Stijn Stijnen

Stijn Stijnen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈstɛin ˈstɛinə(n)]; born 7 April 1981) is a Belgian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and the current sporting director of K.S.C. Hasselt.

Stijn Stijnen
Stijnen training with Brugge in 2011
Personal information
Full name Stijn Stijnen
Date of birth (1981-04-07) 7 April 1981
Place of birth Hasselt, Belgium
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1989–1993 Runkst VV
1993–2000 Hasselt
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2011 Club Brugge 156 (0)
2011–2013 Beerschot 33 (0)
Total 189 (0)
National team
2006–2009 Belgium 30 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He played in 189 Belgian Pro League games during thirteen seasons, mainly with Club Brugge with which he won nine major titles, including two national championships.

Club career

Born in Hasselt, Limburg, Stijnen moved from K.S.C. Hasselt to Club Brugge KV in 2000, aged 19, and became the club's first stand-in for veteran Dany Verlinden – when the latter retired at 41, he backed up Tomislav Butina. On 18 April 2003 he made his debut in the league, in a 3–0 away win against K.R.C. Genk. However, his big breakthrough came in the 2005–06 season, when he replaced the injured Butina several times; some strong performances (including the UEFA Champions League 1–2 home loss to Juventus F.C. in the group stage)[1] made him the undisputed first-choice onwards.

In the 2006–07 campaign, Stijnen was between the posts as Brugge won the Belgian Cup 1–0 against Standard Liège, but the club only finished sixth in the domestic league. He never played in less than 31 league games in the following three seasons, but the Blue and Black did not manage to win any silverware.

Stijnen retired in the 2013 summer at the age of 32, after two top flight seasons with Beerschot AC. He returned to youth club Hasselt subsequently, after being appointed director of football.[2]

International career

Belgium manager René Vandereycken noticed Stijnen's performances at club level, and handed him his debut in a friendly against Saudi Arabia on 11 May 2006. In March 2007, before an UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier in Portugal, he reportedly claimed his teammates should take opponent star Cristiano Ronaldo out of the game in an early stage, by all means necessary;[3][4] eventually the home side won 4–0, with Ronaldo scoring twice, and the Manchester United player accepted the Belgian's apologies.[5]

Stijnen retired from international play in October 2009, after collecting 30 caps.[6]

Club statistics

[7]

Season Club Country Competition Games Goals
2002/03Club Brugge Belgium Belgian Pro League20
2003/04Club Brugge Belgium Belgian Pro League00
2004/05Club Brugge Belgium Belgian Pro League10
2005/06Club Brugge Belgium Belgian Pro League150
2006/07Club Brugge Belgium Belgian Pro League270
2007/08Club Brugge Belgium Belgian Pro League310
2008/09Club Brugge Belgium Belgian Pro League310
2009/10Club Brugge Belgium Belgian Pro League350
2010/11Club Brugge Belgium Belgian Pro League120
2011/12Beerschot AC Belgium Belgian Pro League130
2012/13Beerschot AC Belgium Belgian Pro League200
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References
  1. "Juve start in familiar fashion". UEFA.com. 14 September 2005. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012.
  2. "Stijn Stijnen stopt als voorzitter van Sporting Hasselt" [Stijn Stijnen no longer Sporting Hasselt's director of football]. Het Belang van Limburg (in Dutch). 16 November 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  3. "Thursday gossip column". BBC Sport. 22 March 2007. Archived from the original on 3 June 2010.
  4. Tom Adams (31 March 2007). "Fergie wanted Boateng action". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 3 June 2010.
  5. Mark Buckingham (26 March 2007). "Ronaldo makes Stijnen peace". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 3 June 2010.
  6. "Belgian keeper Stijnen retires". Agence France-Presse. 5 October 2009. Archived from the original on 3 June 2010.
  7. "Stijn Stijnen". Footballdatabase. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
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