Gregory Mertens
 Mertens while at Lokeren in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gregory Mertens | ||
| Date of birth | 2 February 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Anderlecht, Belgium | ||
| Date of death | 30 April 2015 (aged 24) | ||
| Place of death | Genk, Belgium | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2005 | Anderlecht | ||
| 2005–2006 | Dilbeek Sport | ||
| 2006–2010 | Gent | ||
| 2010–2011 |
Cercle Brugge | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2014 |
Cercle Brugge | 73 | (5) |
| 2014–2015 | Lokeren | 28 | (0) |
| Total | 101 | (5) | |
| International career | |||
| 2006 | Belgium U16 | 1 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Belgium U19 | 5 | (1) |
| 2011 | Belgium U21 | 7 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Gregory Mertens (2 February 1991 – 30 April 2015) was a
Career
Mertens moved from the reserves of
On 12 February 2011, Mertens made his senior debut for Cercle as an 89th-minute substitute for Hans Cornelis in a match against his former team R.S.C. Anderlecht. Cercle lost the match 1–0.
On 23 May 2013, he scored his first hat trick against WS Woluwe.[citation needed]
Death
Mertens suffered a cardiac arrest during a reserve game for Lokeren against K.R.C. Genk on 27 April 2015. He was immediately taken to hospital where he was put in an artificially induced coma.[1] He died on 30 April 2015 at around 16:30. Lokeren declared that Mertens had passed all fitness tests set by UEFA, and therefore the cause of his cardiac arrest needed to be established.[2]
On the day after his death, Lokeren lined up for their play-off match against
Honours
Lokeren
- 2013–14[4]
See also
- List of association footballers who died while playing
- List of association footballers who died during their careers
References
- ^ Short, Joe. "Belgian footballer Gregory Mertens in artificial coma after collapsing during match". Express.co.uk.
- ^ "Gregory Mertens: Ex-Belgium U21 player dies after collapse". BBC Sport. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ^ "Gregory Mertens: Lokeren return to action after player's death". BBC Sport. 1 May 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
- ^ "Lokeren remporte sa deuxième Coupe de Belgique". rtbf.be. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
External links
- Gregory Mertens at Soccerway
- Gregory Mertens player info at the official Cercle Brugge site (in Dutch)
- Cerclemuseum.be (in Dutch)
- Gregory Mertens at the Royal Belgian Football Association