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Karel Geraerts
Karel Geraerts (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkaːrəl ˈɣeːraːrts]; born 5 January 1982) is a Belgian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Ligue 2 club Reims.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Karel Geraerts
Karel Geraerts (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkaːrəl ˈɣeːraːrts]; born 5 January 1982) is a Belgian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Ligue 2 club Reims.
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.
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.
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.
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.