Lorenzo Staelens

Lorenzo Staelens

Personal information
Full name	Lorenzo Jules Staelens
Date of birth	30 April 1964
Place of birth	Lauwe, Belgium
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Sweeper / Midfielder
Club information
Current team	unemployed
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1982–1987	KWSC Lauwe
1987–1989	Kortrijk	64	(11)
1989–1998	Club Brugge	286	(75)
1998–2000	Anderlecht	67	(10)
2001	Oita Trinita	26	(2)
National team
1990–2000	Belgium	70	(8)
Teams managed
2002–2003	Mouscron
2004	Eendracht Aalst
2007–2008	Roeselare (assistant)
2008–2013	Cercle Brugge (assistant)
2013–2014	Cercle Brugge
2015	OMS Ingelmunster[1]
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Lorenzo Jules Staelens (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈloː.rɛn.zo ˈstaː.ləns]) (born 30 April 1964 in Lauwe) is a retired Belgian footballer and currently unemployed manager after being released in October 2014 by Belgian Pro League side Cercle Brugge.

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.

Club career

Staelens started his professional career with K.V. Kortrijk 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.

International career

As an inexperienced international player, Staelens was selected to Belgium's squad for the 1990 FIFA World Cup; 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.^[2]

Statistics

Club

Club performance			League
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals
Belgium			League
1987/88	Kortrijk	Belgian Pro League	32	4
1988/89			32	7
1989/90	Brugge	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	Anderlecht	Belgian Pro League	24	6
1999/00			29	1
2000/01			14	3
Japan			League
2001	Oita Trinita	J2 League	26	2
Country	Belgium		417	95
	Japan		26	2
Total			443	97

National team

Belgium national team
Year	Apps	Goals
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 Cup: 1990–91, 1994–95, 1995–96
• Belgian Supercup: 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000

References

1. Lorenzo Staelens stapt op bij Ingelmunster na twee wedstrijden, nieuwsblad.be, 26 October 2015
2. Lorenzo Staelens – FIFA competition record

External links

• Club Brugge archives (Dutch)
• Weltfussball profile (German)
• Lorenzo Staelens at National-Football-Teams.com