Lei Clijsters
 Clijsters with the Golden Shoe in 1988 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leo Albert Jozef Clijsters | ||
| Date of birth | 6 November 1956 | ||
| Place of birth | Opitter, Belgium | ||
| Date of death | 4 January 2009 (aged 52) | ||
| Place of death | Gruitrode, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) |
Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1968–1973 | Opitter | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1973–1975 |
Club Brugge | 1 | (0) |
| 1975–1977 | Patro Eisden | 29 | (1) |
| 1977–1982 | Tongeren | 167 | (22) |
| 1982–1986 | Thor Waterschei | 119 | (6) |
| 1986–1992 |
Mechelen | 174 | (13) |
| 1992–1993 |
FC Liège | 21 | (0) |
| Total | 511 | (42) | |
| International career | |||
| 1983–1991 | Belgium | 40 | (3) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1993–1994 | Patro Eisden | ||
| 1994–1997 | Gent | ||
| 1998 | Lommel SK | ||
| 1999–2000 |
Diest | ||
| 2000 |
Mechelen | ||
| 2000–2001 | Diest | ||
| 2007–2008 | Tongeren | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Leo Albert Jozef "Lei" Clijsters (6 November 1956 – 4 January 2009) was a Belgian professional
Throughout his extensive senior career, the tough stopper was mainly associated with
Club career
Lei Clijsters was born on 6 November 1956 in Opitter, started his football career with local Opitter FC. Later, he played for
In 1988, Clijsters also won the
Afterward, he managed the professional
International career
Clijsters played in 40 international matches for the Belgium national team, participating at UEFA Euro 1984 and the 1986 and 1990 FIFA World Cups.
In the 1986 edition, as Belgium reached the last four, he only appeared in two matches (being used as a
In 1990, Clijsters saw action against
Personal life
Clijsters was married to Els Vandecaetsbeek from 1982 until 2005.[7]
Death
On 4 January 2009, Leo Clijsters succumbed to an illness at age 52.[8][9] Upon his death, Belgian newspapers like Het Laatste Nieuws revealed that he suffered from a recurrence of melanoma which had spread to the lungs and other organs, having already experienced a bout of this condition twenty-five years earlier.[10]
Honours
Player
KV Mechelen[11]
- Belgian First Division: 1988–89
- Belgian Cup: 1986–87; runner-up 1990–91, 1991–92[12]
- European Cup Winners Cup: 1987–88
- European Super Cup: 1988
- Amsterdam Tournament: 1989[13]
- Joan Gamper Trophy: 1989[14]
- Jules Pappaert Cup: 1990[15]
Belgium
- FIFA World Cup: fourth place 1986[16]
Individual
- Belgian Golden Shoe: 1988[17]
- Platina Eleven (Best Team in 50 Years of Golden Shoe Winners) (2003)[18]
References
- ^ Lei Clijsters: "Je ne lis que des ragots" (Lei Clijsters: "I read nothing but rumours"); DH, 3 May 2007 (in French)
- ^ a b Clijsters a baby mamma – and her mamma's a baby mamma too Archived 27 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine; The Gazette, 18 March 2008
- ^ "Beknopte geschiedenis van KAA Gent" (in Dutch). KAA Gent. Archived from the original on 9 July 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
- ^ Kroichick, Ron (27 July 2003). "Capriati, Clijsters reach final / Compelling matchup looms for Bank of the West title". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
- ^ Kim Clijsters maman d'une petite fille (Kim Clijsters mother of a baby girl) Archived 13 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine; My Free Sport (in French)
- ^ Belgium – Uruguay match report; FIFA.com
- ^ Hughes, Rob (6 January 2009). "Farewell to the tranquil captain". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
- ^ Father of Kim Clijsters dies Archived 24 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine; Sports Illustrated, 4 January 2009
- ^ Belgium mourns Clijsters; UEFA.com
- ^ Lei Clijsters overleden aan huidkanker (Lei Clijsters dies of skin cancer) Archived 6 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine; HLN, 4 January 2009 (in Dutch)
- ^ "KV Mechelen | Geschiedenis".
- ^ "Belgium - List of Cup Finals".
- ^ "Amsterdam Tournament".
- ^ "Uitslagen van de Joan Gamper Trophy".
- ^ "Le Trophée Pappaert". 12 October 2023.
- ^ "FIFA 1986 World Cup". Archived from the original on 5 June 2016.
- ^ "OVERZICHT. Wie waren de voorgangers van Gouden Schoen-winnaar Matias Suarez?". Het Nieuwsblad. 11 January 2012. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ^ UEFA.com (15 January 2004). "Aruna voted Belgium's finest | Inside UEFA". UEFA.com. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
External links
- Lei Clijsters at National-Football-Teams.com
- Club Brugge archives (in Dutch)
- Lei Clijsters at WorldFootball.net
Belgium squads | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||
