Franky Vercauteren

Football manager infobox
playername = Franky Vercauteren


fullname = François Vercauteren
nickname = "Le petit Prince"
(The Small Prince)
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1956|10|28
cityofbirth = Brussels
countryofbirth = Belgium
currentclub = R.S.C. Anderlecht
position = Manager
youthyears = 1966-75
youthclubs = R.S.C. Anderlecht
years = 1975-87
1987-90
1990-93
clubs = R.S.C. Anderlecht
FC Nantes
RWDM
caps(goals) = ?
nationalyears = 1977-88
nationalteam = Belgium
nationalcaps(goals) = 63 (?)
manageryears = 1993-94
1994-97
1997-98
1998-98
1998-99
1999-2005
2005- 2007
managerclubs = C.S. Braine (youth)
KV Mechelen (youth)
KV Mechelen
R.S.C. Anderlecht (assistant)
R.S.C. Anderlecht (caretaker)
R.S.C. Anderlecht (assistant)
R.S.C. Anderlecht

François Vercauteren (born October 28, 1956), always referred to as Franky Vercauteren, nicknamed "The Small Prince", is a former Belgian football left winger and is now a football manager, working for R.S.C. Anderlecht.

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.

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 November 16, 1977 (lost 3-0 to Northern Ireland national football team), he was not selected for the 1980 Euro where Belgium finished runner-up.

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.

References

*nl icon [http://users.skynet.be/Crystal/team-info/HSfrankyvercauteren.htm Interview/biography]