On Tuesday morning former Lierse player Goran Miljanovic (b. 2/10/1956) passed away after a long illness.

Miljanovic came to Lierse in 1988 aged 31 via Sloboda Tuzia (1978-88). He played 26 League matches and 1 Cup match for Lierse, and scored 2 goals. Due to injury, he didn’t feature in his 2nd season on the Lisp. The midfielder also played 15 times for the Yugoslavian national team.

Goran later played for FC Herentals and AC Olen. He was also trainer of FC Herentals, and also of SKS Herentals and Netegalm. The Slavian Belgian was also captain and trainer of  ZVC Breitex. Goran settled in Belgium with his wife Dragica and 2 sons, Nenad and Milan.

The Board of Lierse SK offers its deepest sympathy to family and friends of Goran, and wishes them much strength in this difficult period.

Ex-Lierse figurehead Frans Vermeyen was born on the 25th March 1943. He played his first match for Lierse vs Gent on 6th September 1959 after transferring from HIH Turnhout. He scored in each of his first three matches for Lierse, and is still one of the youngest players to debut for Lierse. In his rookie season, he won the Title with Lierse (4 goals in 8 matches), whereby Lierse qualified for European football for the first time. Lierse losing to Barcelona.

Frans was selected for the Belgium national team, and made his debut away to Spain on 1st December 1963 (2-1 win). He was part of a strong squad with Nicolay, Devrindt, Trappeniers, Puis, Semmeling, Van Himst and Lierse teammate Robert Willems. He was third that year in the ‘Golden Boot’ awards.

The blond striker was a key player in the Cup winning Lierse side of 1969, scoring 3 times.

He was part of the fantatstic UEFA Cup run of Lierse in the ‘71-’72 season, which saw Lierse knock out Leeds Utd, Rosenborg and PSV, before losing to AC Milan in the quarter-finals. By winning against Leeds Utd at Elland Road, Lierse became the first Belgian team to win on English soil.

In the summer of ‘73 Frans moved to Antwerp FC, where they were League runners-up in his first season.

Frans Vermeyen played 366 league matches in 16 seasons in the First Division. He was regarded as the leader of the team with a clear match vision, precision passing, and a perfect kicking technique. He amassed 6 caps and scored twice against France (3-0). He played 29 Cup matches, and 14 European matches (5 goals).

Frans is still heavily involved with Lierse. He follows all Lierse matches, and is regularly to be seen at training. The board and the webteam via this tribute wish Frans a happy 65th birthday, and many more years as a faithful and dedicate Lierseman!

Lierse is investigating the possibility of a collaboration agreement with English club Arsenal.

Maged Samy: ” There has been a strong link between Arsenal and Wadi Degla FC for 5 years. In Wadi Degla we have an Arsenal Soccer School, where hundreds of young players have been coached by Arsenal coaches, and Egyptian trainers. The representative of this Soccer School, Jean-Marc Guillou, is a good friend of Arsenal coach Arsène Wenger. We want to extend the strong connection between Wadi Degla & Arsenal to Lierse. We’ve already made initial contact with Arsenal, and agreed to meet in May, either in London or in Lier. Our request will be to place a few B-team players from Arsenal with Lierse.

This collaboration is still in its infancy, but we hope by the end of the season to give more detail.”

On Monday evening, Lierse chairman Leo Theyskens and academy representative Vincent Dufour gave a press conference to announce the launch of a new Jean-Marc Guillou Academy in Belgium. The JMG Academies are famous worldwide for their outstanding training of young players, a few successful examples of famous ex-academy players are Yaya Touré (Barcelona), Salomon Kalou (Chelsea) and Eboué (Arsenal). The Belgian branch of the Academy will launch on 1st September, godfather of the academy will be Aruna Dindane. There is a planned budget of 15 million Euro.

Leo Theyskens: “We are delighted to announce the opening of a new school in Belgium. The JMG Academy is the ideal partner for this project. They have been in existence since 1994, and have 8 academies worldwide, from where a lot of talent has come. This Academy is made up of Lierse youth, who will be able to profit from the infrastructure.”

The idea is that the the new Academy will be in the Lier area.

Theyskens: “There has been no decision made on the location. Within the next fortnight a definite answer must be forthcoming. A suitable site isn’t obvious, given the various demands. It’ll be a somewhat special infrastructure, with among other things, a covered sport hall with an artificial grass pitch. There will also be classrooms, restrooms, medical infrastructure etc.”

The Academy will be a boarding school, with a solid educational schooling.

Theyskens: “The players will be intensively coached. The emphasis will be on languages, PC training, and general subjects. The classes will consist of a maximum of 5 pupils, in order to get the maximum possible personal coaching. After 7 years the pupil will have developed into a fully fledged footballer and person.”

There is a budget foreseen of 15 million Euro. A serious investment, which will only recuperate its costs in the long term.

Theyskens: “Lierse wants to carry out an active transfer policy, and as a result invest in youth. The seeds will be sown now, to ‘harvest’ the results in 7 or 8 years’ time. After 7 years, Lierse will have the first pick from the Academy. The Academy will be self-supporting, and will cost the footballer and his family nothing. We’ve spoken with a number of sponsors, but the budget is near enough attainable.”