Standard Liège

I f you go to Liege and mention "Les Rouges," everybody will know you're talking about Standard Liege. With 10 championship titles and 8 cup trophies, Standard is certainly one of the most successful Belgian football clubs of all time. They haven't been relegated from the top flight since 1921, which is still the longest streak in the history of Belgian football.

History

The Maurice Dufrasne Era

Standard Liege was founded by the students of College Saint-Servais. The official founding date was September 1st, 1898 – the first day of school. Inspired by Standard Athletic Club of Paris, the founders named their new club Standard de Liege. Originally, the club was based in Cointe and Grivegnee; by 1909, however, it had been permanently moved to Sclessin, an industrial district in Liege.

The year of 1909 also saw Maurice Dufrasne take over as chairman of the club, a position he would keep until 1931. Dufrasne was popular with the players; anytime they played well, he would take them to his home and fix them a meal. Eventually, the club's stadium was named in his honor. In 1921, Standard made its way to the top division, and they would never again be relegated from it.

Initial Successes

In the wake of World War II, Standard appointed former team captain Roger Petit as general secretary. Under Petit, the club started to establish itself as one of the top Belgian clubs. After claiming its first Belgian Cup in 1958, Standard immediately followed it up with its first national title. They won two more Belgian Championships in 1961 and 1963, along with reaching their first European Cup semi-finals in 1962.

The club continued to gain momentum throughout the 60's and early 70's, securing three additional Belgian Championships and two Belgian Cups along the way. They also reached the semi-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1967, where they lost to eventual champions Bayern Munich. However, mid-to-late 70's were somewhat of a dry period for the club, which couldn't contend with Club Brugge.

Heady Times

Under coach Raymond Goethals, Standard went back to competing for championships. Goethals brought his famous "Raymond Science" philosophy to the club, which proved to be a huge success. The club won two consecutive titles in 1982 and 1983, and also reached the Cup Winners' Cup finals in 1982. In a hard-fought match at the Camp Nou, Standard narrowly lost 2-1 to Barcelona.

However, these recent exploits were tainted by a match-fixing scandal that shook Belgian football to its core. As it turned out, just a couple of days before the Barcelona match, Standard players offered their game bonuses to the players of Thor Waterschei in exchange for throwing the game. Once the scandal was uncovered, Goethals and many Standard players received long-term suspensions. It took a couple of years for the club to recover from this incident.

Recent History

On the 25-year anniversary of the 1982 scandal, Standard won its ninth Belgian Championship. They won the league again the very next year, defeating rivals Anderlecht in a key home-and-away game. In 2011, the club was bought by Roland Duchatelet, who immediately created an affiliation between Standard and the English club Charlton. From that point onward, Standard won three more Belgian Cups in 2011, 2016, and 2018.

By Martin Wahl

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Li%C3%A8ge
http://rebelultras.com/2014/01/29/history-of-standard/