Ahead of Thursday night’s visit of RSC Anderlecht to London Stadium in the UEFA Europa Conference League, we look back on the Hammers’ links with the Kingdom of Belgium…
West Ham United face Belgian opposition for the fourth time in European competition this evening – and the second in successive seasons.
The Irons’ first two meetings with clubs from the country were both historic occasions, with La Gantoise – now KAA Gent – providing West Ham’s first-ever competitive European opposition back in the late summer of 1964, and tonight’s visitors RSC Anderlecht doing so in the 1976 European Cup Winners’ Cup final.
The third was just last season, when the Hammers faced KRC Genk twice in UEFA Europa League Group H.
There are plenty of historic links between the Hammers and the Kingdom of Belgium so, without further ado, let us look back on them…
Royal Standard set...
West Ham United produced a superb first-half performance to see off Royal Standard de Liège in the Club’s first-ever meeting with Belgian opposition.
The Hammers had finished in an underwhelming 13th place in the Second Division in the 1950/51 season, but Ted Fenton’s side swept aside their opponents with three well-taken goals at the Boleyn Ground.
The fixture was held on Saturday 12 May 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain, a national celebration of all things British held to mark the centennial of the Great Exhibition of 1851.
After sailing to Dover, the Standard Liège squad had travelled to Portsmouth, where they visited the Royal Naval dockyard and HMS Victory before taking on the town’s football team.
The Belgians then headed for east London, where they found Fenton’s Hammers in fine form.
Ted Woodgate, Irishman Tommy Moroney and Jim Barrett all scored inside the opening 45 minutes to give West Ham a comfortable 3-1 lead at the break, with Jean Jadot on target for the visitors.
With Standard Liège goalkeeper Bookaerts in acrobatic form, the home side were unable to add to their tally after the break, while a mistake from goalkeeper George Taylor allowed Joseph Givard to give the final score a somewhat flattering look for the Belgians.
The two clubs met for a second time in the southern Swedish city of Växjö on 1 August 1972.
The fixture was part of a triangular tournament hosted by local club Östers IF and ended in a 1-1 draw with Billy Bonds heading West Ham’s goal.
Cup winners collide...
After making a first visit to Belgium for a goalless friendly draw with Charleroi in April 1959, FA Cup holders West Ham United were drawn to face La Gantoise in the European Cup Winners’ Cup preliminary round in September 1964.
Like the Hammers, La Gantoise – now named KAA Gent – had won their domestic cup competition for the first time the previous season, having beaten KFC Diest 4-2 after extra-time in the final.
The first leg was held at the Jules Ottenstadion on 23 September, where marching bands, cheerleaders and a thousand travelling West Ham supporters among the 18,000-strong crowd made for a carnival atmosphere.
With Martin Peters influential from an unfamiliar left-back position, the Irons dominated their hosts for long periods, but had just one goal to show for their efforts come the final whistle.
Ronnie Boyce, whose header had secured the FA Cup and West Ham’s passage into Europe, was again the scorer, nodding Alan Sealey’s corner high into the net seven minutes into the second half.
Newspaper reports (pictured, above) suggested Ron Greenwood’s side should have won more comfortably,
With La Gantoise unable to match their English opponents for technical ability, the second leg, played in Upton Park on 7 October, was similarly uneventful.
The headline in the following morning’s Times newspaper told the story in but a few words: ‘West Ham scrape through on aggregate – Belgian amateurs take the honours in inefficient match’.
In his memoir 1966 And All That, Sir Geoff Hurst described the game as 'indifferent', summing up a low-key evening in east London.
Greenwood made two changes to his starting XI from that game, replacing injured goalkeeper Jim Standen with 20-year-old Alan Dickie and Sealey with Peter Brabrook on the right wing.
Described as ‘distinctly below par’ by the same Times report, West Ham ‘tried to play at a breakneck speed as if trying to catch the last train’ as they went in search of an early goal to effectively end the hopes of their part-time opponents.
John Sissons rattled the post with an early shot but, despite incessant pressure, an early home goal did not materialise, leaving the vast majority of the 24,000 fans present at the Boleyn Ground frustrated.
Unable to score for themselves, West Ham did so for the Belgians on 32 minutes, when Peters mistakenly knocked the ball past Dickie and into the net for an own-goal.
Thankfully for the home side, their superiority was ultimately rewarded three minutes before half-time when Sissons crossed for Johnny Byrne to convert, putting the Irons 2-1 ahead on aggregate.
There were no further goals in the second half, meaning West Ham had won through to the second round, but it had not been easy.
Of course, Greenwood’s men went on to defeat Spartak Prague of Czechoslovakia, Lausanne of Switzerland, Real Zaragoza of Spain and TSV Munich 1860 to win the European Cup Winners’ Cup at the first attempt – and their road to Wembley had started in Belgium.
Beaten in Brussels...
After overcoming a stubborn La Gantoise in the late summer of 1964, West Ham United did not face Belgian opposition in competitive action again until May 1976.
This time it was Anderlecht and the occasion was the European Cup Winners’ Cup final, which was incidentally played in the Belgians’ home city of Brussels at the Heysel Stadium.
John Lyall’s Hammers had travelled far and wide to reach the final, defeating Lahden Reipas of Finland and Ararat Yerevan of the Soviet Union, before overcoming Den Haag of the Netherlands and Eintracht Frankfurt of West Germany in truly classic two-legged ties.
Anderlecht had edged past Rapid București of Romania, Borac Banja Luka of Yugoslavia and Wrexham of Wales before sweeping aside Sachsenring Zwickau of East Germany 5-0 in the semi-finals.
And, despite a spirited performance from the Irons, the star-studded Belgian side had too much for the English team on home turf.
Pat Holland put West Ham into the lead on 28 minutes, but a mistake from Frank Lampard Senior just before half-time led to Dutch international Robbie Rensenbrink equalising past Mervyn Day.
Future West Ham striker François van der Elst put Anderlecht in front on 48 minutes, but Keith Robson drew the Londoners level again midway through the second half when he converted Trevor Brooking’s cross.
A second European Cup Winners’ Cup title was not to be, however, as Holland fouled Rensenbrink and the same player beat Day from the penalty spot on 73 minutes, before Van der Elst ran through with two minutes of the 90 remaining to make the final score 4-2 in the Belgians’ favour.
Goals galore...
The two clubs have met three times since, including last week's UECL Group B tie in Brussels, with Geoff Pike’s header securing a 1-0 semi-final win at the pre-season La Gantoise Tournament on 6 August 1982.
And, prior to last week's tie, West Ham’s most-recent meeting with Anderlecht saw Alan Pardew’s team play out a thrilling 4-4 draw in the pre-season Out Performance Display Cup at the Boleyn Ground on 31 July 2004.
Strikers Mbo Mpenza and Aruna Dindane fired Anderlecht into a 2-0 lead before Chris Cohen pulled one back and visiting goalkeeper Martin Ditka was sent-off for handling outside his penalty area.
That red card sparked a shift and West Ham stormed 4-2 ahead, with Andy Melville, Teddy Sheringham and Jobi McAnuff all beating substitute stopper Tristan Peersman.
The Belgian champions were down but they were not out, though, and they staged a late comeback, with Mpenza scoring two late goals to complete his hat-trick and send the game to penalties.
There, after nine successful spot-kicks, Adam Nowland tried to chip his effort down the middle and was denied by Peersman, seeing Anderlecht run out 5-4 shootout winners.
Of course, the Hammers won 1-0 at Lotto Park a week ago, when Gianluca Scamacca's second-half goal settled the UECL Group B Matchday Three tie.
François Van Der Elst
Born in Opwijk in Belgium on 1 December 1954, François Van der Elst first came to the attention of Hammers fans when he scored two goals against the Club for Anderlecht in the 1976 European Cup Winners’ Cup final.
His performance alongside the great Robbie Rensenbrink played a key role in a thrilling final that Anderlecht won 4-2 at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels.
He went on to win another Cup Winners’ Cup winners medal with Anderlecht in 1978, was given the nickname ‘Mister Europe’ by the club’s fans after scoring 20 goals in 43 European appearances.
In January 1982, after a brief spell with New York Cosmos in the USA, Van der Elst arrived at Upton Park in a £400,000 deal.
He made his debut as a substitute for Alan Devonshire in a 1-0 defeat at Brighton on 16 January and went on to make a further 21 appearances that season, scoring five goals.
The following campaign, he became a regular in John Lyall’s team, making 40 appearances and scoring nine First Division goals. A skilful, intelligent forward, Van der Elst became a firm favourite among the Upton Park faithful who appreciated his creativity and eye for goal.
In the summer of 1983, after 70 appearances and 17 goals for West Ham, he returned home to Belgium to sign for Lokeren, where he finished his playing career in 1986.
Van der Elst won 44 caps for the Belgium national team, including an appearance in the 1980 UEFA European Championship final against West Germany. He also appeared at the 1982 FIFA World Cup finals in Spain and scored 14 goals for his country.
In retirement, Van der Elst ran a billiards hall in his home country, where he remained in regular contact with the Belgian Irons supporters’ club.
He remains one of only two Belgian players to represent West Ham alongside goalkeeper Ruud Boffin, who made a single Premier League appearance at Blackburn Rovers in December 2010.
After suffering a number of health problems, François Van der Elst passed away in January 2017, aged 62.
The Smurfs
Among the three clubs drawn to face West Ham United in last season’s UEFA Europa League group stage were Belgian Cup holders KRC Genk.
The Smurfs had been crowned Belgian champions in 2019 and had a reputation for developing outstanding young talents, including Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, and their youthful team gave the Hammers a decent test in both ties.
At London Stadium, Craig Dawson’s header on the stroke of half-time broke an even contest open and two goals in two second-half minutes from Issa Diop and Jarrod Bowen broke the Belgians’ resistance.
Two weeks later, Genk proved even stronger opponents on home turf as they took a fourth-minute lead through Joseph Pantsil’s strike. Saïd Benrahma’s superb double appeared to have turned the tie in the Irons’ favour, only for Tomáš Souček’s late own-goal to secure the Smurfs a share of the spoils.
