Timmy Simons Leaves Dender to Become Westerlo’s Coach

Timmy Simons has been appointed as the coach of Westerlo, the Campine club announced on Thursday. The former Belgian Red Devil has signed a two-year contract with Kuipke. He arrives from Dender, whom he led to promotion to D1A this season.

Arriving last February at Dender as a replacement for Regi Van Acker, 47-year-old Timmy Simons led the Denderleeuw club to a second-place finish in the Challenger Pro League behind Beerschot, securing promotion to D1A for only the second time in its history, after a first stint in D1 from 2007 to 2009.

At Westerlo, Timmy Simons succeeds Bart Goor, who managed the Campine team during the Europe Playoffs following the dismissal of Rik De Mil.

Timmy Simons began his coaching career at Zulte Waregem alongside Davy De Fauw, taking over from Francky Dury in December 2021. He had to step down five months later to make way for Mbaye Leye.

An icon of Club Brugge as a player, Timmy Simons wore the blue and black jersey from 2000 to 2005 and from 2013 to 2018. After hanging up his boots in 2018, the former Golden Shoe became the assistant coach to Ivan Leko on the Bruges bench during the 2018-2019 season. He then took charge of the Bruges U16 team after Philippe Clement’s arrival in the Venice of the North.

Timmy Simons, who also played for Lommel, PSV Eindhoven, and Nuremberg, has more than 300 appearances in the Pro League, over 150 matches in the Eredivisie, and more than 100 Bundesliga matches under his belt. He has also played around fifty Champions League matches and has been capped 94 times for the Belgian Red Devils.

🤝 l C’est OFFICIEL : Timmy Simons est le nouveau coach de Westerlo pic.twitter.com/ps7vA6kzth

— Ma Pro League (@MaProLeague) May 23, 2024