertonghen, and Toby Alderweireld.

History

In 1920 F.C. Germinal Ekeren was founded in the town of

UEFA Cup

. However, in 1999, due to the low attendance of supporters and limited expansion possibilities in Ekeren, the club merged with Beerschot who were then playing in the 3rd division and themselves had severe financial problems.

The new team, K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot Antwerpen kept the matricule n°3530 of Ekeren to keep their place in the first division, but retained the stadium of Beerschot, rebuilding it in the process. By keeping the matricule of Ekeren, the honours of Beerschot were considered to be distinct and separate from the new team and the club finally dropped the name Antwerpen in 2003. In 2004 further financial difficulties were experienced and

Jupiler League 2005-06

season, he was fired due to bad results (4 points from 21 and a 3–0 defeat against the 18th placed team).

May 2013,

liquidated. After having failed to present a financial plan to the Royal Belgian Football Association, the club had lost its license to play in the 1st division. Unable to attract enough financial means to continue playing in a lower division they decided upon liquidation. Initially it was unclear what would happen to the matricule or players,^[3] but it became clear on 21 May 2013 that the club dissolved, meaning the matricule was lost and the players free to look for a new club.^[4]

Late May 2013 the "entourage" and fans of Beerschot started negotiations with

Belgian Provincial leagues.^[2]

European competitions

The matricule number 3530 played their first European game as KFC Germinal Ekeren in the

Intertoto Cup). Unfortunately by finishing 2nd in the first round of Group 3 behind FC Aarau of Switzerland, KFC did not qualify for the second round. In 1996–97 they qualified for the UEFA Cup after finishing 3rd in the league. The club was defeated by Grazer AK

in the first round.

In

Neftchi Baku

of Azerbaijan in the second round, drawing 1–1 at home but losing 0–1 away to be eliminated from the competition.

Honours

Belgian Second Division:
- Winners (1): 1988–89
Belgian Cup:
- Winners (2):
  2004–05
- Runners-up (2): 1989–90, 1994–95
Belgian Super Cup:
- Runners-up (2): 1997, 2005

European record

As of December 2008.

Competition	Appearances	Matches played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA
Cup Winners' Cup	1	4	2	1	1	8	9
UEFA Cup	4	10	3	4	3	11	12
Intertoto Cup	2	6	2	3	1	11	7

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away
1991–92	UEFA Cup	1R	Celtic F.C.	1–1	0–2
1995	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group 3	FC Aarau	3–3
			HB Torshavn		1–1
			Universitatea Cluj	4–1
			Tromsø IL		2–0
1996–97	UEFA Cup	1R	Grazer AK	3–1	0–2
1997–98	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1R	Crvena Zvezda	3–2	1–1
		2R	VfB Stuttgart	0–4	4–2
1998–99	UEFA Cup	1QR	FK Sarajevo	4–1	0–0
		2QR	Servette Genève	1–4	2–1
2005–06	UEFA Cup	1R	Olympique Marseille	0–0	0–0 (1–4 pen.)
2008	UEFA Intertoto Cup	2R	Neftçi Baku	1–1	0–1