Thibaut Courtois
Encyclopedia
Thibaut Nicolas Marc Courtois (born 11 May 1992) is a Belgian
footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Chelsea
and is currently on loan to Atlético Madrid and the Belgium national team.
and current Chelsea keeper Petr Cech
as his idols.
for Courtois. On 26 July 2011, Chelsea confirmed on their website that the transfer of Courtois was finalised and that he had signed a five-year contract with the club.
club Atlético Madrid. Courtois was given the number 13 shirt, last worn by David de Gea
before his transfer to Manchester United
.
He made his debut for Atlético in the UEFA Europa League match against Vitória Guimarães
. He made his La Liga debut on 28 August 2011 against Osasuna in the 0-0 draw. Courtois started the season in impressive fashion and become first choice keeper over Sergio Asengo, keeping four clean sheets in his first six La Liga games against the likes of Osasuna, Racing de Santander
, Sporting Gijon and Sevilla
. On 26 November 2011, Courtois received his first red card of this professional career against Real Madrid
, after a last man foul on Karim Benzema
in a penalty area at the 22 minute mark, the Madrid derby
ended as a 4-1 loss for Atlético.
which ended in a 4-1 win for Belgium. On 11 October 2011, Courtois was also named in the Euro 2012 Qualifying match-day squad for Belgium against Germany
but again was left on the bench, the game ended in a 3-1 lost for Belgium. On 15 November 2011, Courtois made his debut starting in a friendly for Belgium against France, making him the youngest keeper to ever play for the Belgian national team, the game ended in a goalless draw.
C.S. – Clean sheets.
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
and is currently on loan to Atlético Madrid and the Belgium national team.
Early career
Courtois began his career with local side Bilzen V.V., where he started his career as a left back. Soon after, in 1999, he joined Racing Genk at the age of seven, and it was there that he was converted into a goalkeeper. He cites former Manchester United keeper Edwin van der SarEdwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar OON is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper for AFC Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United. He is the most capped player in the Netherlands national football team's history...
and current Chelsea keeper Petr Cech
Petr Cech
Petr Čech is a Czech footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Czech Republic as a goalkeeper. Čech previously played for Viktoria Plzeň, Chmel Blšany, Sparta Prague, and Rennes. He was voted into the all-star team of Euro 2004 after helping his country reach the semi-finals...
as his idols.
Racing Genk
After progressing through the Genk youth system, Courtois made his first team debut for Genk on 17 April 2009 against Gent. He was a key figure in Genk's title victory in the 2010–11 season, playing all of their league matches while keeping 15 clean sheets.Chelsea
On 14 July 2011, Genk agreed a fee with Premier League club ChelseaChelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
for Courtois. On 26 July 2011, Chelsea confirmed on their website that the transfer of Courtois was finalised and that he had signed a five-year contract with the club.
Loan to Atlético Madrid
On 26 July 2011, Courtois completed a season-long loan deal to Spanish La LigaLa Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
club Atlético Madrid. Courtois was given the number 13 shirt, last worn by David de Gea
David de Gea
David de Gea Quintana is a Spanish footballer who plays for Manchester United as a goalkeeper. Born in Madrid, he started his career aged 10 with Atlético Madrid and rose through the academy system at the club before making his senior debut in 2009...
before his transfer to Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
.
He made his debut for Atlético in the UEFA Europa League match against Vitória Guimarães
Vitória F.C.
Vitória Futebol Clube is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Setúbal. Popularly known as Vitória de Setúbal with the motto "A Vitória será nossa" .- Domestic :*Portuguese Liga: Runners-up 1971–72...
. He made his La Liga debut on 28 August 2011 against Osasuna in the 0-0 draw. Courtois started the season in impressive fashion and become first choice keeper over Sergio Asengo, keeping four clean sheets in his first six La Liga games against the likes of Osasuna, Racing de Santander
Racing de Santander
Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santander, in the autonomous community of Cantabria. Founded in 1913, it currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at Estadio El Sardinero, with a capacity for 22,400 spectators....
, Sporting Gijon and Sevilla
Sevilla FC
Sevilla Fútbol Club S.A.D. is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, Spain that plays in the Spanish La Liga championship.They are one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football having won a 1 La Liga title, 5 Spanish "Copa del Rey" Cups, 1 Spanish Super Cup and 2 UEFA...
. On 26 November 2011, Courtois received his first red card of this professional career against Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
, after a last man foul on Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema is a French international footballer who currently plays for Real Madrid in the Spanish La Liga. He primarily plays as a striker whose influence can extend out to the wings and is known for his technical ability, powerful style of play, and vast goal-scoring ability...
in a penalty area at the 22 minute mark, the Madrid derby
El Derbi madrileño
El Derbi madrileño is the name given to football matches between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, both of them from Madrid, Spain.Real Madrid and Atlético are clubs with contrasting identities and very different fates - a divide similar to the Manchester derby, but far more political....
ended as a 4-1 loss for Atlético.
International career
On 7 October 2011, Courtois was named in the Euro 2012 Qualifying match-day squad for Belgium against KazakhstanKazakhstan national football team
The Kazakhstan national football team represents Kazakhstan in international men's association football and is directed by Football Federation of Kazakhstan. They split from the Soviet Union national football team after independence in 1991 and joined the Asian Football Confederation's Central and...
which ended in a 4-1 win for Belgium. On 11 October 2011, Courtois was also named in the Euro 2012 Qualifying match-day squad for Belgium against Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
but again was left on the bench, the game ended in a 3-1 lost for Belgium. On 15 November 2011, Courtois made his debut starting in a friendly for Belgium against France, making him the youngest keeper to ever play for the Belgian national team, the game ended in a goalless draw.
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League1 | Cup2 | League Cup | UEFA UEFA The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer.... 3 |
Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | C.S. | Apps | Goals | C.S. | Apps | Goals | C.S. | Apps | Goals | C.S. | Apps | Goals | C.S. | ||
| Genk K.R.C. Genk Koninklijke Racing Club Genk , usually referred to as Racing Genk or simply Genk, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Genk in Belgian Limburg. Racing Genk plays in the Belgian Pro League and they have won 3 Belgian champion titles in 1998–99, in 2001–02 and in 2010–11 as... |
2008–09 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009–10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2010–11 | 40 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 14 | |
| Genk Total | 41 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 0 | 14 | |
| Atlético Madrid (loan) | 2011–12 2011–12 La Liga The 2011–12 La Liga season is the 81st since its establishment. Barcelona are the defending champions, having won their 21st La Liga title in the previous season for the third time in a row. The campaign began on 27 August 2011, and will end on 13 May 2012... |
13 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 8 |
| Atlético Madrid Total | 13 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 8 | |
| Total | 54 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 63 | 0 | 22 | |
- 1Inncluding theLa LigaLa LigaThe Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
and Belgian Pro League. - 2Including Belgian CupBelgian CupThe Belgian Cup is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Belgian Football Association. The first cup was held in 1911-12. The most successful cup club is Club Brugge KV with 10 titles followed by RSC Anderlecht and R Standard de Liège...
and Copa del ReyCopa del ReyThe Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....
. - 3Including UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
and UEFA Europa League.
C.S. – Clean sheets.
Club
Racing Genk- Belgian Pro League: 2010–11
- Belgian CupBelgian CupThe Belgian Cup is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Belgian Football Association. The first cup was held in 1911-12. The most successful cup club is Club Brugge KV with 10 titles followed by RSC Anderlecht and R Standard de Liège...
: 2008–09
Individual
- Goalkeeper of the Year: 2010–11
- Racing GenkK.R.C. GenkKoninklijke Racing Club Genk , usually referred to as Racing Genk or simply Genk, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Genk in Belgian Limburg. Racing Genk plays in the Belgian Pro League and they have won 3 Belgian champion titles in 1998–99, in 2001–02 and in 2010–11 as...
Player of the Year: 2010–11