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Belgian great Goethals dies Monday, 6 December 2004 The first man to lead a French club to victory in a European competition, Belgian Raymond Goethals, died today aged 83. Marseille triumph Goethals also guided his country to third place at the 1972 UEFA European Championship on home soil but achieved greater success at club level, notably in 1993 when he masterminded Olympique de Marseille's defeat of AC Milan in the inaugural UEFA Champions League final. European finals Born in Brussels in October 1921, Goethals also had a successful spell with Belgian side RSC Anderlecht. He led them to the final of the 1977 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, where they lost to Hamburger SV in Amsterdam, before going one better the following year, beating FK Austria Wien 4-0 in Paris. World Cup An attempt to repeat that success with R. Standard de Liège in 1982 was dashed by FC Barcelona as the Catalans ran out 2-1 winners in front of 100,000 fans at their Camp Nou home. The coach of Belgium between 1968 and 1976, he steered the Red Devils to the 1970 FIFA World Cup finals as well as third place in the European Championship two years later.

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Grand farewell for Goethals Monday, 13 December 2004 Six former players carried the coffin of Raymond Goethals as the football world turned out to pay its respects to a Belgian legend today. Famous pallbearers Paul Van Himst, Georges Heylens, Odilon Polleunis, Christian Piot, Basile Boli and Rob Rensenbrink were the pallbearers at the ceremony at the Koekelberg Basilica, a church built in the area where Goethals, who died last Monday at the age of 83, first kicked a ball as a child. European finals Goethals coached RSC Anderlecht and R. Standard de Liège to European finals and in 1993 became the first man to guide a French club to victory on the continent as Olympique de Marseille overcame AC Milan in the inaugural UEFA Champions League final. He also steered Belgium to third place at the 1972 UEFA European Championship. 'Simple man' Standard coach Dominique D' Onofrio and technical director Michel Preud'homme were in attendance along with a number of other staff from the Belgian club, such as those who sell tickets, merchandise and food. Van Himst, Belgium's player of the century, said: "That shows that Raymond Goethals was a simple man who got along with everyone at the clubs he worked at." Courtois speech Alain Courtois, a former general secretary of the Belgian Football Association, spoke passionately about the life and career of Goethals. "You gave passion to the sport; a lot of passion," he said. "Belgium exists through you." Another Belgian coaching great, Guy Thys, died in August 2003.

R.I.P Raymond