KV Ostend

KV Ostend
Basic data
Surname	Koninklijke Voetbalklub Ostend
Seat	Ostend , Belgium
founding	October 1, 1905
Colours	yellow Red
president	Frank Dierckens
Website	kvo.be
First soccer team
Head coach	Alexander Blessin
Venue	Versluys Arena
Places	8432
league	Division 1A
2019/20	15th place - end of the season
home Away Alternatively

The KV Oostende , full name Koninklijke Voetbalklub Oostende is a Belgian football club in the port city and seaside resort of Ostend .

history

The club was formed in 1981 from the merger of two football clubs based in Ostend.

Early years

On October 1, 1905, Van Neste Genootschap Ostend was founded by former students and three years later the club joined the Belgian association, Union Belge des Sociétés de Sports Athlétiques . In 1911 a local rival was established with the Association Sportive Ostendaise. This reached the second division for the first time in 1931, where in 1935 as runner-up the promotion to the first class was just missed. In the 1936/37 season, both teams played second class. AS Ostend was relegated at the end of the season, VG Ostend followed a year later.

Separate years

With the introduction of the single-track second division in 1952 AS Ostend succeeded in qualifying. In the following years, the team always occupied places in the midfield. In 1969 he was promoted to the 1st division as champions of division 2 . However, the club had to relegate immediately as the bottom of the table. As the penultimate in the second division, the club even slipped into the third division in 1971. 1973 succeeded under coach Norberto Höfling the promotion and in the following season as runner-up the return to the upper house. In 1974, local rivals VG Ostend could return to the second division after almost forty years and even qualify for the promotion games at the end of the season, which were, however, finished last. In 1977 AS Ostend rose from the first division and the two local rivals played in a league again in 1977/78. However, VG Ostend ended the season on a relegation zone, a year later AS Ostend was last.

After the merger

On July 1, 1981, the two local rivals merged and KV Ostend was created. This managed to return to the second division in 1992. As third, the team reached the promotion games, in which they won with five wins and one draw with eleven points unbeaten before Eendracht Aalst (5 points) prevailed and rose to the first division. When they were seventh in the table, they managed to stay up in 1994, in the following season only five wins and the season ended penultimate.

Descent and crash

In the second division, although the promotion games were reached as third in the table, Excelsior Mouscron was too strong there. In 1998 the second division champions returned to the House of Lords, with only four wins as bottom of the table missed relegation there. In 2000, the team failed again in the promotion games, a year later the club had to start the third division as bottom of the table. There the club reached the promotion games as third in the table, but failed in the final at VW Hamme clearly 1: 4.

March through

In 2002, the team came as runner-up again in the promotion games, but failed to Oud-Heverlee . After the license withdrawal for Berchem Sport , the rise succeeded. Here the team surprised as runner-up and qualified for the promotion games for the Jupiler League. After three wins and three defeats, the round ended tied with KFC Verbroedering Geel . However, since these had reached the promotion games as tenth in the table and the better table rank decides in the regular season, KV Ostend created the sensation and the march into the first division.

With five points behind the rescuing bank or KSK Beveren KV Ostend missed the league. Since then, the club has played in the second division again and last reached the relegation round there in 2012. Since 2013 the club has been playing in the top Belgian league again . In the first season , Ostend reached 9th place and was the first to complete the subsequent Europa League play-offs. Both final games against the first of the other play-off group, KV Kortrijk , ended with a 2-2 draw. In the penalty shootout, Ostend sat 3-2. However, the club did not receive a license for the Europa League. The game against the fourth of the championship play-offs, SV Zulte Waregem , which was still required for participation, was therefore canceled.

In 2015/16 , Ostend was able to qualify for the championship play-offs, but did not get a place there that would qualify for participation in a European competition. In the 2016/17 season , Ostend finished fourth in the championship play-offs and also won the subsequent finals, so that it could take part in the third qualifying round for the 2017/18 Europa League . There they were eliminated against Olympique Marseille .

After Ostend only took part in the Europa League play-offs in the 2017/18 season and it became clear that the play-off group would not be won, Adnan Čustović's work as coach was ended at the end of the season. Gert Verheyen became his successor in the 2018/19 season .

On March 6, 2019, he was also replaced as coach after it was established that Ostend could not reach the championship play-offs in the 2018/19 season . Sports director Hugo Broos also took on the duties of coach. After six matchdays in the play-off, Ostend was 4 points behind the top of the table with twelve points still to be awarded. On April 29, 2019 Broos and the club decided to split up immediately. The team was trained by the previous assistant coach Franky Van der Elst until the end of the season .

On May 6, 2019, the signing of Norwegian Kåre Ingebrigtsen for the next two seasons as coach was announced. Van der Elst stayed with the club again as an assistant coach. Ingebrigtsen's contract was terminated at his own request at the end of 2019. Ingebrigtsen had a contract promise from APOEL Nicosia as a coach in the event that Ostend releases him.

As the new coach until the end of the season, Dennis van Wijk was signed at the turn of the year . After the third last match day, when Ostend was still two points ahead of the relegation zone, Van Wijk was sacked again in early March 2020. The following day, Adnan Čustović returned to Ostend as a coach.

Ostend was able to hold this place until the end of the season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and was therefore not relegated to division 1A as the penultimate. On June 7, 2020 it was decided to sign Alexander Blessin as the new coach from the 2020/21 season . He received a contract until the end of the 2021/22 season with the option of extending another season.

Board

In June 2014 Marc Coucke took over the shares of the previous President of KV Ostend Yves Lejaeghere and was then also appointed President by the Board of Directors. After Coucke bought the majority at RSC Anderlecht in February 2018 , he had to choose a club. He became president at RSC Anderlecht and passed his office at KV Ostend on to Peter Callant .

After a year, he passed on the role of club president to Frank Dierckens , who had meanwhile acquired the majority of the club's shares.

Trainer

An overview of the club's coaches:

Term of office	Nat.	Trainer
1998-1999		Jean-Marie Pfaff
-	-	-
October 2017 - June 2018		Adnan Čustović
2018-2019		Gert Verheyen
2019		Hugo Broos
2019		Franky Van der Elst
2019		Kåre Ingebrigtsen
2020		Dennis van Wijk
2020		Adnan Čustović
2020–		Alexander Blessin

player

Name of the player	Period	comment
Hans Aabech	1977-1979	• Former Danish international
Kurt Axelsson	1973-1976	• Former Sweden international
Pierre Carteus	1974-1977	• Former Belgian international
Olivier De Cock	2010–0000	• Former Belgian international • Active for Club Brugge and Fortuna Düsseldorf • Multiple Belgian champions and cup winners with Club Bruges
Léopold Gernaey	1952-1958	• Former Belgian goalkeeper
Knowledge Musona	2015–	• Zimbabwean national player • played in the Bundesliga for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and FC Augsburg .
Paul Okon	2004-2005	• Former Australia international
Kevin Packet	0000-2007	• Active in the youth team of the KVO

Web links

• Official website of the association

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gert Verheyen nieuwe trainer. KV Ostend, April 25, 2018, accessed on April 23, 2019 (Dutch). 
2. ↑ Gert Verheyen stops as a trainer - Hugo- Broos neemt voorlopig over. KV Ostend, March 6, 2019, accessed on April 23, 2019 (Dutch). 
3. ↑ Kvo en Hugo Broos zetten punt achter samenwerking. KV Ostend, April 29, 2019, accessed on April 30, 2019 (Dutch). 
4. ↑ KVO stelt noorse top trainer Kare Ingebrigtsen voor. KV Ostend, May 6, 2019, accessed on September 16, 2019 (Dutch). 
5. ↑ Kare Ingebrigtsen published KVO: Officieel statement Frank Dierckens. KV Ostend, December 27, 2019, accessed on December 28, 2019 (Dutch). 
6. ^ Dennis Van Wijk nieuwe trainer. KV Ostend, December 31, 2019, accessed on December 31, 2019 (Dutch). 
7. ↑ KVO certifies samenwerking with Dennis Van Wijk. KV Ostend, March 2, 2020, accessed on March 2, 2020 (Dutch). 
8. ↑ Adnan Čustović wordt trainer - Franck Berrier assistant. KVO Ostend, March 3, 2020, accessed on March 4, 2020 (Dutch). 
9. ↑ Alexander Blessin nieuwe hoofdtrainer. KVO Ostend, June 7, 2020, accessed June 8, 2020 (Dutch). 
10. ↑ Coucke koopt KVO-aandelen Lejaeghere en is officieel voorzitter. Het laatest nieuws, July 4, 2014, accessed September 16, 2019 (Dutch). 
11. ↑ Marc Coucke: “Le KV Ostend restera à jamais dans mon coeur”. L'Avenir, February 25, 2018, accessed September 16, 2019 (French). 
12. ↑ Frank Dierckens neemt fakkel about van Peter Callant. KV Ostend, February 18, 2019, accessed on September 16, 2019 (Dutch). 
13. ↑ Ostend dismisses Yves Vanderhaeghe - assistant Adnan Custovic takes over . In: GrenzEcho . September 19, 2017 ( grenzecho.net [accessed November 30, 2018]).
14. ↑ Hermès Van Damme: Adnan Custovic mis à la porte à Ostend, l'entraîneur réagit . In: Walfoot.be . April 26, 2018 (French, walfoot.be [accessed November 30, 2018]).