Franky Van der Elst

Franky Van der Elst (born 30 April 1961) is a Belgian retired professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He later worked as a manager.

During a 21-year professional career he played mainly with Club Brugge, being regarded as a legend there and briefly coaching the team in the 2000s. Also, he was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers, in March 2004.<ref>Pele's list of the greatest; BBC Sport, 4 March 2004</ref>

Van der Elst won 86 caps for the Belgium national team, representing the country in four World Cups and retiring at nearly 40 years of age.

Playing career

Born in Ninove, Van der Elst started his professional career at R.W.D. Molenbeek, earning his first call-up for Belgium in 1982. Two years later, he moved to Club Brugge KV.

Club Brugge

Franky Van der Elst stayed with the club until he finished his career in 1999 with the club runners up in the league. He went on to total over 500 overall appearances with the side (466 in the league alone); during four seasons, he often partnered in midfield his namesake Leo – no relation.

Van der Elst won the Golden Shoe twice in his career, an accomplishment for an eminently defensive-minded player. He also appeared in four FIFA World Cups from 1986 to 1998,<ref>Template:FIFA</ref> only scoring once for his country in nearly 90 matches, in a 2–2 friendly draw against Norway on 25 March 1998.

Coaching career

After retiring at the age of 38, Van der Elst was appointed as manager at K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot. After four relatively successful years he was replaced by Marc Brys, and subsequently joined K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen.

In 2005, Van der Elst returned to 'his' Club Brugge, as an assistant, joining former teammates – both in club and country – Jan Ceulemans, Marc Degryse, Dany Verlinden and René Verheyen. He remained with the team when Verheyen and Ceulemans were fired in 2006, but was eventually shown the door the following year, with head coach Emilio Ferrera.

After a very short spell with FC Brussels,<ref>Franky Van der Elst moet opkrassen bij Brussels (Franky Van der Elst sacked by Brussels); Het Belang van Limburg, 15 May 2008 (in Dutch)</ref> Van der Elst moved to K.V.S.K. United Overpelt-Lommel, both clubs in the second level.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref>Template:WorldFootball.net</ref>

Club	Season	League			National cupTemplate:Efn		Other		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Molenbeek	1978–79	Belgian Pro League	1	0	0	0	—		—		1	0
	1979–80		0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	1980–81		6	0	0	0	—		—		6	0
	1981–82		33	1	1	0	—		1Template:Efn	0	35	1
	1982–83		32	1	1	0	—		—		35	2
	1983–84		31	3	1	0	—		—		32	2
	Total		103	5	5	0	0	0	1	0	109	5
Club Brugge	1984–85	Belgian Pro League	33	1	4Template:Efn	0	—		4	0	41	1
	1985–86		34	2	9	0	—		4Template:Efn	1	47	3
	1986–87		34	0	4	0	1Template:Efn	0	2Template:Efn	0	43	1
	1987–88		32	0	2	0	—		10Template:Efn	0	44	1
	1988–89		34	1	6	0	1Template:Efn	0	4Template:Efn	0	45	1
	1989–90		34	1	2	0	—		4Template:Efn	0	40	1
	1990–91		34	3	8	0	1Template:Efn	0	4Template:Efn	0	47	3
	1991–92		29	3	3	0	1Template:Efn	0	7Template:Efn	0	40	3
	1992–93		32	1	2	0	1Template:Efn	0	8Template:Efn	0	43	1
	1993–94		20	0	5	0	—		—		25	0
	1994–95		29	0	6	0	1Template:Efn	0	6Template:Efn	0	42	0
	1995–96		30	0	6	1	1Template:Efn	0	4Template:Efn	0	41	2
	1996–97		29	2	1	0	—		8Template:Efn	0	38	2
	1997–98		32	0	6	0	1Template:Efn	0	5Template:Efn	1	44	1
	1998–99		30	1	1	0	2Template:Efn	0	9Template:Efn	0	42	1
	Total		468	17	65	1	10	0	79	3	622	21
Career total			571	22	70	1	10	0	80	3	731	26

Honours and awards

Club Brugge<ref name="eurosport32">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Belgian First Division: 1987–88, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1995–96, 1997–98
• Belgian Cup: 1985–86, 1990–91, 1994–95, 1995–96
• Belgian Supercup: 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998
• Bruges Matins: 1984, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998<ref name="eurosport323">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Amsterdam Tournament: 1990<ref name="Yashin Award">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Jules Pappaert Cup: 1991, 1995<ref name="eurosport324">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Belgium

• FIFA World Cup: fourth place 1986<ref name="eurosport2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Individual

• FIFA World Cup participations: 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Belgian Golden Shoe: 1990, 1996<ref name="Yashin Award2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Belgian Fair Play Award: 1997<ref name="eurosport37">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• FIFA 100: 2004<ref name="Yashin Award6">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• The Best Golden Shoe Team: 2011<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Honorary citizen of Roosdaal: 2019<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Pro League Hall of Fame: 2024<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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External links

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