Wilfried Van Moer

Wilfried Van Moer
Personnel
birthday	March 1, 1945
place of birth	Beveren ,  Belgium
size	168 cm
position	midfield player
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1960-1965	KSK Beveren	121 (56)
1965-1968	Royal Antwerp	77 (13)
1968-1976	Standard Liege	170 (25)
1976-1980	KFC Beringen	110 (17)
1980-1982	KSK Beveren	49 0(6)
1982-1984	VV St. Truiden	26 0(0)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1966-1982	Belgium	57 (9)
Stations as a trainer
Years	station
1996	Belgium
1 Only league games are given.

Wilfried Van Moer (born March 1, 1945 in Beveren ) is a former Belgian football player who won the Belgian Golden Shoe three times, first in 1966 at Royal Antwerp , then in 1969 and 1970 at Standard Liège .

Career

Before 1966 Van Moer played for KSK Beveren . He came back to his first club in the early 80s after a short period at FC Beringen . He played 57 times and scored 9 times for the Belgian national soccer team between 1966 and 1982 and made his debut in a 1-0 win in a friendly against Switzerland on October 22, 1966 . Van Moer was in the squads of the football world championships in 1970 and 1982 and the European football championship in 1980 , in which Belgium was runner-up.

Van Moer began his career with the club in his hometown (Beveren-Waas), then in the third, Belgian league. A move to Royal Antwerp in 1965 was influenced not only by the opportunity to play in the top division, but also by the fact that he was already working as an electrician in that city. At the end of 1966 he won his first Golden Shoe and was called up to the national team for the first time earlier in the year.

During those three years in Antwerp under coach Harry Game, Van Moer moved from right wing to central midfield against his will and was prepared to eventually succeed another of Belgium's most celebrated players on the national team, Jef Jurion . In 1967 Van Moer presented himself to 1. FC Köln because he was aiming for a coaching course at the German Sport University in Cologne . However, the club refused a release, as it was reported that the team wanted to improve.

After Antwerp was relegated in 1968, there was a protracted move to Standard Liège , where Van Moer resisted the interest of 1. FC Köln to stay in Belgium and also of Club Bruges , with whom he made a personal agreement. The 150,000 euro transfer fee for the now established international player was a Belgian record at the time.

National successes followed with Standard, winning the championship in 1969, 1970 and 1971 and accomplishing the hat trick in the Golden Shoe with wins in 1969 and 1970.

He was also an international regular player, played at the 1970 World Cup and scored twice in his team's only win in Mexico , a 3-0 win over El Salvador . Van Moer also played a key role in qualifying his country for the European Championship semi-finals two years later. After Belgium stubbornly defended in a goalless quarter-final, first leg in Italy , he scored the first goal in the second leg at the Anderlecht Stade Émile Versé in the middle of the first half. But then something happened that put the Belgian’s career on hold. Just in time for halftime, Bertini's dropout resulted in a broken leg for Van Moer. A bittersweet day for the home nation, which ultimately celebrated a 2-1 victory.

Although he recovered, the broken leg and other injuries held back international appearances for three seasons. In October 1979, now 34 years old, international football couldn't be further away. He didn't play for the red devils for four and a half years . But the cunning Belgian coach had other ideas. Van Moer was a brilliant idea for a Belgian team that forgot how to win and was preparing for Portugal in an "all or nothing" European Championship qualifier. Van Moer triumphed again with the first goal of the 2-0 victory. Van Moer also played key roles in the home and away wins over Scotland that pushed Belgium to qualify for the finals in Italy.

Striker Horst Hrubesch may have scored two goals to secure Germany 's final victory, but for many the Belgian central midfielder with his seemingly irrepressible energy was the outstanding player of an unspectacular tournament. He was the highlight of the show in nearly all of his games, planning, propelling and holding the ball. His performances were never lavish, rather dynamic and inspiring as Belgium made its way to its only grand final. Van Moer was arguably the most authoritative player in the tournament, in fact, his appearances at the age of 35 brought him fourth place (thus setting the best result for a Belgian) in the election of European Footballer of the Year . Karl-Heinz Rummenigge , Bernd Schuster and Michel Platini occupied the places in front of him.

Van Moer's international career continued for two years, long enough to make it to the final of the World Cup. Captured in the absence of Eric Gerets , his international career ended in the second group stage against Poland when he was replaced by Franky Van Der Elst at halftime . Belgium were two goals down at halftime and eventually lost 3-0 to Poland's inspiration from Zbigniew Boniek , the only goalscorer.

As for his club career, he left Standard in 1976 and played for the Limburg first division team FC Beringen for a few seasons (he owned a café in the Limburg capital Hasselt). After his career came back to life in 1980, he made a surprise transfer to his original club, SK Beveren (which became Belgian champions in 1979). He stayed there for two more seasons and closed his career again in Limburg with VV St. Truiden , where he became player-coach.

After quitting football, he became a coach in Sint-Truiden, SK Beveren, Assent and FC Diest, before quitting one day, somehow disappointed by the general professional level of Belgian football players.

He was asked by the Belgian Football Union to do some development work and in 1995 he became the assistant to national coach Paul van Himst after some serious defeats by the Red Devils. He followed van Himst in 1996 for five games as head coach. However, the Belgian Football Union and the press were not pleased with his lack of communication skills and in early 1997 he was replaced by what he saw as the more extravagant and managerial-looking Georges Leekens. Disappointed with the lack of confidence he was getting from soccer union, he withdrew from soccer.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Cover letter from 1.FC Cologne on negotiations for the release and transfer fee from May 26, 1967 according to Dieter Maho: “De geschiedenis van Royal Antwerp Football Club” (page 20) (accessed on April 15, 2014)
2. ^ Reply from Royal Antwerp dated June 2, 1967 according to Dieter Maho: "De geschiedenis van Royal Antwerp Football Club" (page 21) (accessed on April 15, 2014)

Web links

• Wilfried Van Moer in the database of weltfussball.de
• Wilfried Van Moer in the database of National-Football-Teams.com (English)
• Wilfried Van Moer in the database of the Royal Belgian Football Association (English)