Arie Haan
In 1996–97, Anderlecht ended fourth in the championship, their worst ranking in the last nine seasons, but they were runners-up of the Belgian Cup, losing the final to Germinal Ekeren, 4–2 after extra time. They also reached the quarter-finals of the 1996–97 UEFA Cup, losing 3–2 on aggregate against eventual runners-up Inter Milan, which is still the last time Anderlecht reached this stage in European competitions. At the end of the season, Johan Boskamp was replaced by René Vandereycken, who was sacked before the winter break due to bad results, with only 20 points on 42 in the league and a second round elimination in the UEFA Cup at the hands of Schalke 04. Arie Haan took the team over after one match with Jean Dockx as caretaker manager. With Arie Haan, Anderlecht managed to qualify "in extremis" for the 1998–99 UEFA Cup, finishing fourth in the championship thanks to a goal by Gaston Taument in the last game of the season, at Beveren (0–1). After a bad start in the 1998–99 season, with only 6 points on 21 and a shock 6–0 defeat at Westerlo, as well as a 0–2 defeat in the first leg of the 1998–99 UEFA Cup first round against Grasshoppers, Arie Haan was sacked and replaced by Jean Dockx and Franky Vercauteren. Anderlecht eventually drawn with Grasshoppers 0–0 in the second leg. After an impressive come-back in the championship, with among others a 0–6 victory at rivals Standard Liège and a 2–5 victory at eventual champions Genk, Anderlecht finished the season in third place. At the end of the season, Jean Dockx and Franky Vercauteren became assistant of former Genk manager Aimé Anthuenis. Under his coaching, Anderlecht won their 25th title in 1999–2000.