 Ceulemans in 1980 | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jan Anna Gumaar Ceulemans | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1957-02-28)28 February 1957 (age 68) | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Lier, Belgium | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1] | |||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| 1967–1974 | Lierse | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 1974–1978 | Lierse | 110 | (39) | |||||||||||
| 1978–1992 | Club Brugge | 407 | (191) | |||||||||||
| Total | 517 | (230) | ||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||
| 1977–1991 | Belgium | 96 | (23) | |||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||
| 1992–1996 | Eendracht Aalst | |||||||||||||
| 1997–1999 | Ingelmunster | |||||||||||||
| 1999–2005 | Westerlo | |||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Club Brugge | |||||||||||||
| 2007–2012 | Westerlo | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Cappellen | |||||||||||||
| 2015 | Deinze | |||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||
Jan Anna Gumaar Ceulemans (Flemish pronunciation:[ˈjɑŋˈkøːləmɑns]; born 28 February 1957) is a Belgian former professionalfootballer who played asmidfielder. A prolific goalscorer, Ceulemans was known for his stamina, aerial ability, technique and was also recognized as one of the greatest Belgium footballers of all time. He was also known for his power, imposing frame and natural authority.[2]
Ceulemans was also a regular member of theBelgium national football team, with 96 international appearances, a record that stood for 26 years until it was surpassed byJan Vertonghen's 97th appearance for Belgium on 10 October 2017;[3] Ceulemans is now the ninth most-capped for Belgium. He still holds the record for most appearances in theBelgian Pro League with 517. Most of his time with Belgium took place under the guidance ofGuy Thys. This period saw the Belgium squad record some of their finest results, which include reaching the final ofEuro 80 and fourth place at the1986 FIFA World Cup.[4]
Ceulemans was born inLier, Belgium. His first of three World Cup appearances was at the1982 FIFA World Cup, where Belgium beat the defending champions Argentina 1–0 in the opening game of the tournament atCamp Nou en route to reaching the second round. Among Ceulemans' finest achievements was captaining his national side to fourth place in the1986 FIFA World Cup, scoring three goals in the tournament including a spectacular diving header against Spain in the quarter-finals. His performance earned the nickname "Captain Courageous".[5] He retired from international competition after the1990 FIFA World Cup; Jan scored the third goal in a 3–1 win over Uruguay but Belgium was eliminated by England in the round of sixteen, with the winning goal being scored byDavid Platt in the 119th minute in extra time. Jan had struck the post during the game.
Professionally, he stayed atClub Brugge for 13 years, endearing himself to his country when he turned down an offer from Italian clubA.C. Milan. He remains the only football player to have posed with the A.C. Milan board for the press that never actually became an A.C. Milan player.[6]
After retiring as a player due to knee injury, he became a manager atKSC Eendracht Aalst in 1992. He won promotion toBelgian First Division and even a qualification forUEFA Cup. He moved in 1998 toK.V.C. Westerlo where he also qualified for UEFA Cup. In 2005, he is back at 'his'Club Brugge where he would be manager for three years but after several bad results he was fired in April 2006. For the 2007–08 season, he returned to K.V.C. Westerlo. He currently lives inWesterlo.
Ceulemans was named byPelé as one of thetop 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.
Considered one of Belgium's greatest players, Ceulemans was a complete and versatile player, able to play anywhere in midfield or the attack. A physically powerful player with a tall frame, Ceulemans had great technique, was a good passer of the ball, possessed a powerful shot, and was superb in the air. He also stood out for his mentality and leadership on the pitch, receiving the nicknames. Fellow Belgium national team teammateEric Gerets said of Ceulemans: "He wasn't the best dribbler, not the best finisher and not an assist master. He had all three. He was complete."[7][8]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lierse | 1974–75 | First Division | 15 | 1 | 2 | 3 | — | — | 17 | 4 | ||
| 1975–76 | 29 | 12 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 32 | 13 | ||||
| 1976–77 | 34 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 2[a] | 1 | — | 38 | 14 | |||
| 1977–78 | 32 | 14 | — | 3[b] | 3 | 39 | 19 | |||||
| Total | 110 | 39 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 126 | 50 | ||
| Club Brugge | 1978–79 | First Division | 34 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 2[c] | 2 | — | 44 | 24 | |
| 1979–80 | 34 | 29 | 5 | 4 | — | — | 39 | 33 | ||||
| 1980–81 | 32 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 2[c] | 1 | 1[d] | 1 | 38 | 15 | ||
| 1981–82 | 29 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | — | 33 | 11 | |||
| 1982–83 | 33 | 14 | 8 | 6 | — | — | 41 | 20 | ||||
| 1983–84 | 31 | 15 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 15 | ||||
| 1984–85 | 27 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 3[e] | 1 | — | 34 | 21 | |||
| 1985–86 | 33 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 4[e] | 1 | — | 46 | 21 | |||
| 1986–87 | 28 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 2[a] | 0 | 1[d] | 1 | 33 | 14 | ||
| 1987–88 | 30 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 9[e] | 5 | — | 42 | 20 | |||
| 1988–89 | 28 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 37 | 13 | ||
| 1989–90 | 34 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 4[e] | 1 | — | 40 | 49 | |||
| 1990–91 | 33 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 45 | 17 | ||
| Total | 406 | 191 | 59 | 39 | 36 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 505 | 243 | ||
| Career total | 516 | 230 | 70 | 46 | 38 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 631 | 293 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 1977 | 3 | 0 |
| 1978 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1979 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1980 | 11 | 3 | |
| 1981 | 5 | 3 | |
| 1982 | 10 | 0 | |
| 1983 | 5 | 1 | |
| 1984 | 8 | 3 | |
| 1985 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1986 | 12 | 4 | |
| 1987 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1988 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1989 | 9 | 4 | |
| 1990 | 9 | 1 | |
| 1991 | 2 | 1 | |
| Total | 96 | 23 | |
| ‡ | Indicates goal was scored from apenalty kick |
|---|
Club Brugge[10]
Belgium
Eendracht Aalst
KVC Westerlo
Club Brugge
Individual
