Lorenzo Staelens
Encyclopedia
Lorenzo Jules Staelens (ˈloː.rɛn.zo ˈstaː.ləns) (born 30 April 1964 in Lauwe) is a retired Belgian
footballer and a current manager.
Having started his career as a defensive midfielder, he finished it as sweeper at nearly 40, and scored more than 100 goals overall.
Staelens appeared for the Belgian national team in three World Cups
, adding the Euro 2000 tournament played on home soil.
at already 23, and his two solid seasons there attracted the attention of top division giants Club Brugge KV.
There, he proceeded to form a legendary midfield partnership with Franky Van der Elst, that would last nearly a decade. Staelens played 369 games in all competitions for the club, scoring 105 goals.
At already 34, and more often than not playing in the backline
, he moved to R.S.C. Anderlecht
, still being instrumental in the club's back-to-back championships (2000 and 2001), and winning the Belgian Golden Shoe
in 1999; however, he did not finish his last year, moving to Japan
's Oita Trinita
in early 2001 and retiring shortly after.
Staelens took up coaching subsequently, first with R.E. Mouscron
. After only two months at V.C. Eendracht Aalst
, he returned to first club Kortrijk as its general manager
, only returning to the benches in 2007, as assistant coach at K.S.V. Roeselare
.
Staelens kept that role in the subsequent years, with the other team from Bruges
, Cercle KSV
.
; there, he appeared in the 1–2 group stage match against Spain
.
From then on, Staelens became an essential national team member, representing it also at the 1994
and 1998 World Cups
and in UEFA Euro 2000, totalling a further 10 complete matches.
|1987/88||rowspan="2"|Kortrijk
||rowspan="2"|Belgian Pro League||32||4
|-
|1988/89||32||7
|-
|1989/90||rowspan="9"|Brugge||rowspan="9"|Belgian Pro League||34||4
|-
|1990/91||33||4
|-
|1991/92||31||5
|-
|1992/93||34||7
|-
|1993/94||33||12
|-
|1994/95||34||16
|-
|1995/96||30||12
|-
|1996/97||31||8
|-
|1997/98||26||6
|-
|1998/99||rowspan="3"|Anderlecht
||rowspan="3"|Belgian Pro League||24||6
|-
|1999/00||29||1
|-
|2000/01||14||3
|-
|2001||Oita Trinita
||J. League 2
||26||2
417||95
26||2
443||97
|}
|1990||3||0
|-
|1991||3||0
|-
|1992||4||1
|-
|1993||6||0
|-
|1994||11||0
|-
|1995||8||0
|-
|1996||3||0
|-
|1997||6||5
|-
|1998||8||0
|-
|1999||11||1
|-
|2000||7||1
|-
!Total||70||8
|}
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
footballer and a current manager.
Having started his career as a defensive midfielder, he finished it as sweeper at nearly 40, and scored more than 100 goals overall.
Staelens appeared for the Belgian national team in three World Cups
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
, adding the Euro 2000 tournament played on home soil.
Club career
Staelens started his professional career with K.V. KortrijkK.V. Kortrijk
Koninklijke Voetbalclub Kortrijk is a Belgian professional football club based in Kortrijk, West Flanders. They have been playing in the Belgian Pro League since the 2008-09 season, and they achieved they best ranking ever during the 2009-10 season, finishing 4th after the play-offs...
at already 23, and his two solid seasons there attracted the attention of top division giants Club Brugge KV.
There, he proceeded to form a legendary midfield partnership with Franky Van der Elst, that would last nearly a decade. Staelens played 369 games in all competitions for the club, scoring 105 goals.
At already 34, and more often than not playing in the backline
Defender (association football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
, he moved to R.S.C. Anderlecht
R.S.C. Anderlecht
Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht, usually known as Anderlecht or RSCA , is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht in the Brussels Capital Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian Pro League and is the most successful Belgian football team in European competitions as well as in the...
, still being instrumental in the club's back-to-back championships (2000 and 2001), and winning the Belgian Golden Shoe
Belgian Golden Shoe
In association football, the Belgian Golden Shoe is an award given in Belgium at the beginning of each civil year to the best footballer of the Belgian First Division for the past year. The trophy is sponsored by the Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws....
in 1999; however, he did not finish his last year, moving to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's Oita Trinita
Oita Trinita
is a J. League Division 2 team. The team name Trinita can be considered either a combination of the English word trinity and Ōita, or the Italian word trinità. The dual meaning expresses the will of the citizens, companies, and local governments to support the team.The team's home town is Ōita...
in early 2001 and retiring shortly after.
Staelens took up coaching subsequently, first with R.E. Mouscron
R.E. Mouscron
R.E. Mouscron was a Belgian association football club from the municipality of Mouscron, Hainaut. In December 2009 they were declared bankrupt and suspended operations soon after marking the end of professional football in Mouscron.-History:...
. After only two months at V.C. Eendracht Aalst
V.C. Eendracht Aalst 2002
SC Eendracht Aalst is a Belgian football club based in Aalst, East Flanders.It changed its name in 2002 after former Belgian First Division club K.S.C. Eendracht Aalst had gone into liquidation. So they could not get the license and the new team began at the third division level...
, he returned to first club Kortrijk as its general manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
, only returning to the benches in 2007, as assistant coach at K.S.V. Roeselare
K.S.V. Roeselare
K.S.V. Roeselare is a Belgian football club, from the city of Roeselare in West Flanders. Its matricule is the n°134. It has last played in the Belgian Pro League from 2005-06 to 2009-10...
.
Staelens kept that role in the subsequent years, with the other team from Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
, Cercle KSV
Cercle Brugge K.S.V.
Cercle Brugge Koninklijke Sportvereniging is a Belgian football team from Bruges. Cercle have played in the Belgian Pro League since the 2003-04 season, having previously spent several years in the Belgian Second Division following relegation in 1997. Their matricule is the n°12. The club play...
.
International career
As an inexperienced international player, Staelens was selected to Belgium's squad for the 1990 FIFA World Cup1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
; there, he appeared in the 1–2 group stage match against Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
.
From then on, Staelens became an essential national team member, representing it also at the 1994
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
and 1998 World Cups
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
and in UEFA Euro 2000, totalling a further 10 complete matches.
Club
|-|1987/88||rowspan="2"|Kortrijk
K.V. Kortrijk
Koninklijke Voetbalclub Kortrijk is a Belgian professional football club based in Kortrijk, West Flanders. They have been playing in the Belgian Pro League since the 2008-09 season, and they achieved they best ranking ever during the 2009-10 season, finishing 4th after the play-offs...
||rowspan="2"|Belgian Pro League||32||4
|-
|1988/89||32||7
|-
|1989/90||rowspan="9"|Brugge||rowspan="9"|Belgian Pro League||34||4
|-
|1990/91||33||4
|-
|1991/92||31||5
|-
|1992/93||34||7
|-
|1993/94||33||12
|-
|1994/95||34||16
|-
|1995/96||30||12
|-
|1996/97||31||8
|-
|1997/98||26||6
|-
|1998/99||rowspan="3"|Anderlecht
R.S.C. Anderlecht
Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht, usually known as Anderlecht or RSCA , is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht in the Brussels Capital Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian Pro League and is the most successful Belgian football team in European competitions as well as in the...
||rowspan="3"|Belgian Pro League||24||6
|-
|1999/00||29||1
|-
|2000/01||14||3
|-
|2001||Oita Trinita
Oita Trinita
is a J. League Division 2 team. The team name Trinita can be considered either a combination of the English word trinity and Ōita, or the Italian word trinità. The dual meaning expresses the will of the citizens, companies, and local governments to support the team.The team's home town is Ōita...
||J. League 2
J. League Division 2
The or is the second division of and is the second-tier professional association football league in Japan. Currently, J. League Division 2 is the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The first tier is represented by J...
||26||2
417||95
26||2
443||97
|}
International
|-|1990||3||0
|-
|1991||3||0
|-
|1992||4||1
|-
|1993||6||0
|-
|1994||11||0
|-
|1995||8||0
|-
|1996||3||0
|-
|1997||6||5
|-
|1998||8||0
|-
|1999||11||1
|-
|2000||7||1
|-
!Total||70||8
|}
Honours
- Belgian League: 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1995–96, 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2000–01
- Belgian CupBelgian CupThe Belgian Cup is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Belgian Football Association. The first cup was held in 1911-12. The most successful cup club is Club Brugge KV with 10 titles followed by RSC Anderlecht and R Standard de Liège...
: 1990–91, 1994–95, 1995–96 - Belgian SupercupBelgian SupercupThe Belgian Supercup is a Belgian club competition played on a single match at the league champion venue since 2004 and formerly at the Stade Roi Baudouin, between the winner of the last Belgian Pro League and that of the last Belgian Cup. If both teams are the same, the opponent is declared to...
: 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000