Stijn Stijnen Explained

Stijn Stijnen
Birth Date:7 April 1981
Birth Place:Hasselt, Belgium
Height:1.88 m
Position:Goalkeeper
Currentclub:Patro Eisden Maasmechelen (manager)
Youthyears1:1989–1993
Youthclubs1:Runkst VV
Youthyears2:1993–2000
Youthclubs2:Hasselt
Years1:2000–2011
Caps1:156
Goals1:0
Years2:2011–2013
Caps2:33
Goals2:0
Totalcaps:189
Totalgoals:0
Manageryears1:2016–2017
Manageryears2:2018–
Managerclubs2:Patro Eisden Maasmechelen
Nationalyears1:2006–2009
Nationalcaps1:30
Nationalgoals1:0

Stijn Stijnen (in Dutch; Flemish pronounced as /ˈstɛin ˈstɛinə(n)/; born 7 April 1981) is a Belgian professional football coach and a former goalkeeper who is the manager of Patro Eisden Maasmechelen.

He played in 189 Belgian Pro League games during thirteen seasons, mainly with Club Brugge with which he won nine major titles, including two national championships.

Club career

Born in Hasselt, Limburg, Stijnen moved from K.S.C. Hasselt to Club Brugge KV in 2000, aged 19, and became the club's first stand-in for veteran Dany Verlinden – when the latter retired at 41, he backed up Tomislav Butina. On 18 April 2003, he made his debut in the league, in a 3–0 away win against K.R.C. Genk. However, his big breakthrough came in the 2005–06 season, when he replaced the injured Butina several times; some strong performances (including the UEFA Champions League 2–1 home loss to Juventus in the group stage)[1] made him the undisputed first-choice onwards.

In the 2006–07 campaign, Stijnen was between the posts as Brugge won the Belgian Cup 1–0 against Standard Liège, but the club only finished sixth in the domestic league. He never played in less than 31 league games in the following three seasons, but the Blue and Black did not manage to win any silverware.

Stijnen retired in the 2013 summer at the age of 32, after two top flight seasons with Beerschot AC. He returned to youth club Hasselt subsequently, after being appointed director of football.[2]

International career

Belgium manager René Vandereycken noticed Stijnen's performances at club level, and handed him his debut in a friendly against Saudi Arabia on 11 May 2006. In March 2007, before an UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier in Portugal, he reportedly claimed his teammates should take opponent star Cristiano Ronaldo out of the game in an early stage, by all means necessary;[3] [4] eventually the home side won 4–0, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice, and the Manchester United player accepted the Belgian's apologies.[5]

Stijnen retired from international play in October 2009, after collecting 30 caps.[6]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[7]
ClubSeasonLeague
DivisionAppsGoals
Club Brugge2002–03Belgian Pro League20
2003–04Belgian Pro League00
2004–05Belgian Pro League10
2005–06Belgian Pro League150
2006–07Belgian Pro League270
2007–08Belgian Pro League310
2008–09Belgian Pro League310
2009–10Belgian Pro League350
2010–11Belgian Pro League120
Total1540
Beerschot AC2011–12Belgian Pro League130
2012–13Belgian Pro League200
Total330
Career total1870

Honours

Club Brugge

2002–03, 2004–05[8]

2001–02, 2006–07[9] [10]

2002, 2003, 2004, 2005[11] [12] [13] [14]

2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 [15]

2005[16]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Juve start in familiar fashion . UEFA.com . 14 September 2005 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121021011655/http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/history/season=2005/round=2201/match=1100251/report=rp.html . 21 October 2012 .
  2. News: Stijn Stijnen stopt als voorzitter van Sporting Hasselt. Stijn Stijnen no longer Sporting Hasselt's director of football. Het Belang van Limburg. Dutch. 16 November 2015. 30 December 2015.
  3. News: Thursday gossip column. BBC Sport. 22 March 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20100603025147/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/gossip_and_transfers/6478301.stm. 3 June 2010. dead.
  4. News: Fergie wanted Boateng action. Sky Sports. Tom Adams. 31 March 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20100603025147/http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11667_2409982,00.html. 3 June 2010. dead.
  5. News: Ronaldo makes Stijnen peace. Sky Sports. Mark Buckingham. 26 March 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20100603025147/http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11667_2409466,00.html. 3 June 2010. dead.
  6. Web site: Belgian keeper Stijnen retires. Agence France-Presse. 5 October 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20100603025147/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jq86gdgRoVKHozj-c0hL4bp-zBtw. 3 June 2010. dead.
  7. Web site: Stijn Stijnen. Footballdatabase. 25 June 2015.
  8. Web site: 8 July 2017 . Geschiedenis . Club Brugge.
  9. News: CUP BELGIUM. FINAL. besoccer.com. 20 April 2022.
  10. News: Bruges-Standard : En 2007, Ishiaku sauvait la saison du Club. rtbf.be. 20 April 2022.
  11. News: RACING GENK - CLUB BRUGGE 0-2. clubbrugge.be. 20 April 2022.
  12. News: CLUB BRUGGE - LA LOUVIÈRE 1-1. clubbrugge.be. 20 April 2022.
  13. News: Anderlecht beaten in the Supercup. anderlecht-online.be. 20 April 2022.
  14. News: SUPERCOUPE DE BELGIQUE. FIN. besoccer.com. 20 April 2022.
  15. Web site: Winnaars Brugse Metten .
  16. Web site: Sports+ . DH Les . 1 October 2018 . Le Trophée Pappaert, c'est reparti! . DH Les Sports +.