Karel Geraerts (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkaːrəl ˈɣeːraːrts]; born 5 January 1982) is a Belgian former footballer and head coach, most recently at Schalke 04.

Karel Geraerts
Personal information
Date of birth (1982-01-05) 5 January 1982 (age 42)
Place of birth Genk, Belgium
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Central midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2004 Club Brugge 9 (0)
2004Lokeren (loan) 16 (0)
2004–2007 Standard Liège 93 (16)
2007–2011 Club Brugge 119 (15)
2011–2014 OH Leuven 79 (13)
2014–2016 Charleroi 32 (2)
International career
2005–2009 Belgium 20 (4)
Managerial career
2022–2023 Union SG
2023–2024 Schalke 04
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

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Youth football

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Karel Geraerts grew up in Opgrimbie and started playing football in 1989 at local club CS Mechelen. At the age of 14, Geraerts made the switch to the youth team of Racing Genk, where he was picked up by Club Brugge after two seasons in the Genk youth team. In 2000, Geraerts ended up in the Club first-team squad, alongside fellow youngsters Stijn Stijnen, Hans Cornelis and Birger Maertens.

Club Brugge and Lokeren loan

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In the summer of 2000, the blue-blacks brought Timmy Simons to Brugge. The defensive midfielder immediately grew into a regular, meaning Geraerts would not immediately get his chance from trainer Trond Sollied. In the 2002/03 season, the young Limburger made a number of appearances as substitute, but did not enjoy a major breakthrough.

In January 2004, Geraerts was loaned to Sporting Lokeren for the second half of the 2003-04 season. Under trainer Franky Van der Elst, the blond midfielder became a regular at the Waaslanders. In a memorable away match against Westerlo, Geraerts scored his first goal at the highest level in a 7-3 win.

Standard Liège

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In the summer of 2004, Standard Liège signed the then 22-year-old midfielder, putting him into a strong Rouches squad alongside Sérgio Conceição, Vedran Runje, Mohammed Tchité, Oguchi Onyewu and Ivica Dragutinović. Standard competed for the title for most of the 2005-06 season, but eventually saw rivals Anderlecht become champions. The following season saw extra competition for Geraerts' place with Steven Defour, Axel Witsel and Marouane Fellaini arriving. Despite this, he was still often preferred by trainer Michel Preud'homme, and rewarded his coach's faith by scoring eight goals in 28 league appearances that season.

Club Brugge again

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Geraerts refused a contract extension at Standard in the summer of 2007, returning to Club Brugge, where he became a regular. As Standard claimed the next two league titles, Geraerts had little success on the sporting front in blue and black. Both trainer Jacky Mathijssen and his successor Adrie Koster were unable to win a prize at Bruges.

A heated encounter between Club Brugge and Gent saw Geraerts declare Club to be more worthy of second-place in the table ahead of Gent across the whole season. Partly fired up by Geraerts' words, Gent went on to win 6-2, with Buffalos chairman Ivan De Witte confronting Geraerts in the tunnel after the match, reportedly calling him a "big zero". A scuffle ensued after this, mainly invlolving Geraerts' goalkeeping team-mate Stijn Stijnen.

In the following 2010-11 season, Geraerts remained a key player in Bruges' midfield, but with Racing Genk emerging to hold off Standard Liege in the title race, and Anderlecht finishing third, the Club board informed Geraerts he could leave in the summer of 2011, and the midfielder was linked to several Turkish clubs.

Oud-Heverlee Leuven and Charleroi On 31 August 2011, the last day of the transfer window, Geraerts signed a contract with promoted club Oud-Heverlee Leuven, rapidly becoming a regular at the Leuven club.[1]

After three seasons at Den Dreef, it was announced in June 2014 that Geraerts would be allowed to leave OHL as a free agent, having served his full three-year contract.

Having been unable to find a club during the summer, Charleroi gave the contractless Geraerts a one-year deal on the final day of the transfer window in August. The ex-Red Devil became an important pawn in the midfield at Charleroi under up-and-coming coach Felice Mazzu, helping the Carolos win a place in the title play-offs with the Mambourg club. leroi. At the end of the season, his contract was extended for 1 year, with an option for an additional year. Geraerts remained on for one more season before announcing his retirement in January 2017.[2]

International career

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In 2005, Geraerts debuted for the Belgium national football team. In his first match in the starting line-up, on 12 October in and against Lithuania in a World Cup qualifier, he scored the opening goal. In all, Geraerts playing 20 times for the Red Devils, scoring four goals.

Coaching career

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After a two-year spell as technical co-ordinator at Oostende, Geraerts became assistant coach at Union SG in 2019, culminating in promotion to the top flight of the Belgian Pro League after 48 years away in 2021. Confounding expectations, Union challenged for the title at the first attempt under Geraerts and head coach Felice Mazzu. After leading the league for exactly 200 days, Union lost back-to-back play-off games against Club Brugge to finish second behind the Bruges side in the 2021-22 title race.

With Mazzu tempted away by Anderlecht within a week of season's end, Geraerts stepped up to become a head coach for the first time, succeeding Mazzu. For the 2022-23 season, Union were in the top four throughout, without ever leading at the end of a matchweek. But as one of three clubs still in contention for the title heading into the final day, Union's 1-0 lead over Club Brugge would have been enough to clinch their first crown since 1938, until conceding three goals in stoppage time, as Royal Antwerp earned a point at K.R.C. Genk to finish ahead of both Genk and Union.

Talks on an improved contract between Geraerts and the fiscally-sensible Union broke down, and within weeks of almost guiding them to the league crown, Geraerts' contract was not renewed. He moved to Schalke 04 in October 2023,[3] keeping them in the 2.Bundesliga by finishing tenth, twelve points above relegation. However, a poor start to the following season saw Schalke win only four points from their first five games, and when a 3-0 lead over Darmstadt turned into a 5-3 home loss, Geraerts and sporting director Marc Wilmots were dismissed on 21 September 2024.[4]

Career statistics

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International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[5]
National team Year Apps Goals
Belgium 2005 3 1
2006 8 1
2007 6 2
2008 1 0
2009 2 0
Total 20 4
Belgium score listed first, score column indicates score after each Geraerts goal
List of international goals scored by Karel Geraerts
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 12 October 2005 Žalgiris Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania   Lithuania 0–1 1–1 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 20 May 2006 Štadión Antona Malatinského, Trnava, Slovakia   Slovakia 1–1 1–1 Friendly
3 12 September 2007 Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan   Kazakhstan 0–1 2–2 UEFA Euro 2008 qualification
4 17 October 2007 Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels, Belgium   Armenia 3–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualification

Managerial

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As of 21 September 2024
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref.
G W D L Win %
Union SG 9 June 2022 21 June 2023 57 35 11 11 061.40 [6]
Schalke 04 9 October 2023 21 September 2024 33 12 7 14 036.36 [7]
Total 90 47 18 25 052.22

Honours

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Player

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Club Brugge[8]

Manager

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Individual

  • Raymond Goethals award: 2022[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Geraerts:"I want to attain the level of my best years at Club Brugge."" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 1 August 2011.
  2. ^ "Karel Geraerts hangt voetbalschoenen definitief aan de haak" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 4 January 2017.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "Karel Geraerts appointed new head coach of FC Schalke 04". schalke04.com. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Marc Wilmots and Karel Geraerts leave S04 with immediate effect". schalke04.com. 21 September 2024.
  5. ^ Karel Geraerts at National-Football-Teams.com
  6. ^ "Union Saint-Gilloise » Fixtures & Results 2022/2023". worldfootball.net.
  7. ^ "FC Schalke 04 – Trainer". Kicker (in German).
  8. ^ "Geschiedenis". Club Brugge. 8 July 2017.
  9. ^ "RACING GENK - CLUB BRUGGE 0-2". clubbrugge.be. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  10. ^ "Met Karel Geraerts krijgt weer de coach van Union de Trofee Raymond Goethals". Sporza (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 March 2023.
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