K.A.A. Gent - Results From 1970 Until 2011

Results From 1970 Until 2011

In 1971 the name of the team was translated into Dutch, it became "Koninklijke Atletiek Associatie Gent" (commonly known as KAA Gent or AA Gent). The 1970–71 season was the start of a bad decade for Ghent. They were certain to be relegated to the Second Division six games before the season's ending, after the defeat to Club Brugge. In 1974, they even relegated to the Third Division. Ghent had ended last and couldn't assure its place in Second Division in the final round. After one season, they would return to Second Division, lasted there until 1980, when the team returned to First Division. The 1980s would become a much better period for the team. Supporters returned to the stadium, and the team achieved good results. In 1984 they won the Belgian Cup again, and during that period the team played in European competitions four times. In 1986–87, Ghent reached the Third round in the UEFA Cup. In 1988 the team fell back to Second Division for a short while, but thanks to the final round, they were able to return to First Division after one season. A crucial role was played by a member of the Board of Directors, Marc Mortier who consulted the Prime Minister of Belgium, Wilfried Martens, in order to establish an organisation named Foot Invest, to get the team financially back on track. Marc Mortier gathered more than 50 million Belgian francs (1.25 million euros) in sponsoring in a couple of months and introduced VDK Spaarbank as the main sponsor of the team.

In 1990–91, the team played at the top of the standings for a long time, under the guidance of René Vandereycken and players such as Frank Dauwen, Eric Viscaal and Erwin Vandenbergh, but finally it ended on the third spot. So instead of competing in the UEFA Champions League, the team played in the UEFA Cup in 1991. After defeating Lausanne Sports, Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Dynamo Moscow, Ghent played the quarter finals against AFC Ajax. The following years, Ghent fell back to the lower places in the standings. From 1994 until 1997, they finished just above relegation the places in the league. By the end of the 1990s the results improved again, and with coach Trond Sollied, KAA Gent played European football again in 1999–2000. In these series, Ghent lost heavily against Ajax, under new coach Henk Houwaart. The next season, Ghent reached the UEFA Intertoto Cup, where it would reach the semi-finals against PSG. The following seasons, league results varied between lower sub-top places and top four finishes, but, as of today, they haven't been able to win the Belgian Pro League.

In 2004, Ghent signed coach Georges Leekens. In his first season, he ended at the sixth spot in competition. With Leekens as a coach, KAA Gent made some impressive performances, such as the 4–1 victory over the ever-lasting rival Club Brugge on April 1, 2006. In the season 2006–07, despite a weak start of the competition, the team managed to reach the fourth place in the Belgian Pro League. The repeated that achievement the following year.

After a drawn-out transfer soap, coach Georges Leekens left in the interval of the next season for Sporting Lokeren. Trond Sollied, the Norwegian trainer who had been very successful seven years before, succeeded him. Under his guidance, KAA Gent played its third Cup Final, in which it only lost at the end from RSC Anderlecht. Sollied left Ghent again after one season, this time for SC Heerenveen. Michel Preud'homme, who had just become champion of the Jupiler Pro League with Standard de Liège, signed, together with his colleagues Manu Ferrera and Stan Van Den Buys a contract for three seasons. In the season 2008–09, the team ended at the fourth spot, after a strong comeback in the second part of competition, with an equal number of points as Club Brugge, which had won one game extra and ended third.

In 2009–10, there was a heavy battle for the second place in the Belgian Pro League between AA Gent and Club Brugge and the Champions League ticket that comes with it. They played each other on May 8, 2010, Ghent won witha a convincing 6-2 score and won second place by that victory. One week later, Ghent also won the Belgian Cup for the first time in 26 years, defeating the other Bruges Pro League team, Cercle Brugge. On 24 May, coach Michel Preud'homme announced that he had signed a contract at FC Twente. He was replaced by Francky Dury, who had coached S.V. Zulte Waregem for several years. On May 14, 2011, after the loss against Genk, it was announced that Franky Dury and KAA Gent agreed to mutually terminate Dury's contract.

On June 10, 2011, KAA Gent has announced that Trond Sollied would become head coach for the third time. He was presented to the press and signed a contract for the next two seasons.