Jan Ceulemans - Reference.org

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Full name Jan Anna Gumaar Ceulemans

Date of birth 28 February 1957 (age 68)

Place of birth Lier, Belgium

Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)

Position(s) Attacking midfielder

1967–1974 Lierse

Years Team

1974–1978 Lierse

1978–1992 Club Brugge

Total

1977–1991 Belgium

1992–1996 Eendracht Aalst

1997–1999 Ingelmunster

1999–2005 Westerlo

2005–2006 Club Brugge

2007–2012 Westerlo

2013–2014 Cappellen

2015 Deinze

Additional information

Jan Ceulemans

Belgian footballer

Jan Anna Gumaar Ceulemans is a celebrated Belgian former professional footballer renowned for his role as a midfielder. Known for his stamina, aerial ability, technique, and imposing authority, he is considered one of Belgium’s greatest footballers. Ceulemans earned 96 caps for the Belgium national football team, a record later surpassed by Jan Vertonghen. He remains the all-time leader in appearances in the Belgian Pro League with 517 matches. Under coach Guy Thys, Ceulemans helped Belgium reach the final of Euro 80 and secure fourth place at the 1986 FIFA World Cup, marking a golden era for Belgian football.

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Career

Ceulemans was born in Lier, Belgium. His first of three World Cup appearances was at the 1982 FIFA World Cup, where Belgium beat the defending champions Argentina 1–0 in the opening game of the tournament at Camp Nou en route to reaching the second round. Among 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 spectacular diving header against Spain in the quarter-finals. His performance earned the nickname "Captain Courageous".⁴ He retired from international competition after the 1990 FIFA World Cup; Jan scored the third 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 club A.C. Milan. He remains the only football player to have posed with the A.C. Milan board for the press that never actually became an A.C. Milan player.⁵

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 three years but after several bad results he was fired in April 2006. For the 2007–08 season, he returned to K.V.C. Westerlo. He currently lives in Westerlo.

Ceulemans was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.

Style of play

Considered one of Belgium's greatest players, Ceulemans was a complete and versatile player, able to play anywhere in midfield or the attack. A physically powerful player with a tall frame, Ceulemans had great technique, was a good passer of the ball, possessed a powerful shot, and was superb in the air. He also stood out for his mentality and leadership on the pitch, receiving the nicknames. Fellow Belgium national team teammate Eric Gerets said of Ceulemans: "He wasn't the best dribbler, not the best finisher and not an assist master. He had all three. He was complete."⁶ ⁷

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition⁸

Club	Season	League			National cup		Europe		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Lierse	1974–75	First Division	15	1	2	3	—		—		17	4
	1975–76		29	12	3	1	—		—		32	13
	1976–77		34	12	2	1	2⁹	1	—		38	14
	1977–78		32	14		—			3¹⁰	3	39	19
	Total		110	39	11	7	2	1	3	3	126	50
Club Brugge	1978–79	First Division	34	13	8	9	2¹¹	2	—		44	24
	1979–80		34	29	5	4	—		—		39	33
	1980–81		32	12	3	1	2¹²	1	1¹³	1	38	15
	1981–82		29	11	2	0	2¹⁴	0	—		33	11
	1982–83		33	14	8	6	—		—		41	20
	1983–84		31	15	2	0	—		—		33	15
	1984–85		27	17	4	3	3¹⁵	1	—		34	21
	1985–86		33	13	9	7	4¹⁶	1	—		46	21
	1986–87		28	12	2	1	2¹⁷	0	1¹⁸	1	33	14
	1987–88		30	13	3	2	9¹⁹	5	—		42	20
	1988–89		28	13	4	0	4²⁰	0	1²¹	0	37	13
	1989–90		34	15	2	3	4²²	1	—		40	49
	1990–91		33	14	7	3	4²³	0	1²⁴	0	45	17
	Total		406	191	59	39	36	11	6	2	505	243
Career total			516	230	70	46	38	12	9	5	631	293

Appearances and goals by national team and year²⁵

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Belgium	1977	3	0
	1978	2	0
	1979	5	0
	1980	11	3
	1981	5	3
	1982	10	0
	1983	5	1
	1984	8	3
	1985	5	0
	1986	12	4
	1987	5	0
	1988	5	2
	1989	9	4
	1990	9	1
	1991	2	1
Total		96	23

List of international goals scored by Jan Ceulemans

No.	Cap	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	14	6 June 1980	Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium	Romania	1–1	2–1	Friendly
2	15	12 June 1980	Stadio Comunale, Turin, Italy	England	1–1	1–1	UEFA Euro 1980 Group stage
3	21	21 December 1980	Makario Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus	Cyprus	2–0	2–0	1982 World Cup qualification
4	22	18 February 1981	Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium	Cyprus	2–0	3–2	1982 World Cup qualification
5	23	25 March 1981	Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium	Republic of Ireland	1–0	1–0	1982 World Cup qualification
6	24	29 April 1981	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	France	2–3	2–3	1982 World Cup qualification
7	38	27 April 1983	Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium	East Germany	1–1	2–1	Euro 1984 qualification
8	43	6 June 1984	Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium	Hungary	1–0	2–2	Friendly
9	43	6 June 1984	Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium	Hungary	2–2	2–2	Friendly
10	46	19 June 1984	Stade de la Meinau, Strasbourg, France	Denmark	1–0	2–3	UEFA Euro 1984 Group stage
11	60	15 June 1986	Estadio León, León, Mexico	Soviet Union	2–2	4–3 (a.e.t.)	1986 World Cup Round of 16
12	61	22 June 1986	Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Puebla, Mexico	Spain	1–0	2–2 (a.e.t.)	1986 World Cup Quarter finals
13	63	28 June 1986	Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Puebla, Mexico	France	1–0	2–4 (a.e.t.)	1986 World Cup Third place play-off
14	65	14 October 1986	Stade Municipal, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	5–0	6–0	Euro 1988 qualification
15	71	11 November 1987	Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium	Luxembourg	1–0	3–0	Euro 1988 qualification
16	73	26 March 1988	Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium	Hungary	1–0 ‡	3–0	Friendly
17	74	5 June 1988	Odense Stadium, Odense, Denmark	Denmark	1–0	1–3	Friendly
18	81	8 June 1989	Terry Fox Stadium, Ottawa, Canada	Canada	1–0	2–0	Friendly
19	82	23 August 1989	Olympiastadion, Bruges, Belgium	Denmark	2–0	3–0	Friendly
20	82	23 August 1989	Olympiastadion, Bruges, Belgium	Denmark	3–0 ‡	3–0	Friendly
21	86	6 September 1989	Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium	Portugal	1–0	3–0	1990 World Cup qualification
22	90	17 June 1990	Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi, Verona, Italy	Uruguay	3–0	3–1	1990 World Cup Group stage
23	96	27 February 1991	Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht, Belgium	Luxembourg	2–0	3–0	Euro 1992 qualification