From the German Harry Kane to PSG’s family: The Story of KAS Eupen | OneFootball

It was July 9, 1945, and Belgium was going through a complete overhaul. Just seven months prior, the Western European nation had been liberated from four years of occupation by Nazi Germany. Over in the German-speaking region of Belgium, two football clubs – Jugend Eupen and FC Eupen 1920 – decided to merge forces and create a new club: Königliche Allgemeine Sportvereinigung Eupen.

K.A.S. Eupen began their journey in the Liège Provincial Division II, constructing the infrastructure for their Kehrwegstadion, which has remained as their stadium ever since. They suffered relegation to the Regional Division II, but under the watchful eye of player-coach Roger Burgers, Eupen were able to claim their first-ever title, following it up with yet another title to reach the national divisions for the first time in 1951. However, their stint was short-lived, and it wasn’t until the 1960s that they managed to achieve some stability under Hubert Van Dormael, who guided them to a historic promotion to the Belgian Third Division and then promotion to the Second Division. Eupen managed to avoid the drop and stabilize themselves as a midtable fixture, but in 1972, Van Dormael was replaced by Gerhard Prokop as player-coach.

Whilst they lacked precious funds, Eupen embarked on various ambitious signings and purchased a number of German players such as Rot-Weiß Oberhausen top goal scorer Ulrich Kallius, who excelled in attack with 16 goals in 25 matches in 1972/73. Similarly to modern forwards like Harry Kane and Luis Suárez, Kallius was a multifaceted striker who was capable of not just banging in goals, but swiveling out of pressure, dropping deep and threading through passes into the final third.

Despite persisting financial issues, Eupen continued to develop its infrastructure and build its board of directors and install new lighting at their home ground. However, the constant departures of key players would see their form tank, suffering relegation in 1975. They would yo-yo back and forth between the lower leagues, but the 1990s brought brighter skies for Eupen, who reached an agreement with the city to build a brand-new all-seater stand, including a cafeteria and a business section. However, it wasn’t until 2010 that Eupen finally managed to reach the upper echelon, becoming the first team from the German-speaking community of Belgium to reach the top-tier.

Eupen endured a difficult start to their top-flight journey, initially playing matches in Sint-Truiden whilst their stadium was being rebuilt in order to comply with the professionalisation requirements, and suffering five defeats in five matches. They fought relegation over the entire course of the season and had to enter the relegation playoffs, where they dropped down to the second tier. In June 2012, the club was purchased by the Qatari government and its Aspire Zone Foundation, who announced their desire to use Eupen as a launching paid into European football for its academy graduates. Thanks to this bevy of young talents from Africa, Asia and South America, Eupen were able to continue their steady rise and earn promotion to the top-flight in 2016, and this time, they managed to stave off the drop.

Eupen then sold their two top scorers – Henry Onyekuru and Mamadou Sylla – and struggled with the threat of relegation in 2017/18, causing them to shuffle through various different managers. They went into the final day tied on points with KV Mechelen, albeit with a slightly worse goal difference. With Mechelen winning 2-0 against Waasland-Beveren at the hour-mark, and with Eupen drawing 0-0 to Royal Excel Mouscron, it seemed that the Pandas were destined to return to the second tier; only three goals could save them. They did just that; Yuta Toyokawa knocked home a free kick from captain Luis García in the 73rd minute, whilst García doubled their lead shortly after. Toyokawa would end up scoring a hat-trick to secure a 4-0 win, an unlikely escape from relegation, and the “miracle of the Kehrweg.”

The 2018/19 season, however, would see Eupen steer clear of the relegation battle under Claude Makélélé and finish 12th. This impressive form enabled them to sign a number of high-quality players in the summer of 2019 like Andreas Beck, Ortwin De Wolf, Adalberto Peñaranda, Jens Cools, Jordi Amat, Jon Bautista and more.

“I never thought I’d land in Belgium,” stated Beck. “My brother called me and said, ‘There’s a club in Belgium that wants to sign you,’ and I thought it might be Anderlecht or Antwerp, he said it was Eupen, which I’d never heard of. It was a very serious club, and they wanted an experienced veteran like me to hold the group together. I felt like I needed to go into the wild again and leave Swabia, and it was the right decision. Playing in the Belgian top-flight was very demanding, every team has top talents, and you’re fighting to survive in the league every day. These clubs buy low, sell high, and give raw talents the opportunity to play. Playing as an older wing-back against guys like Jérémy Doku was very fun.”

Eupen finished 13th in the COVID-shortened season before placing 12th in 2020/21, during which they also reached the Belgian Cup semi-finals. However, their decision to replace manager Beñat San José with Stefan Krämer didn’t quite go as planned. Despite a promising start to the season, Eupen regressed to 15th and narrowly avoiding relegation. They would end up finishing 15th and 14th over the next two seasons, the latter of which saw them finish fourth in the relegation playoffs and drop down to the second tier.

Whilst Nasser Al-Thani’s other team – Paris Saint-Germain – are gunning for a domestic treble and a first-ever Champions League trophy, his other team Eupen currently find themselves in 11th place, far outside of the promotion spots. They have won just two of their last 12 matches, and they look set for yet another year in Belgium’s second division.

Zach Lowy