History
Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (French) Standard Luik (Dutch): Standard Lüttich (German), is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won the Belgian league on ten occasions, most recently in 2007–08 and 2008–09. They have been in the top flight without interruption since 1921, longer than any other Belgian side. They have also won eight Belgian Cups, and in 1981–82 they reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup, which they lost 2–1 against Barcelona.
Standard players are nicknamed les Rouches because of their red jerseys. The French word for red, rouge, when pronounced with a Liège accent, sounds like rouche.
On the first day of school in September 1898, the pupils of Collège Saint-Servais in Liège started a football club, which they called Standard of Liège in reference to Standard Athletic Club of Paris. Standard, whose official name is Royal Standard Club of Liège, was based in Cointe and Grivegnée before settling permanently in 1909 in Sclessin, an industrial neighbourhood in Liège. Standard initially joined the Belgian First League in 1909, before returning to the lower leagues a few years later. The club then gained promotion back to the top division in 1921 and has never been relegated since.
Shortly after World War II, Roger Petit, a former player and team captain, became general secretary of the club. Petit worked alongside President Henrard Paul to establish Standard among the elite of Belgian football. In 1954, Standard won their first club trophy, the Belgian Cup, which was soon followed by a first national title in 1957–58.
At European level, in the 1960s, the club reached the semi-finals of the European Cup in 1961–62, falling to beaten finalists Real Madrid 0–6 on aggregate, and the same stage of the Cup Winners' Cup in the year 1966–67, losing to eventual champions Bayern Munich. The 1960s and early 1970s brought much success to the club, as Standard won six Belgian First Division titles, two Belgian Cups and a League Cup.
Driven by the Austrian Ernst Happel, Standard won the Belgian Cup again in 1981. The following year, Raymond Goethals took control of the team. Playing by the "Raymond Science" philosophy of football, the club became twice the champions of Belgium, twice winners of the Belgian Supercup (in three appearances) and reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1982. Standard played against Barcelona in the final at the Camp Nou on 12 May 1982, losing the match 1–2 to the Spaniards.
In 1984, these exploits were tainted by the revelation of the Standard-Waterschei Affair. Just days before the match against Barcelona, to secure the championship of Belgium and guard against injuries last minute, Standard had approached Roland Janssen, the captain of Thor Waterschei, to ensure that Thor players' threw the final game of the season. This scandal involved several players, including Eric Gerets, and coach Raymond Goethals, who fled to Portugal to escape suspension. In compensation the Standard players gave their game bonuses to the Waterschei players. Following the scandal, Standard was deprived of many of its playing staff due to long-term suspensions and it took the club several years to recover from the incident.
On 6 June 1993, Standard won the Belgian Cup for the fifth time in its history, defeating Robert Waseige's Charleroi at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium in Brussels.
Following the scandal of 1982, it took 25 years before Standard won the Belgium Championship again, lifting the title on 20 April 2008. The club won the Belgian league again the following year, securing the club's tenth league title on 24 May 2009, after a home-and-away game against rivals Anderlecht. Standard won the national cup once more in 2011, defeating Westerlo 2–0 in the final at the King Baudouin Stadium on 21 May 2011. The club was bought by businessman Roland Duchatelet on 23 June 2011, who then took over English club Charlton in December 2013, creating an affiliation between the two clubs.
On June 24, 2015 it was announced that Roland Duchâtelet had sold his shares to vice-chairman Bruno Venanzi. Venanzi immediately announced that he would focus on strengthening the Academy and expanding the stadium.
Michel Preud'homme will make his appearance again on the banks of the Meuse in the 2018/2019 season, temporarily as a trainer but at the same time as vice-director.
At the beginning of March 2022, Bruno Venanzi sold the club to the American investment company 777 Partners from Miami. The acquisition was officially completed in mid-April 2022 and a transitional structure was worked out with Pierre Locht as CEO ad interim.
After a turbulent period under these foreign investors (777 Partners), it was announced in June 2025 that the club had come fully into the hands of its own CEO, Giacomo Angelini, following a capital increase of 28 million euros.
Chronological list of presidents of Standard de Liège:
- Joseph Debatty (1898-1902)
- Gaston Jacquet (1902-1903)
- Joseph Nollet (1903-1906)
- Léon Herzet (1906-1909)
- Maurice Dufrasne (1909-1931)
- Joseph Fernand Herzet (1931-1935)
- Hubert Delacolette (1935-1938)
- Léon Rassart (1938-1952)
- Paul Henrard (1952-1977)
- Charles Huriaux (1977-1986)
- Charles Heusghem (1986-1988)
- Jean Wauters (1988-1998)
- André Duchêne (1998-2000)
- Reto Stiffler (2000-2011)
- Roland Duchâtelet (2011-2015)
- Bruno Venanzi (2015-2022)
Club Records
Champion of Belgium (10)
1957–58, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1981–82, 1982–83, 2007–08, 2008–09
Belgian League Cup (1)
1975
Belgian Cup Winners
1953–54, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1980–81, 1992–93, 2010–11, 2015–16, 2017–18
Belgian Supercup (4)
1981, 1983, 2008, 2009
Most Goals
- Jean Capelle - 245 (1929-44)
- Roger Claessen - 161 (1956-68)
- Maurice Gillis - 124 (1919-35)
Golden Booth
- 1963: Jean Nicolay
- 1969, 1970: Wilfried Van Moer
- 1972: Christian Piot
- 1982: Eric Gerets
- 2005: Sérgio Conceição
- 2007: Steven Defour
- 2008: Axel Witsel
- 2009: Milan Jovanovic
