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Will Rapha be Rik’s successor?

For the first time in many many years Beerschot has a strong candidate to come up top in “The Golden Boot” referendum that crowns Belgium’s best footballer of the year. His name: Raphael Holzhauser, 27 years old, Austrian international, goal maker and goal scorer with a magical left foot. Beerschot’s “Mister 50%”. With 11 goals and 8 assists he is currently second best in the Jupiler Pro League, right behind Paul Onuachu of Racing Genk. With those impressive facts and figures he thoroughly deserves to win the trophy.

If he comes up trumps in the referendum he will be the ideal successor of Rik Coppens who in 1954 won the very first Golden Boot in Belgian football history. Up til now Rik still is the only Beerschot player to do so. By the way, at the time a paragraph in the ruling stipulated that a footballer could win the trophy only once. A great pity for Coppens who in that era was by far Belgium’s best footballer and would have won the trophy three, four or even more times without that restriction.

The Golden Boot referendum was founded in 1954 by Charles Baete, a former Beerschot player who became a journalist at Het Laatste Nieuws after his playing career. He contacted quite a few of his colleagues and asked them to vote for players who had impressed during the football season.  Rik Coppens won the first edition handsomely. He clocked off with 203 votes. Jef Mermans of Anderlecht finished second with 88. Journalist Jan Herdies wrote: “This is the year in which Rik Coppens discerned himself on international level, both as a playmaker and a goal scorer. He is by far the most talented player in the country right now.”

In those days the presentation of “The Golden Boot” was very down to earth. No big show with heavily made up WAGS in uplifted bras. “I was asked by the organizers to donate a football boot to be gilded”, Coppens recalled in an earlier interview. “So I sent them one of my worn down hockey boots I used to train and practice in. One week later I was presented with the Golden Boot prior to one of our home games. And that was it.”

“I was charmed, happy and proud with that trophy. Looking back at it, it was unfortunate you could only win it once then. It was in the sixties they scrapped that part of the rulings. A great shame. How many Golden Boots I could or would have won otherwise? A couple of hundred I think”, Coppens winked.

Beerschot can’t show off many individual prizes. Apart from Coppens’ Golden Boot in 1954, Marc Degryse was voted Professional Player of the Year in 2000.  A very  nice trophy as well, but considered not as prestigious as the Golden Boot. And Kenny Steppe won the “Goalkeeper of the Year” award in 2008. 

On the other hand Beerschot produced quite a few “Top Scorers” in their glorious 120 year old history: Herbert Potts in the pioneer seasons 1900-1901 and 1901-1902 with respectively 26 and 16 goals, the Armenian Vahram Kevorkian in 1908-1909 with 26 goals, Ivan Thys in 1920-1921 (23) and 1921-1922 (21), Raymond Braine in 1927-1928 and 1928-1929 when he scored 35 and 30 goals. Tuur Ceuleers in 1942-1943 netted 41. Furthermore Rik Coppens (1952-53: 33 goals in 1954-55: 36) and Jef Vliers in 1957-58 with 25. Lothar Emmerich was crowned as top scorer in the Belgian First Division in 1969-1970, scoring 29 times. Tosun Dosunmu in 2005-2006 (18 goals) and François Sterchele in 2006-2007 with 21 goals finish off this impressive list.

We have been waiting for 66 years already to celebrate the first Golden Boot after Rik Coppens’ early  success. Will Beerschot’s dream come true this year? Without any doubt Holzhauser is a justified contender, a clear candidate and a favourite. Football lovers like his style of play. Maybe he lacks a bit of a rebellious attitude, the “enfant terrible” status that Rik Coppens had in abundance. But as a football magician, a key player in midfield with a wonderful technique, great vista and the knack of scoring goals he surely deserves to put on a Golden Boot on that golden left foot of his.

We will know by tomorrow…

By Danny Geerts
 

 

Jupiler Pro League

1 K. Beerschot V.A. 43 pts
2 K.M.S.K Deinze 43 pts
3 Patro Eisden Maasmechelen 40 pts
4 SV Zulte Waregem 39 pts
5 SK Lommel 39 pts