Gunther Jozef Hofmans (born 3 January 1967) is a former Belgian professional footballer who spent his entire career in Belgium playing as an attacking midfielder and striker for

Germinal Ekeren Koninklijke Beerschot Antwerpen Club (), simply known as Beerschot AC, was a Belgian football club based in southern Antwerp. Beerschot played in the Belgian Pro League from 1999–2000 (as Germinal Beerschot) until 2012–13, when they were r ...

and

Germinal Beerschot Koninklijke Beerschot Antwerpen Club (), simply known as Beerschot AC, was a Belgian football club based in southern Antwerp. Beerschot played in the Belgian Pro League from 1999–2000 (as Germinal Beerschot) until 2012–13, when they were ...

. He also represented the Belgium national team, winning one cap. He currently works as a team manager for Royal Antwerp, since 2011, having previously worked in the same position, at one of his previous clubs, Germinal Beerschot, from 2008 to 2011.

Club career

Hofmans started his career at youth club KFC Ranst, where he played from 1975 to 1984. He then joined

Racing Mechelen K.R.C. Mechelen is a Belgian association football club from Mechelen in the Antwerp province. It is a long-time rival of KV Mechelen. The club's best position ever is a second place in the first division 1951–52. KRC Mechelen also reached ...

in 1984, before moving to FC Nijlen the following year. Hofmans began playing on senior level in 1986, after completing a move to

, who were playing in the Belgian Third Division. In the 1987–88 season, he scored 17 goals for Ekeren as they were promoted to the

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

following a second place behind Stade Leuven. In the 1988–89 season, Hofmans made a total of 30 league appearances, scoring thirteen times for the Antwerp team, under Albert Bers as manager, as they were crowned winners that season, thus achieving promotion to the highest division. Hofmans helped Germinal Ekeren reach the final of the

1989–90 Belgian Cup The 1989–90 Belgian Cup was the 35th season of the main knockout competition in Belgian association football, the Belgian Cup. Final rounds The final phase started when all clubs from the top two divisions in Belgian football entered the compe ...

, where he scored the equalising goal as they suffered a 1–2 defeat to RFC Liège. Ekeren reached the final of the cup again in the following season, where they won 4–2 against

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

, with Hofmans netting the fourth goal. Following Ekeren's participation in the

1997–98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The 1997–98 season of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup club football tournament was won by Chelsea in the final against Stuttgart. Teams Qualifying round ;Notes *Note 1: Ararat Yerevan were awarded a 3–0 win in the qualifying ...

, Hofmans scored his only goal on 18 September 1997, as they won 3–2 against

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...

in the first leg of the commencing round, before they were eliminated 4–6 on aggregate in the next round by

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB Stu ...

. Hofmans transferred Germinal Beerschot in 1999, playing there for a season before retiring in 2000.

International career

Hofmans appeared only once for Belgium, making his debut on 22 April 1992, following his inclusion in the squad by Paul Van Himst, where he came on as a substitute for Marc Wilmots, who scored the winning goal in a 1–0 victory in their 1994 World Cup qualifier game against

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

Later career

Hofmans was appointed as team manager of Germinal Beerschot in 2008. He spent three years there, before being unveiled as the new team manager of Royal Antwerp in 2011, succeeding Patrick Vanoppen.

Honours

;Germinal Ekeren *

Belgian Second Division The Belgian Second Division (known as the Proximus League for sponsorship reasons) was the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was founded by the Royal Belgian Football Associa ...

: 1988–89 * Belgian Cup: 1996–97

References

External links

Gunther Hofmans
at Germinal Beerschot * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hofmans, Gunther 1967 births Living people People from Berchem Flemish sportspeople Beerschot A.C. players Belgian Pro League players Belgian footballers Belgium international footballers Association football midfielders Association football forwards Footballers from Antwerp