Jan Ceulemans
Encyclopedia
Jan Anna Gumaar Ceulemans (ˈjɑn ˈkøːləmɑns; born 28 February 1957 in Lier, Belgium
) is a Belgian former football player who played as a midfielder.
He is his country's most capped player with 96 international appearances. Most of his time with Belgium took place under the guidance of Guy Thys. This period saw the Belgium squad record some of their finest results, which include reaching the final of Euro 80 and fourth place at the 1986 FIFA World Cup
.
, where Belgium beat the defending champions Argentina 1-0 in the opening game of the tournament at Nou Camp en route to reaching the second round. Among one of Ceulemans' finest achievements was captaining his national side to fourth place in the 1986 FIFA World Cup
, scoring three goals in the tournament including a beautiful diving header against Spain in the quarter-finals. His performance earned the nickname "Captain Courageous".http://www.planetworldcup.com/LEGENDS/ceulemans.html. He retired from international competition after the 1990 FIFA World Cup
; Jan scored the 3rd 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 by David Platt in the 119th minute in extra time. Jan had struck the post during the game.
Professionally, he stayed at Club Brugge
for 13 years, endearing himself to his country when he turned down an offer from Italian giant A.C. Milan
.http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/2002/world_cup/hof/ceulemans/
After retiring as a player due to knee injury, he became a manager at KSC Eendracht Aalst in 1992. He won promotion to Belgian First Division and even a qualification for UEFA Cup
. He moved in 1998 to K.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 3 years but after several bad results he was fired in April 2006. For the 2007-2008 season, he returned to KVC Westerlo
. He currently lives in Kessel. Pele placed him amongst the best footballers in the world.
He was named by Pelé
as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers
in March 2004.
|1974-75
||rowspan="4"|Lierse
||rowspan="4"|First Division||15||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|1975-76
||29||12||||||||||||||||
|-
|1976-77
||34||12||||||||||||||||
|-
|1977-78
||32||14||||||||||||||||
|-
|1978-79
||rowspan="13"|Club Brugge||rowspan="13"|First Division||34||13||||||||||||||||
|-
|1979-80
||34||29||||||||||||||||
|-
|1980-81
||32||12||||||||||||||||
|-
|1981-82
||29||11||||||||||||||||
|-
|1982-83
||33||14||||||||||||||||
|-
|1983-84
||31||15||||||||||||||||
|-
|1984-85
||27||17||||||||||||||||
|-
|1985-86
||31||13||||||||||||||||
|-
|1986-87
||28||12||||||||||||||||
|-
|1987-88
||30||13||||||||||||||||
|-
|1988-89
||28||13||||||||||||||||
|-
|1989-90
||34||15||||||||||||||||
|-
|1990-91
||33||14||||||||||||||||
514||230||||||||||||||||
514||230||||||||||||||||
Lier, Belgium
Lier is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the city of Lier proper and the village of Koningshooikt. On January 1, 2010 Lier had a total population of 33,930. The total area is 49.70 km² which gives a population density of 669 inhabitants per...
) is a Belgian former football player who played as a midfielder.
He is his country's most capped player with 96 international appearances. Most of his time with Belgium took place under the guidance of Guy Thys. This period saw the Belgium squad record some of their finest results, which include reaching the final of Euro 80 and fourth place at the 1986 FIFA World Cup
1986 FIFA World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so and officially...
.
Career
Ceulemans' first of three World Cup appearances was at the 1982 FIFA World Cup1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July. The tournament was won by Italy, after defeating West Germany 3–1 in the final.-Host selection:...
, where Belgium beat the defending champions Argentina 1-0 in the opening game of the tournament at Nou Camp en route to reaching the second round. Among one of Ceulemans' finest achievements was captaining his national side to fourth place in the 1986 FIFA World Cup
1986 FIFA World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so and officially...
, scoring three goals in the tournament including a beautiful diving header against Spain in the quarter-finals. His performance earned the nickname "Captain Courageous".http://www.planetworldcup.com/LEGENDS/ceulemans.html. He retired from international competition after the 1990 FIFA World Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
; Jan scored the 3rd 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 by David Platt in the 119th minute in extra time. Jan had struck the post during the game.
Professionally, he stayed at Club Brugge
Club Brugge
Club Brugge Koninklijke Voetbalvereniging is a football club from Bruges in Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and is one of the top clubs in Belgium. Its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,472....
for 13 years, endearing himself to his country when he turned down an offer from Italian giant A.C. Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
.http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/2002/world_cup/hof/ceulemans/
After retiring as a player due to knee injury, he became a manager at KSC Eendracht Aalst in 1992. He won promotion to Belgian First Division and even a qualification for UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
. He moved in 1998 to K.V.C. Westerlo
K.V.C. Westerlo
Koninklijke Voetbal Club Westerlo is a Belgian professional football club located in the city of Westerlo in the province of Antwerp. Westerlo has been playing in the Belgian Pro League since 1997–98. Their highest finish is a 6th place in 1999–2000, 2003–04 and 2008–09. They have won 1 Belgian...
where he also qualified for UEFA Cup. In 2005 he is back at 'his' Club Brugge
Club Brugge
Club Brugge Koninklijke Voetbalvereniging is a football club from Bruges in Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and is one of the top clubs in Belgium. Its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,472....
where he would be manager for 3 years but after several bad results he was fired in April 2006. For the 2007-2008 season, he returned to KVC Westerlo
K.V.C. Westerlo
Koninklijke Voetbal Club Westerlo is a Belgian professional football club located in the city of Westerlo in the province of Antwerp. Westerlo has been playing in the Belgian Pro League since 1997–98. Their highest finish is a 6th place in 1999–2000, 2003–04 and 2008–09. They have won 1 Belgian...
. He currently lives in Kessel. Pele placed him amongst the best footballers in the world.
He was named by Pelé
Pelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers
FIFA 100
The FIFA 100 is a list of the world-renowned Brazilian striker Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Fédération Internationale de...
in March 2004.
Honours
- Belgian First Division: 1980, 1988, 1990, 1992
- Belgian Cup: 1986, 1991
- Belgian Supercup: 1980, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991
Career statistics
|-|1974-75
Belgian First Division 1974-75
-League standings:...
||rowspan="4"|Lierse
Lierse S.K.
Koninklijke Lierse Sportkring is a Belgian professional football club, from the city of Lier in the Antwerp province. Lierse has been playing in the Belgian Pro League since the 2010-11 season and they have already won the competition 4 times. They also have won 2 Belgian Cups...
||rowspan="4"|First Division||15||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|1975-76
Belgian First Division 1975-76
-League standings:...
||29||12||||||||||||||||
|-
|1976-77
Belgian First Division 1976-77
-League standings:...
||34||12||||||||||||||||
|-
|1977-78
Belgian First Division 1977-78
-League standings:...
||32||14||||||||||||||||
|-
|1978-79
Belgian First Division 1978-79
-League standings:...
||rowspan="13"|Club Brugge||rowspan="13"|First Division||34||13||||||||||||||||
|-
|1979-80
Belgian First Division 1979-80
-League standings:...
||34||29||||||||||||||||
|-
|1980-81
Belgian First Division 1980-81
-League standings:...
||32||12||||||||||||||||
|-
|1981-82
Belgian First Division 1981-82
-League standings:-References:...
||29||11||||||||||||||||
|-
|1982-83
Belgian First Division 1982-83
-League standings:...
||33||14||||||||||||||||
|-
|1983-84
Belgian First Division 1983-84
-Overview:It was performed in 18 teams, and K.S.K. Beveren won the championship. And demotion of R.W.D. Molenbeek, K. Beringen F.C. was decided.-League standings:-Topscorers:...
||31||15||||||||||||||||
|-
|1984-85
Belgian First Division 1984-85
-Overview:It was performed in 18 teams, and R.S.C. Anderlecht won the championship. And demotion of K. Sint-Niklase S.K.E., Racing Jet de Bruxelles was decided.-League standings:-Topscorers:...
||27||17||||||||||||||||
|-
|1985-86
Belgian First Division 1985-86
-Overview:It was performed in 18 teams, and R.S.C. Anderlecht won the championship. And demotion of K. Waterschei S.V. Thor Genk, Lierse S.K. was decided.-League standings:-Topscorers:...
||31||13||||||||||||||||
|-
|1986-87
Belgian First Division 1986-87
The 1986–87 edition of the Belgian League was the 84th since its establishment: it was disputed by 18 teams, and R.S.C. Anderlecht won the championship, while RFC Sérésien and K. Berchem Sport were relegated.-League standings:-Topscorers:...
||28||12||||||||||||||||
|-
|1987-88
Belgian First Division 1987-88
-Overview:It was performed in 18 teams, and Club Brugge K.V. won the championship. And demotion of K.A.A. Gent, Racing Jet de Bruxelles was decided.-League standings:-Topscorers:...
||30||13||||||||||||||||
|-
|1988-89
Belgian First Division 1988-89
-Overview:It was performed in 18 teams, and KV Mechelen won the championship. And demotion of R.W.D. Molenbeek, K.R.C. Genk was decided.-League standings:-Topscorers:...
||28||13||||||||||||||||
|-
|1989-90
Belgian First Division 1989-90
The 1989–90 edition of the Belgian League was the 87th since its establishment: it was disputed by 18 teams, and Club Brugge K.V. won the championship, while K.S.K. Beveren and K.R.C. Mechelen were relegated.-League standings:-Topscorers:...
||34||15||||||||||||||||
|-
|1990-91
Belgian First Division 1990-91
-Overview:18 teams participated, and R.S.C. Anderlecht won the championship. K. Sint-Truidense V.V. and K. Beerschot V.A.C. were relgated.-League standings:-Topscorers:...
||33||14||||||||||||||||
514||230||||||||||||||||
514||230||||||||||||||||