 Buffel in training with Belgium in 2006 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1981-02-19)19 February 1981 (age 44) | ||
| Place of birth | Bruges, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Jong Genk (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1986–1990 | Daring Ruddervoorde | ||
| 1990–1997 | Cercle Brugge | ||
| 1997–1999 | Feyenoord | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1999–2005 | Feyenoord | 80 | (35) |
| 2000–2002 | →Excelsior (loan) | 63 | (27) |
| 2005–2008 | Rangers | 51 | (8) |
| 2008–2009 | Cercle Brugge | 35 | (5) |
| 2009–2018 | Genk | 235 | (34) |
| 2018–2019 | Zulte Waregem | 18 | (4) |
| Total | 482 | (113) | |
| International career | |||
| 1995 | Belgium U15 | 2 | (0) |
| 1995–1998 | Belgium U16 | 12 | (1) |
| 1995–1998 | Belgium U17 | 22 | (14) |
| 1998–1999 | Belgium U18 | 11 | (1) |
| 2000 | Belgium U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2002 | Belgium U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2002–2013 | Belgium | 36 | (6) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2019–2020 | Belgium U19 (assistant) | ||
| 2020–2024 | Belgium U21 (assistant) | ||
| 2021 | Cercle Brugge (assistant) | ||
| 2024–2025 | Jong Genk | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Thomas Buffel (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈtoːmɑzˈbʏfəl];[a] born 19 February 1981) is a Belgian professionalfootball coach and a former player who played as anattacking midfielder orforward. He is the manager ofJong Genk inChallenger Pro League. He represented theBelgium national team at international level.
Buffel began his career with Belgian sides Daring Ruddervoorde andCercle Brugge before making a move to the Netherlands.
Buffel played for the Dutch teamFeyenoord in the 1999–2000 season, before moving to their feeder teamExcelsior Rotterdam from 2000 to 2002. He returned to Feyenoord for the2002–03 Eredivisie season. He reportedly fell out with then-managerRuud Gullit in the next season "after refusing to sign a new contract".[1]
Buffel moved to the Scottish sideRangers in January 2005 in a £2.3 million, four-and-a-half-year deal.[2] He made his debut in theScottish Cup coming on as a substitute againstOld Firm rivalsCeltic in what was to be a 2–1 defeat.[3] However, the season did not end badly for him as he was to play a key role in the2005 Scottish League Cup Final, where Rangers defeatedMotherwell 5–1.[4] He also featured in the Rangers team for the latter part of the season where he would help them to their 51st league title[5] making it a double for hisfirst season with the club. Buffel scored five goals in 18 appearances in all competitions.[6][7]
Buffel featured in theChampions League and helped Rangers reach the last 16 of the tournament, where they lost toVillarreal 3–3 on aggregate and were knocked out on away goals rule. Across all competitions, he scored seven goals in 38 appearances during the2005–2006 season[7] mostly playing in themidfield.[citation needed]
In the 2007 Januarytransfer window, German clubHannover 96 expressed an interest in him, with Rangers managerWalter Smith saying Buffel was free to leave. However, the deal fell through when Buffel was unable to agree personal terms with theBundesliga side.[8] It was announced on 9 February 2007 that Buffel would undergo surgery on a long-term knee injury and would not take any further part in the2006–07 season.[9] He returned to action on 26 September as a substitute in aScottish League Cup tie againstEast Fife.[10] He would go on to make just five appearances in all competitions in his final season at Rangers.[11]
Buffel's Rangers career came to an end when he joined former clubCercle Brugge on 1 July 2008.[12]
In the 2009 summer transfer window Buffel made a last-minute transfer toKRC Genk as part of a deal between Genk and Cercle Brugge withJelle Vossen (on loan) andHans Cornelis moving the opposite way.[13]
In the2010–11 season he won the Belgian league title with Genk.[14]
His contract was not renewed at the end of the 2017–18 season.[15]
In June 2018, it was announced Buffel would continue his career atZulte Waregem.[15]
Buffel retired at the end of the 2018–19 season.[16]
Buffel made his debut for Belgium againstAndorra in October 2002 in what was to be a 1–0 victory.[17] He has since then gained 35 caps and scored 7 goals.
Buffel began his coaching career in September 2019, when he was appointed assistant manager toJacky Mathijssen at theBelgium national U-19 team.[18] In March 2020, Buffel and Mathijssen was promoted to the U-21 national team.[19]
On 3 February 2021, Buffel was also hired as an assistant manager for former clubCercle Brugge under newly appointed managerYves Vanderhaeghe, next to his job at the national team.[20] However, on 5 October 2021, Buffel decided to leave the position, as he was going to start his Pro License course and he therefore no longer could combine his two jobs.[21]
On 18 June 2024, Buffel was hired as head coach ofJong Genk, the reserve team of Genk that plays in the second-tierChallenger Pro League.[22]
Buffel was married to Stephanie De Buysser, with whom he had twin sons born in November 2013. They married in June 2016, when De Buysser was already suffering from colon cancer. On 26 January 2017, De Buysser died.[23]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Excelsior (loan) | 2000–01 | Eerste Divisie | 31 | 12 | — | — | 31 | 12 | [24] | ||||
| 2001–02 | 32 | 15 | — | — | 32 | 15 | [24] | ||||||
| Total | 63 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 63 | 27 | – | ||
| Feyenoord | 2002–03 | Eredivisie | 31 | 18 | 7 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 39 | 18 | [24] | ||
| 2003–04 | 34 | 15 | 4 | 2 | — | 38 | 17 | [24] | |||||
| 2004–05 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | 21 | 2 | [24] | |||||
| Total | 80 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 98 | 37 | – | ||
| Rangers | 2004–05 | Scottish Premier League | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5[c] | 3 | 15 | 4 | [24] | ||
| 2005–06 | 24 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 5[d] | 0 | 36 | 5 | [24] | ||||
| 2006–07 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 4 | [24] | ||||
| 2007–08 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | [24] | ||
| Total | 51 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 76 | 13 | – | ||
| Cercle Brugge | 2008–09 | Belgian First Division | 30 | 3 | — | — | 30 | 3 | [24] | ||||
| 2009–10 | Belgian Pro League | 5 | 2 | – | — | 2 | 5 | [24] | |||||
| Total | 35 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 5 | – | ||
| Genk | 2009–10 | Belgian Pro League | 25 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 9[e] | 3 | 36 | 7 | [24][25] | |
| 2010–11 | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7[f] | 0 | 37 | 1 | [24][25] | ||
| 2011–12 | 26 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 8[g] | 0 | 44 | 9 | [24][25] | ||
| 2012–13 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 10[h] | 0 | 55 | 7 | [24][25] | ||
| 2013–14 | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 10[i] | 3 | 46 | 7 | [24][25] | ||
| 2014–15 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[j] | 3 | 35 | 6 | [24][25] | ||
| 2015–16 | 28 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12[k] | 3 | 44 | 10 | [24][25] | ||
| 2016–17 | Belgian First Division A | 21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 4 | 10[l] | 2 | 50 | 8 | [24][25] | |
| 2017–18 | 26 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9[m] | 0 | 41 | 4 | [24][25] | ||
| Total | 235 | 34 | 24 | 3 | 48 | 8 | 81 | 14 | 388 | 59 | – | ||
| Cercle Brugge | 2018–19 | Belgian First Division A | 18 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 21 | 4 | [24] | |
| Career total | 482 | 113 | 27 | 3 | 79 | 12 | 93 | 17 | 681 | 145 | – | ||
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 April 2003 | King Baudouin Stadium,Brussels, Belgium |  Poland | 2–0 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 11 October 2003 | Stade Maurice Dufrasne,Liège, Belgium |  Estonia | 2–0 | 2–0 | Euro 2004 Qualification |
| 3 | 18 August 2004 | Ullevaal,Oslo, Norway |  Norway | 1–0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 4 | 2–1 | |||||
| 5 | 26 March 2005 | King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2006 World Cup Qualification |
| 6 | 7 September 2005 | Olympisch Stadion,Antwerp, Belgium |  San Marino | 3–0 | 8–0 | 2006 World Cup Qualification |
Rangers[26]
Genk[27]
Individual