The 1971–72 season was the 69th season of competitive

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. RSC Anderlechtois won their 15th Division I title and made the double by beating Standard Club Liégeois in the

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

final (1-0). Standard Club Liégeois reached the quarter-finals of the 1971–72 European Champion Clubs' Cup and K Lierse SK the quarter-finals of the first ever

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. The

Belgium national football team The Belgium national football team has represented Belgium in men's international Association football, football since Évence Coppée Trophy, their maiden match in 1904. The squad is under the global jurisdiction of FIFA and is governed in E ...

qualified for the first time for the

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

finals, by finishing first of their group and by beating

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in the second qualifying round. Belgium was subsequently chosen to host the finals, of which they finished 3rd. For the first time, a

Belgian Women's First Division The Belgian Women's First National Division, formerly Belgian Women's First Division is the second highest women's football league of Belgium. The league was the top level league until 2011–12. It was first played in 1973–74. From 2012 to 20 ...

championship was played (with three leagues at the top level), won by Astrio Begijnendijk.

Overview

Belgium finished the first

UEFA Euro 1972 qualifying The qualifying round for the 1972 European Football Championship consisted of 32 teams divided into eight groups of four teams. Each group winner progressed to the quarter-finals. The quarter-finals were played in two legs on a home-and-away bas ...

round by losing to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and drawing against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, though their good start (4 wins) was enough to secure the first place in Group 5 with 9 points (2 points ahead of Portugal). Belgium thus qualified for the second qualifying round, to be played against Group 6 winners, Italy, on a home and away basis. The first game ended in a goalless draw, and Belgium qualified for the finals by beating Italy in the second game (2-1). For the first time in their history, Belgium would take part in the European Championship finals. Belgium was even chosen to host the finals (two semi-finals, a game for third-place and the final). They lost however in the semifinals to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

(1-2) at the

Bosuilstadion The Bosuilstadion is an association football stadium in the city of Antwerp, Belgium. The stadium was opened in 1923 and has been the home of Royal Antwerp ever since. It has a capacity of 16,144,

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, but won the game for the third-place against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

(2-1). The final was won by West Germany against

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(3-0). Belgium also started their qualifying campaign for the

1974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the 10th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the ...

with two wins over

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. At the end of the season,

KSV Waregem Koninklijke Sportvereniging Waregem was a Belgium, Belgian football club that existed between 1925 and 2001. It played three spells at the Belgian First Division A, highest level in the Belgian football league system each separated by a single se ...

and

KSK Beveren KSK Beveren (''Royal Sporting Club of Beveren'') is a Belgian football club from Beveren in East Flanders with founded number 2300 and with yellow and blue as colors. The club became national champion twice in its existence and won the Belgian ...

were relegated to Division II, to be replaced by

K Berchem Sport K. Berchem Sport is a Belgian association football club based in the district of Berchem in the municipality of Antwerp and currently playing in the Belgian Division 2. It has formerly played in the First Division. The club was founded in 1906 ...

and

K Beringen FC Koninklijke Beringen Football Club was a Belgian football club from the municipality of Beringen, Limburg (Belgium). It existed between 1924 and 2002. History The club was founded in 1924 as Cercle Sportif Kleine Heide and it became a member of ...

from Division II.
The bottom 2 clubs in Division II ( K Waterschei SV Thor Genk and R.C.S. Verviétois) were relegated to Division III, to be replaced by

KSC Lokeren Koninklijke Sporting Club Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen (), often simply called Sporting Lokeren or Lokeren, was a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Lokeren, in the province of East Flanders. The club was founded in 1923 but ce ...

and KFC Winterslag (after winning a play-off game 2–1 against VV Patro Eisden) from Division III.
The bottom club of each Division III league ( K Willebroekse SV, RE Mouscron, KSC Maccabi Voetbal Antwerp and Wavre Sports) were relegated to Promotion, to be replaced by R Jet de Bruxelles, R Stade Waremmien FC, KVV Looi Sport Tessenderlo and Kortrijk Sport from Promotion..

National team

Key * H = Home match * A = Away match * N = On neutral ground * F = Friendly * ECQ = European Championship qualification * ECP = European Championship play-off * ECSF = European Championship semifinals * ECTG = European Championship third-place game * WCQ = World Cup qualification * o.g. = own goal

European competitions

Standard Club Liégeois beat

Linfield FC Linfield Football Club is a Northern Irish professional football club, based in south Belfast, which plays in the NIFL Premiership – the highest level of the Northern Ireland Football League. The fourth-oldest club on the island of Irela ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

in the first round of the 1971–72 European Champion Clubs' Cup (won 2–0 at home, 3–2 away), and

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

in the second round (lost 0–1 away, won 2–0 at home). In the quarter-finals, Standard lost to FC Internazionale on away goals (lost 0–1 away, won 2–1 at home). K Beerschot VAV beat

Anorthosis Famagusta FC Anorthosis Famagusta (), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Famagusta multi-sport club founded in 1911 in Varosha, Famagusta.

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

in the first round of the

1971–72 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1971–72 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup football club tournament was won by Rangers, who defeated Dynamo Moscow in the final. Preliminary round First leg ---- Second leg ''4–4 on aggregate; Austria Wien won on away goa ...

(won 7–0 at home, 1–0 away) but they lost in the second round to Dynamo Berlin of

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

(lost both legs 1–3). The

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, most commonly referred to as the Fairs Cup and sometimes as the European Fairs Cup or Fairs Cities' Cup, was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The Fairs Cup was the idea of FIFA vice-presid ...

was taken over by

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

at the start of the season, and was renamed

. The 3 Belgian clubs who qualified for the

1971–72 UEFA Cup The 1971–72 UEFA Cup was the inaugural season of the UEFA Cup, now known as the UEFA Europa League, which became the third club football competition organised by UEFA. The tournament retained the structure and format of the Inter-Cities Fairs C ...

were RFC Brugeois, RSC Anderlechtois and K Lierse SK.
In the first round, K Lierse SK surprisingly beat the last Inter-Cities Fairs Cup winner

Leeds United AFC Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

(lost 0–2 at home, won 4–0 away), but RFC Brugeois lost to

FK Željezničar Sarajevo Fudbalski klub Željezničar Sarajevo ( sh-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Жељезничap Сарајево; English language, English: Football Club Željezničar Sarajevo), commonly referred to as Željo, is a professional Association fo ...

(lost 0–3 away, won 3–1 at home) and RSC Anderlechtois lost to

Bologna FC 1909 Bologna Football Club 1909, commonly referred to as Bologna (), is an Italian professional football club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna that plays in Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. The club have won seven top-flight titles, thr ...

(drew 1–1 away, lost 0–2 at home).
In the second round, K Lierse SK confirmed their good form by eliminating

Rosenborg BK Rosenborg Ballklub, commonly referred to simply as Rosenborg () or RBK, is a Norwegian professional association football, football club from Trondheim that plays in Eliteserien (football), Eliteserien. The club has won a record 26 league titles ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

on away goals (lost 1–4 away, won 3–0 at home), then

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in the third round (lost 0–1 away, won 4–0 at home).
They were only stopped in the quarter-finals by Milan AC (lost 0–2 away, drew 1–1 at home).

Honours

Final league tables

Premier Division

* 1971-72 Top scorer:

Raoul Lambert Raoul Lambert (born 20 October 1944) is a Belgian retired footballer who played as a striker. He finished top scorer of the Belgian First Division with 17 goals in 1972 while playing for Club Brugge. He also scored 18 goals in 33 matches with t ...

(RFC Brugeois) with 17 goals * 1970 Golden Shoe:

Erwin Vandendaele Erwin Vandendaele (born 5 March 1945) is a Belgian former professional footballer who won the Belgian Golden Shoe in 1971 while at Club Brugge. He played 32 times for the Belgium national team between 1970 and 1977, starting in a 2–1 friendl ...

(RFC Brugeois)http://www.footbel.com/fr/Competitites/statistieken/gouden_schoen.html FA Website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1971-72 in Belgian football Seasons in Belgian football Belgian

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...