 Van der Elst in 2010 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1961-04-30)30 April 1961 (age 64) | ||
| Place of birth | Ninove, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Blauw-Wit Lombeek | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1978–1984 | Molenbeek | 103 | (5) |
| 1984–1999 | Club Brugge | 466 | (15) |
| Total | 569 | (20) | |
| International career | |||
| 1984–1998 | Belgium | 86 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1999–2003 | Germinal Beerschot | ||
| 2003–2004 | Lokeren | ||
| 2005–2007 | Club Brugge (assistant) | ||
| 2008 | FC Brussels | ||
| 2009–2011 | Lommel United | ||
| 2011–2012 | Sint-Truiden | ||
| 2014–2016 | Roeselare | ||
| 2018 | Oostende (assistant) | ||
| 2019 | Oostende (caretaker) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Franky Van der Elst (born 30 April 1961) is a Belgian retired professionalfootballer who played as adefensive midfielder. He later worked as amanager.
During a 21-year professional career he played mainly withClub Brugge, being regarded as a legend there and briefly coaching the team in the 2000s. Also, he was named byPelé as one of thetop 125 greatest living footballers, in March 2004.[1]
Van der Elst won 86caps for theBelgium national team, representing the country in fourWorld Cups and retiring at nearly 40 years of age.
Born inNinove, Van der Elst started his professional career atR.W.D. Molenbeek, earning his first call-up forBelgium in 1982. Two years later, he moved toClub Brugge KV.
Franky Van der Elst stayed with the club until he finished his career in 1999 with the club runners up in the league. He went on to total over 500 overall appearances with the side (466 inthe league alone); during four seasons, he often partnered in midfield his namesakeLeo – no relation.
Van der Elst won theGolden Shoe twice in his career, an accomplishment for an eminently defensive-minded player. He also appeared in fourFIFA World Cups from1986 to1998,[2] only scoring once for his country in nearly 90 matches, in a 2–2friendly draw againstNorway on 25 March 1998.
After retiring at the age of 38, Van der Elst was appointed as manager atK.F.C. Germinal Beerschot. After four relatively successful years he was replaced by Marc Brys, and subsequently joinedK.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen.
In 2005, Van der Elst returned to 'his' Club Brugge, as an assistant, joining former teammates – both in club and country –Jan Ceulemans,Marc Degryse,Dany Verlinden andRené Verheyen. He remained with the team when Verheyen and Ceulemans were fired in 2006, but was eventually shown the door the following year, with head coachEmilio Ferrera.
After a very short spell withFC Brussels,[3] Van der Elst moved toK.V.S.K. United Overpelt-Lommel, both clubs in thesecond level.
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Other | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Molenbeek | 1978–79 | Belgian Pro League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1979–80 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 1980–81 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||||
| 1981–82 | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 35 | 1 | |||
| 1982–83 | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 2 | ||||
| 1983–84 | 31 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 103 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 109 | 5 | ||
| Club Brugge | 1984–85 | Belgian Pro League | 33 | 1 | 4[c] | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | 41 | 1 | |
| 1985–86 | 34 | 2 | 9 | 0 | — | 4[c] | 1 | 47 | 3 | |||
| 1986–87 | 34 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | 43 | 1 | ||
| 1987–88 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 10[c] | 0 | 44 | 1 | |||
| 1988–89 | 34 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 4[f] | 0 | 45 | 1 | ||
| 1989–90 | 34 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 4[c] | 0 | 40 | 1 | |||
| 1990–91 | 34 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 4[f] | 0 | 47 | 3 | ||
| 1991–92 | 29 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 7[e] | 0 | 40 | 3 | ||
| 1992–93 | 32 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 8[f] | 0 | 43 | 1 | ||
| 1993–94 | 20 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 0 | ||||
| 1994–95 | 29 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 6[e] | 0 | 42 | 0 | ||
| 1995–96 | 30 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1[d] | 0 | 4[e] | 0 | 41 | 2 | ||
| 1996–97 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 8[g] | 0 | 38 | 2 | |||
| 1997–98 | 32 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 5[c] | 1 | 44 | 1 | ||
| 1998–99 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2[h] | 0 | 9[i] | 0 | 42 | 1 | ||
| Total | 468 | 17 | 65 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 79 | 3 | 622 | 21 | ||
| Career total | 571 | 22 | 70 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 80 | 3 | 731 | 26 | ||
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