 Van Himst withAnderlecht in 1973 | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paul Guillaume Van Himst[1] | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1943-10-02)2 October 1943 (age 82) | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Belgium | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||||||
| Position | Forward | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| 1951–1959 | Anderlecht | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 1959–1975 | Anderlecht | 456 | (234) | |||||||||||
| 1975–1976 | Molenbeek | 21 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 1976–1977 | Eendracht Aalst | |||||||||||||
| Total | 477 | (235) | ||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||
| 1960–1974 | Belgium | 81 | (30) | |||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||
| 1983–1986 | Anderlecht | |||||||||||||
| 1987–1988 | Molenbeek | |||||||||||||
| 1991–1996 | Belgium | |||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||
Paul Guillaume van Himst (born 2 October 1943) is a Belgian formerfootball player and afootball manager who played as aforward, most notably forR.S.C. Anderlecht.[2] Regarded as Anderlecht's ultimate club icon, Van Himst holds the record of fourBelgian Golden Shoe awards and was named best "Belgian footballer of the twentieth century".[3]
Van Himst was introduced to Anderlecht as a child because his father, who was an ardent fan ofJef Mermans, rarely missed a home match and regularly took his three children to theÉmile Versé Stadium. The young Van Himst himself started to play football in a neighborhood ofSint-Pieters-Leeuw and on the playground of the Sint-Niklaas Institute where national coachBill Gormlie took care of the children. He was fully noticed when he went to the training fields of the Anderlecht youth complex with his cousin. Van Himst was able to keep a ball in the air for several minutes, which made such an impression on chairmanConstant Vanden Stock that he promptly had the boy sign a membership card.
But given Van Himst was barely eight, the connection only became official two years later. In the youth series, Van Himst was always allowed to compete with older teammates.[4]
Under managerPierre Sinibaldi, Paul Van Himst developed into a very refined player who would dominate Belgian football for 15 years with his exceptional technique, insight into the game and precise passing.
About two months after his 16th birthday, Van Himst made his debut in the first team. In December 1959, the young striker was able to make his mark on theBeringen pitch with a promising performance. Following the example of Brazil, which had become world champions in1958, Sinibaldi had Anderlecht play in a 4-2-4 system. In that formation, Van Himst became one of the most important pawns on the field. With his excellent technique and nose for goals, he became a standout at Anderlecht as a teenager.[5]
In the1961–62 season, Paul Van Himst won his first trophy with Anderlecht, the national championship.
On his European debut againstReal Madrid in 1962 at theSantiago Bernabéu stadium, he scored the opening goal in a 3–3 draw, immediately arousing the interest of Italian topclubModena. They made him an attractive offer, including his brother in the deal, but Anderlecht did not let its rising star leave. At the time, in addition to football, Van Himst also represented the fuel company of chairman Albert Roossens[6] The club would later also reject proposals from teams likeBarcelona and Real Madrid, in their search for a successor ofAlfredo Di Stéfano.[4][7]
Despite Anderlecht making an early exit in the second round of the1966–67 European Cup, Van Himst became top scorer of the tournament. His five goals in the match against Finnish sideFC Haka is still a (shared) record in a single European game.[8]
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Anderlecht reached the final of theInter-Cities Fairs Cup (considered as the predecessor to theUEFA Cup) inthe 1969–70 season, but lost it to Arsenal F.C. Van Himst became top scorer of the tournament with 10 goals.[9]
The lost final was a disappointment sportively and marked the end of the Sinibaldi era. Most players retired or left Anderlecht, but Van Himst was one of the few to stay. In a new team that relied on young players such asHugo Broos,Ludo Coeck,Gilbert Van Binst andFrançois Van der Elst, he was still important with all his experience. Van Himst remained the leader on the field despite the generational change that had taken place.
With Anderlecht, Paul Van Himst would win theBelgian championship eight times. He scored 309 goals in 566 matches during 16 seasons.[10] Van Himst became the Belgian First Division's top scorer three times in 1963–64, 1965–66 and 1967–68.[11]
Van Himst was nicknamedPolle Gazon by Belgian football fans (Polle is Paul inBrussels dialect, andGazon means lawn inDutch andFrench) as he frequently lay on the field due to the large number of fouls committed on him. Later, the nicknameLe Pelé blanc (the white Pelé) was introduced by French newspaperL'Équipe after a convincing performance with Belgium in Paris againstFrance.[12]
After he left Anderlecht, he played forRWDM, another Brussels club, in 1975–76 and forEendracht Aalst (then in theBelgianthird division) in the following season. Two surgeries took their toll: neither at RWDM nor at Aalst Van Himst reached the same level as before.[13] After winning the championship with Aalst, he ended his professional career in 1977, aged 33.[14]
At the age of 17, Paul Van Himst made his debut for theBelgian national team on 19 October 1960 in a match againstSweden. 11 days later, he scored his first goal in a 2–1 home victory overHungary. In 1964, Van Himst played in the Belgium–Netherlands match alongside 10 Anderlecht players after the substitution of goalkeeperGuy Delhasse byJean-Marie Trappeniers.
Van Himst was part of Belgium's team which qualified for the1970 World Cup. At theEuro 1972, organized in his home country, Van Himst helped theRed Devils to reach the third place.[15]
Between 1960 and 1974, Van Himst scored 30 goals (in 81 matches) for the Belgian national team. This performance made him Belgium's second top scorer—along withBernard Voorhoof—and the most capped player for his country between 1973 and 1989.[16]Romelu Lukaku broke their record in November 2017.[17]
In 1975, aged 31, Paul Van Himst decided to leave Anderlecht. In a farewell match organized in theAnderlecht stadion, the then Anderlecht squad faced a "world team".[18]Rinus Michiels coached 18 international stars, includingPelé,Eusébio,Johan Cruyff,Gianni Rivera,José Altafini,Amancio,Jairzinho andWillem Van Hanegem.[19]
Van Himst reunited with Anderlecht in 1982 when he started to manage the U-17 team. He did such a good job that he was appointed head coach the following season, replacingTomislav Ivić. In his debut season 1982–83, Anderlecht won theUEFA cup, after winning 2–1 on aggregate againstBenfica, with Van Himst winning a European trophy after all.[20][21] The following season, Anderlecht reached theUEFA cup final again, but lost it toTottenham Hotspur after a penalty shootout.
In 1985, Van Himst guided Anderlecht to the league title, finishing 11 points ahead of nearest title-contenders Club Brugge. They also won the Super Cup in 1985, defeating Cercle Brugge 2–1. However, on 31 December 1985, Anderlecht and Van Himst parted ways. And, as he did as a player, Van Himst continued his managerial career at RWD Molenbeek.
In 1991, Paul Van Himst was appointed as manager of the Belgian national team. He led the squad to the1994 FIFA World Cup, where the team was eliminated by Germany in the round of 16.[22] After Belgium didn't qualify for theEuro 1996, Van Himst was replaced by his assistantWilfried Van Moer, and he quit professional football.
"The hallmark of Paul Van Himst was obviously his technique, but he was also physically very strong. Van Himst was really solidly built. That combination made him a quite unique player." reporter Frank Raes said in 2023. "And of course that light-footedness made everyone enjoy. The use of the outside of the foot for passing, dribbling ánd shooting was remarkable. He was so skilled in dribbling. As an opponent you just couldn't get the ball."[23]
Van Himst preferred to "slalom" between opponents, but never lost the overview of the game when doing so. He also liked to operate from the left, where he could regularly put in splitting actions with his friendWilfried Puis, both with Anderlecht and with the Belgian national team.
Van Himst scored easily, but could also let others score. He performed best with more physical strikers such asJacky Stockman,Johan Devrindt orJan Mulder.[24]
Paul Van Himst has three children (one son and two daughters) and five grandchildren.[25]
In 1990, Van Himst took over theBrésor coffee roasting company. But after he was contacted to become national coach in 1991, his son Frank became manager of the company.[26] From the moment the contract ended in 1996, the family man concentrated definitively on his coffee company, with his son keeping his position.[27]
His wife Arlette Neckebroeck died on 4 December 2013.[28]
Also in his later life, the link with Anderlecht remained. For more than forty years, Van Himst has been close friends with cycling legendEddy Merckx. Both are regularly spotted together at Anderlecht's home games.[29] And in 2022, his grandsonAmando Lapage signed a professional contract with the club.[30]
Note: Appearances and goals in theBelgian League Cup are not included.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Anderlecht | 1959–60 | Belgian First Division | 15 | 7 | — | 0 | 0 | 15 | 7 | |
| 1960–61 | Belgian First Division | 30 | 13 | — | 0 | 0 | 30 | 13 | ||
| 1961–62 | Belgian First Division | 29 | 10 | — | 0 | 0 | 29 | 10 | ||
| 1962–63 | Belgian First Division | 30 | 14 | — | 6 | 1 | 36 | 15 | ||
| 1963–64 | Belgian First Division | 29 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 27 | |
| 1964–65 | Belgian First Division | 29 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 40 | 32 | |
| 1965–66 | Belgian First Division | 29 | 26 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 38 | 35 | |
| 1966–67 | Belgian First Division | 30 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 39 | 31 | |
| 1967–68 | Belgian First Division | 28 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 34 | 29 | |
| 1968–69 | Belgian First Division | 27 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 32 | 12 | |
| 1969–70 | Belgian First Division | 29 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 43 | 28 | |
| 1970–71 | Belgian First Division | 30 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 41 | 22 | |
| 1971–72 | Belgian First Division | 30 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 38 | 17 | |
| 1972–73 | Belgian First Division | 29 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 39 | 12 | |
| 1973–74 | Belgian First Division | 27 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 7 | |
| 1974–75 | Belgian First Division | 35 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 47 | 11 | |
| Total | 456 | 234 | 53 | 41 | 56 | 33 | 465 | 308 | ||
| RWD Molenbeek | 1975–76 | Belgian First Division | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 1 |
| Eendracht Aalst | 1976–77 | Belgian Second Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career total | 477 | 235 | 53 | 41 | 8 | 33 | 488 | 309 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 1960 | 3 | 2 |
| 1961 | 6 | 4 | |
| 1962 | 7 | 2 | |
| 1963 | 5 | 3 | |
| 1964 | 6 | 2 | |
| 1965 | 7 | 5 | |
| 1966 | 5 | 3 | |
| 1967 | 4 | 2 | |
| 1968 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1969 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1970 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1971 | 7 | 3 | |
| 1972 | 8 | 3 | |
| 1973 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1974 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 81 | 30 | |
Van Himst holds the record of mostGolden Shoe awards, having won it on four occasions. There could have been a few more in fact, but at a certain point the organizers decided that one could not win the Shoe more than once. A few years later, that decision was reverted with Van Himst winning a fourth award in 1974.[4]
In November 2003, to celebrateUEFA's Jubilee, he was named theGolden Player of Belgium by theBelgian Football Association as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years.[35]
He has been an ambassador for the Belgian/South-AfricanNGO "Born In Africa" since 2005.
In 2009, Paul Van Himst became honorary citizen ofDilbeek.[36]
Decades after retiring from professional football, Van Himst is still consistently mentioned in both Anderlecht and Belgium's "Best Team Ever" and "Best Players" lists.[37][38][39]
To celebrate the 80th birthday of their club icon, Van Himst was extensively honored for the competition match of Anderlecht against Mechelen on 7 October 2023.[40] For the occasion, the team played in a complete white "limited edition" shirts, stylized like the ones of the Van Himst era.[41]
Aalst
National team
Individual
Anderlecht[42]
Individual
Media related toPaul Van Himst at Wikimedia Commons
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