View source for Thomas Buffel

{{Short description|Belgian footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Thomas Buffel
| image = Thomas Buffel.JPG
| upright = 0.9
| caption = Buffel in training with Belgium in 2006
| fullname = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1981|02|19}}
| birth_place = [[Bruges]], Belgium
| height = 1.75 m
| currentclub = [[K.R.C. Genk|Jong Genk]] (manager)
| position = [[Attacking midfielder]]
| youthyears1 = 1986–1990 | youthclubs1 = Daring Ruddervoorde
| youthyears2 = 1990–1997 | youthclubs2 = [[Cercle Brugge K.S.V.|Cercle Brugge]]
| youthyears3 = 1997–1999 | youthclubs3 = [[Feyenoord]]
| years1 = 1999–2005 | clubs1 = [[Feyenoord]] | caps1 = 80 | goals1 = 35
| years2 = 2000–2002 | clubs2 = → [[Excelsior Rotterdam|Excelsior]] (loan) | caps2 = 63 | goals2 = 27
| years3 = 2005–2008 | clubs3 = [[Rangers F.C.|Rangers]] | caps3 = 51 | goals3 = 8
| years4 = 2008–2009 | clubs4 = [[Cercle Brugge K.S.V.|Cercle Brugge]] | caps4 = 35 | goals4 = 5
| years5 = 2009–2018 | clubs5 = [[K.R.C. Genk|Genk]] | caps5 = 235 | goals5 = 34
| years6 = 2018–2019 | clubs6 = [[S.V. Zulte Waregem|Zulte Waregem]] | caps6 = 18 | goals6 = 4
| totalcaps = 482
| totalgoals = 113
| nationalyears1 = 1995 | nationalteam1 = Belgium U15 | nationalcaps1 = 2 | nationalgoals1 = 0 
| nationalyears2 = 1995–1998 | nationalteam2 = Belgium U16 | nationalcaps2 = 12 | nationalgoals2 = 1
| nationalyears3 = 1995–1998 | nationalteam3 = [[Belgium national under-17 football team|Belgium U17]] | nationalcaps3 = 22 | nationalgoals3 = 14
| nationalyears4 = 1998–1999 | nationalteam4 = Belgium U18 | nationalcaps4 = 11 | nationalgoals4 = 1
| nationalyears5 = 2000 | nationalteam5 = [[Belgium national under-19 football team|Belgium U19]] | nationalcaps5 = 1 | nationalgoals5 = 0 
| nationalyears6 = 2002 | nationalteam6 = [[Belgium national under-21 football team|Belgium U21]] | nationalcaps6 = 2 | nationalgoals6 = 0
| nationalyears7 = 2002–2013 | nationalteam7 = [[Belgium national football team|Belgium]] | nationalcaps7 = 36 | nationalgoals7 = 6
| manageryears1 = 2019–2020
| managerclubs1 = [[Belgium national under-19 football team|Belgium U19]] (assistant)
| manageryears2 = 2020–2024
| managerclubs2 = [[Belgium national under-21 football team|Belgium U21]] (assistant)
| manageryears3 = 2021
| managerclubs3 = [[Cercle Brugge K.S.V.|Cercle Brugge]] (assistant)
| manageryears4 = 2024–2025
| managerclubs4 = [[K.R.C. Genk|Jong Genk]]
}}

'''Thomas Buffel''' ({{IPA|nl|ˈtoːmɑz ˈbʏfəl}};{{efn|In isolation, ''Thomas'' is pronounced {{IPA|nl|ˈtoːmɑs|}}.}} born 19 February 1981) is a Belgian professional [[association football|football]] coach and a former player who played as an [[attacking midfielder]] or [[forward (association football)|forward]]. He is the manager of [[K.R.C. Genk|Jong Genk]] in [[Challenger Pro League]]. He represented the [[Belgium national football team|Belgium national team]] at international level.

==Club career==
[[File:Thomas Buffel Genk.jpg|thumb|190px|left|Thomas Buffel in Genk]]

===Early career===
Buffel began his career with Belgian sides Daring Ruddervoorde and [[Cercle Brugge K.S.V.|Cercle Brugge]] before making a move to the Netherlands.

Buffel played for the Dutch team [[Feyenoord]] in the 1999–2000 season, before moving to their feeder team [[Excelsior Rotterdam]] from 2000 to 2002. He returned to Feyenoord for the [[2002–03 Eredivisie]] season. He reportedly fell out with then-manager [[Ruud Gullit]] in the next season "after refusing to sign a new contract".<ref>{{cite news|title=Rangers just fan-tastic|url=http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/sport/6016018.html|date=6 January 2005|access-date=2 December 2015|work=Evening Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050216000608/http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/sport/6016018.html|archive-date=16 February 2005}}</ref>

===Rangers===
Buffel moved to the Scottish side [[Rangers F.C.|Rangers]] in January 2005 in a £2.3 million, four-and-a-half-year deal.<ref name="Rangers transfer">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/4132791.stm|work=BBC Sport|title=Rangers secure Buffel signature|date=5 January 2005}}</ref> He made his debut in the [[Scottish Cup]] coming on as a substitute against [[Old Firm]] rivals [[Celtic F.C.|Celtic]] in what was to be a 2–1 defeat.<ref name="Celtic 2-1 Rangers ">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_div_1/4154599.stm|work=BBC Sport|title=Celtic 2-1 Rangers|date=9 January 2005}}</ref> However, the season did not end badly for him as he was to play a key role in the [[2004–05 Scottish League Cup|2005 Scottish League Cup Final]], where Rangers defeated [[Motherwell F.C.|Motherwell]] 5–1.<ref name="Rangers 5-1 Motherwell ">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_div_1/4359199.stm|work=BBC Sport|title=Rangers 5-1 Motherwell|date=20 March 2005}}</ref> He also featured in the Rangers team for the latter part of the season where he would help them to their 51st league title<ref>{{cite news|last1=Grahame|first1=Ewing|title=Novo has Rangers in a party mood|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2360030/Novo-has-Rangers-in-a-party-mood.html|access-date=5 December 2015|work=The Telegraph|date=23 May 2005}}</ref> making it a double for his [[2004–05 Rangers F.C. season|first season]] with the club. Buffel scored five goals in 18 appearances in all competitions.<ref name=sb2005-06>{{Soccerbase season|32954|2004|name=Thomas Buffel|access-date=5 December 2015}}</ref><ref name="fitba2006-07">{{cite web|title=Rangers Player Thomas Buffel Details|url=http://www.fitbastats.com/rangers/player.php?playerid=1165|website=fitbastats.com|access-date=5 December 2015}}</ref>

Buffel featured in the [[UEFA Champions League|Champions League]] and helped Rangers reach the last 16 of the tournament, where they lost to [[Villarreal CF|Villarreal]] 3–3 on aggregate and were knocked out on away goals rule. Across all competitions, he scored seven goals in 38 appearances during the [[2005–06 Rangers F.C. season|2005–2006 season]]<ref name="fitba2006-07"/> mostly playing in the [[midfield]].{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

In the 2007 January [[transfer window]], German club [[Hannover 96]] expressed an interest in him, with Rangers manager [[Walter Smith]] saying Buffel was free to leave. However, the deal fell through when Buffel was unable to agree personal terms with the [[Bundesliga]] side.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/6311741.stm|title=Buffel Bundesliga move collapses|date= 31 January 2007|work=BBC Sport}}</ref> It was announced on 9 February 2007 that Buffel would undergo surgery on a long-term knee injury and would not take any further part in the [[Rangers F.C. season 2006–07|2006–07 season]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Buffel's season ended by injury|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/6348611.stm|access-date=2 December 2015|work=BBC Sport|date=9 February 2007}}</ref> He returned to action on 26 September as a substitute in a [[Scottish League Cup]] tie against [[East Fife F.C.|East Fife]].<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_cups/7010992.stm
|title=East Fife 0-4 Rangers
|publisher=BBC
|date=26 September 2007 |access-date=18 October 2020}}</ref> He would go on to make just five appearances in all competitions in his final season at Rangers.<ref>{{Soccerbase season|32954|2007|name=Thomas Buffel|access-date=18 October 2020}}</ref>

===Cercle Brugge===
Buffel's Rangers career came to an end when he joined former club [[Cercle Brugge]] on 1 July 2008.<ref>{{cite news|title=Buffel exits Rangers for Cercle|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/7483845.stm|access-date=2 December 2015|work=BBC Sport|date=1 July 2008}}</ref>

===Genk===
In the 2009 summer transfer window Buffel made a last-minute transfer to [[K.R.C. Genk|KRC Genk]] as part of a deal between Genk and Cercle Brugge with [[Jelle Vossen]] (on loan) and [[Hans Cornelis]] moving the opposite way.<ref>{{cite news|title=Buffel naar Genk, Vossen en Cornelis naar Cercle|trans-title=Buffel to Genk, Vossen and Cornelis to Cercle|url=http://www.demorgen.be/sport/buffel-naar-genk-vossen-en-cornelis-naar-cercle-bd869cba/|access-date=2 December 2015|work=De Morgen|date=1 September 2009|language=nl}}</ref>

In the [[2010–11 Belgian Pro League|2010–11 season]] he won the Belgian league title with Genk.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Scholten|first1=Berend|title=Genk pip Standard to Belgian title|url=https://www.uefa.com/news/01f1-0e78734e6e7c-69c017afc020-1000--genk-pip-standard-to-belgian-title/|access-date=5 December 2015|work=UEFA|date=17 May 2011}}</ref>

His contract was not renewed at the end of the 2017–18 season.<ref name="zulte">{{cite news |title=Thomas Buffel trekt naar Zulte Waregem |url=http://kw.knack.be/west-vlaanderen/sport/voetbal/zulte-waregem/thomas-buffel-trekt-naar-zulte-waregem/article-normal-325915.html |access-date=19 July 2018 |work=KW |publisher=Knack |date=24 June 2018 |language=nl}}</ref>

===Zulte Waregem===
In June 2018, it was announced Buffel would continue his career at [[S.V. Zulte Waregem|Zulte Waregem]].<ref name="zulte"/>

Buffel retired at the end of the 2018–19 season.<ref>[https://www.gva.be/cnt/dmf20190516_04405275/afscheid-van-thomas-buffel-zal-hem-nog-lang-heugen-compleet-bestickerde-auto-bloem-en-rode-haarkleur Afscheid van Thomas Buffel zal hem nog lang heugen: compleet bestickerde auto, bloem en rode haarkleur], gva.be, 16 May 2019</ref>

==International career==
Buffel made his debut for Belgium against [[Andorra national football team|Andorra]] in October 2002 in what was to be a 1–0 victory.<ref name="Andorra 0-1 Belgium">{{cite news|url=http://www.uefa.com/competitions/EURO/history/Season=2004/Round=1579/Match=69026/index.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20070513043040/http://www.uefa.com/competitions/EURO/history/Season=2004/Round=1579/Match=69026/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 May 2007|publisher=[[UEFA]]|title=Andorra 0-1 Belgium|date=12 October 2002}}</ref> He has since then gained 35 caps and scored 7 goals.

==Coaching career==
Buffel began his coaching career in September 2019, when he was appointed assistant manager to [[Jacky Mathijssen]] at the [[Belgium national under-19 football team|Belgium national U-19 team]].<ref>[https://sportmagazine.levif.be/sport/foot-national/thomas-buffel-nouvel-adjoint-de-l-equipe-nationale-u19/article-belga-1188103.html?cookie_check=1641413134 Thomas Buffel nouvel adjoint de l'équipe nationale U19], sportmagazine.levif.be, 9 September 2019</ref> In March 2020, Buffel and Mathijssen was promoted to the U-21 national team.<ref>[https://www.rbfa.be/fr/nouvelles/jacky-mathijssen-nouvel-entraineur-federal-des-u21 JACKY MATHIJSSEN, NOUVEL ENTRAÎNEUR FÉDÉRAL DES U21], rbfa.be, 14 March 2020</ref>

On 3 February 2021, Buffel was also hired as an assistant manager for former club [[Cercle Brugge K.S.V.|Cercle Brugge]] under newly appointed manager [[Yves Vanderhaeghe]], next to his job at the national team.<ref>[https://www.voetbalkrant.com/nieuws/2021-02-03/officieel-yves-vanderhaeghe-is-de-nieuwe-trainer-van-cercle-brugge-thomas-buffel-wordt-assistent Officieel: Yves Vanderhaeghe is de nieuwe trainer van Cercle Brugge, Thomas Buffel wordt assistent], voetbalkrant.com, 3 February 2020</ref> However, on 5 October 2021, Buffel decided to leave the position, as he was going to start his Pro License course and he therefore no longer could combine his two jobs.<ref>[https://sporza.be/nl/2021/10/05/cercle-brugge-neemt-afscheid-van-assistent-coach-thomas-buffel~1633450100262/ Cercle Brugge neemt afscheid van assistent-coach Thomas Buffel], sporza.be, 5 October 2021</ref>

On 18 June 2024, Buffel was hired as head coach of [[K.R.C. Genk|Jong Genk]], the reserve team of Genk that plays in the second-tier [[Challenger Pro League]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Genk|url=https://www.krcgenk.be/en/news/5578/thomas-buffel-new-coach-jong-genk|title=Thomas Buffel new coach Jong Genk|date=18 June 2024|access-date=15 January 2025}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Buffel was married to Stephanie De Buysser, with whom he had twin sons born in November 2013. They married in June 2016, when De Buysser was already suffering from colon cancer. On 26 January 2017, De Buysser died.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20170126_02696382|title=Vrouw van Thomas Buffel verliest strijd tegen darmkanker|first=Guy|last=Stevens|date=26 January 2017 }}</ref>

==Career statistics==

===Club===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|Cup
!colspan="2"|Continental
!colspan="2"|Other
!colspan="2"|Total
!rowspan="2"|{{Tooltip|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Excelsior Rotterdam|Excelsior]] (loan)
|[[2000–01 Eerste Divisie|2000–01]]
|rowspan="2"|[[Eerste Divisie]]
|31||12||||||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||31||12
|<ref name="wf">{{cite web |title=Thomas Buffel » Club matches |url=http://www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/thomas-buffel/2/ |website=worldfootball.net |access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref>
|-
|[[2001–02 Eerste Divisie|2001–02]]
|32||15||||||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||32||15
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!63!!27!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!63!!27
!–
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Feyenoord]]
|[[2002–03 Feyenoord season|2002–03]]
|rowspan="3"|[[Eredivisie]]
|31||18||||||7||0||1{{efn|Two appearances in [[UEFA Super Cup]]}}||0||39||18
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
|[[2003–04 Feyenoord season|2003–04]]
|34||15||||||4||2||colspan="2"|—||38||17
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
|[[2004–05 Feyenoord season|2004–05]]
|15||2||||||6||0||colspan="2"|—||21||2
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!80!!35!!0!!0!!17!!2!!1!!0!!98!!37
!–
|-
|rowspan="5"|[[Rangers F.C.|Rangers]]
|[[2004–05 Rangers F.C. season|2004–05]]
|rowspan="4"|[[Scottish Premier League]]
|10||1||||||0||0||5{{efn|Five appearances, three goals in [[Scottish Premiership]] playoffs}}||3||15||4
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
|[[2005–06 Rangers F.C. season|2005–06]]
|24||4||||||7||1||5{{efn|Five appearances in [[Scottish Premiership]] playoffs}}||0||36||5
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
|[[2006–07 Rangers F.C. season|2006–07]]
|16||3||||||5||1||0||0||21||4
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
|[[2007–08 Rangers F.C. season|2007–08]]
|1||0||1||0||2||0||0||0||4||0
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!51!!8!!1!!0!!14!!2!!10!!3!!76!!13
!–
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Cercle Brugge K.S.V.|Cercle Brugge]]
|[[2008–09 Belgian First Division|2008–09]]
|[[Belgian First Division]]
|30||3||||||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||30||3
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
|[[2009–10 Belgian Pro League|2009–10]]
|[[Belgian Pro League]]
|5||2||||||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|—||2||5
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!35!!5!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!35!!5
!–
|-
|rowspan="10"|[[K.R.C. Genk|Genk]]
|[[2009–10 Belgian Pro League|2009–10]]
|rowspan="7"|Belgian Pro League
|25||4||2||0||colspan="2"|—||9{{efn|Nine appearances, three goals in [[Belgian Pro League]] playoffs}}||3||36||7
|<ref name="wf"/><ref name="sw">{{cite web |title=T. Buffel |url=https://int.soccerway.com/players/thomas-buffel/827/ |website=Soccerway |access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref>
|-
|[[2010–11 Belgian Pro League|2010–11]]
|26||1||2||0||2||0||7{{efn|Seven appearances in [[Belgian Pro League]] playoffs}}||0||37||1
|<ref name="wf"/><ref name="sw"/>
|-
|[[2011–12 Belgian Pro League|2011–12]]
|26||8||1||0||9||1||8{{efn|Seven appearances in [[Belgian Pro League]] playoffs, one appearance in [[Belgian Super Cup]]}}||0||44||9
|<ref name="wf"/><ref name="sw"/>
|-
|[[2012–13 Belgian Pro League|2012–13]]
|29||4||5||1||11||2||10{{efn|Ten appearances in [[Belgian Pro League]] playoffs}}||0||55||7
|<ref name="wf"/><ref name="sw"/>
|-
|[[2013–14 Belgian Pro League|2013–14]]
|26||3||1||0||9||1||10{{efn|Nine appearances, three goals in [[Belgian Pro League]] playoffs, one appearance in [[Belgian Super Cup]]}}||3||46||7
|<ref name="wf"/><ref name="sw"/>
|-
|[[2014–15 Belgian Pro League|2014–15]]
|28||3||1||0||0||0||6{{efn|Six appearances, three goals in [[Belgian Pro League]] playoffs}}||3||35||6
|<ref name="wf"/><ref name="sw"/>
|-
|[[2015–16 Belgian Pro League|2015–16]]
|28||6||4||1||0||0||12{{efn|Twelve appearances, three goals in [[Belgian Pro League]] playoffs}}||3||44||10
|<ref name="wf"/><ref name="sw"/>
|-
|[[2016–17 Belgian First Division A|2016–17]]
|rowspan="2"|[[Belgian First Division A]]
|21||2||2||0||17||4||10{{efn|Ten appearances, two goals in [[Belgian First Division]] playoffs}}||2||50||8
|<ref name="wf"/><ref name="sw"/>
|-
|[[2017–18 Belgian First Division A|2017–18]]
|26||3||6||1||0||0||9{{efn|Nine appearances in [[Belgian First Division]] playoffs}}||0||41||4
|<ref name="wf"/><ref name="sw"/>
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!235!!34!!24!!3!!48!!8!!81!!14!!388!!59
!–
|-
|[[Cercle Brugge K.S.V.|Cercle Brugge]]
|[[2018–19 Belgian First Division A|2018–19]]
|Belgian First Division A
|18||4||2||0||colspan="2"|—||1||0||21||4
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
!colspan="3"|Career total
!482!!113!!27!!3!!79!!12!!93!!17!!681!!145
!–
|}

{{notelist}}

===International===
:''Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Buffel goal.''

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Thomas Buffel
|-
!scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Venue
!scope="col"|Opponent
!scope="col"|Score
!scope="col"|Result
!scope="col"|Competition
|-
| align="center"|1 || 30 April 2003 || [[King Baudouin Stadium]], [[Brussels]], Belgium || {{fb|Poland}} || align="center"|2–0 || align="center"|3–1 || [[Friendly (association football)|Friendly]]
|-
| align="center"|2 || 11 October 2003 || [[Stade Maurice Dufrasne]], [[Liège]], Belgium || {{fb|Estonia}} || align="center"|2–0 || align="center"|2–0 || [[UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying|Euro 2004 Qualification]]
|-
| align="center"|3 || rowspan="2"|18 August 2004 || rowspan="2"|[[Ullevaal Stadion|Ullevaal]], [[Oslo]], Norway || rowspan="2"|{{fb|Norway}} ||align="center"| 1–0 || rowspan="2" align="center"|2–2 || rowspan="2"|Friendly
|-
| align="center"|4 || align="center"|2–1
|-
| align="center"|5 || 26 March 2005 || King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium || {{fb|Bosnia-Herzegovina}} || align="center"|4–1 || align="center"|4–1 || [[2006 FIFA World Cup qualification|2006 World Cup Qualification]]
|-
| align="center"|6 || 7 September 2005 || [[Olympisch Stadion (Antwerp)|Olympisch Stadion]], [[Antwerp]], Belgium || {{fb|San Marino}} || align="center"|3–0 || align="center"|8–0 || 2006 World Cup Qualification
|}

==Honours==
'''Rangers'''<ref>{{cite web |date=6 January 2023 |title=Rangers - Palmarès |url=https://www.footmercato.net/club/glasgow-rangers/palmares |access-date= |work=footmercato.net |language=fr}}</ref>
*[[Scottish Premier League]]: [[2004–05 Scottish Premier League|2004–05]]
*[[Scottish League Cup]]: [[2004–05 Scottish League Cup|2004–05]]

'''Genk<ref>{{Cite web |last=Projects |first=Sanmax |title=Algemene info {{!}} KRC Genk |url=https://www.krcgenk.be/nl/club/algemene-info |access-date=8 November 2020 |website=www.krcgenk.be |language=nl}}</ref>'''
*[[Belgian First Division A|Belgian Pro League]]: [[2010–11 Belgian Pro League|2010–11]]
*[[Belgian Cup]]: [[2012–13 Belgian Cup|2012–13]]
*[[Belgian Super Cup]]: [[2011 Belgian Super Cup|2011]]
'''Individual'''

* [[Eerste Divisie]] [[:nl:Gouden Stier (voetbalprijs)|Golden Bull award (nl)]]: [[2000–01 Eerste Divisie|2000–01]], [[2001–02 Eerste Divisie|2001–02]]<ref>{{cite web |date=8 December 2024 |title=Graven in het geheugen van Michel Breuer: ‘Sorry, ik weet het niet meer, misschien te veel gekopt?’ |url=https://www.ad.nl/regiosport-rotterdam/graven-in-het-geheugen-van-michel-breuer-sorry-ik-weet-het-niet-meer-misschien-te-veel-gekopt~ae9e3118/ |url-status= |access-date= |work=ad.n |language=nl}}</ref>
* [[Belgian Pro League|Pro League]] Hall of Fame: 2024<ref>{{cite web |date=5 November 2024 |title=12 Gouden Schoenen en meer dan 3.000 wedstrijden in België: dit is de Pro League Hall of Fame |trans-title=12 Golden Boots and more than 3,000 matches in Belgium: this is the Pro League Hall of Fame |url=https://sporza.be/nl/2024/11/04/12-gouden-schoenen-en-meer-dan-3000-wedstrijden-in-belgie-dit-is-de-pro-league-hall-of-fame~1730737294540/ |access-date= |work=[[Sporza]] |language=nl}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.thomasbuffel.com/}} {{in lang|nl|en}}
*{{Soccerbase|32954}}
*{{RBFA player|PH_1598}}
*{{NFT|693}}

{{Belgian Sportsperson of the Year}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buffel, Thomas}}
[[Category:1981 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Footballers from Bruges]]
[[Category:Belgian men's footballers]]
[[Category:Belgium men's international footballers]]
[[Category:Belgium men's under-21 international footballers]]
[[Category:Belgium men's youth international footballers]]
[[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]
[[Category:Cercle Brugge K.S.V. players]]
[[Category:Excelsior Rotterdam players]]
[[Category:Feyenoord players]]
[[Category:Rangers F.C. players]]
[[Category:KRC Genk players]]
[[Category:SV Zulte Waregem players]]
[[Category:Eredivisie players]]
[[Category:Eerste Divisie players]]
[[Category:Scottish Premier League players]]
[[Category:Belgian Pro League players]]
[[Category:Belgian expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland]]
[[Category:Belgian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland]]
[[Category:Belgian football managers]]
[[Category:Cercle Brugge K.S.V. non-playing staff]]
[[Category:Challenger Pro League managers]]
[[Category:21st-century Belgian sportsmen]]