Number of appearances (top 5) 1990s Franky Van der Elst - 4 times [1 time 1980s] Lorenzo Staelens - 4 times Pär Zetterberg - 4 times Marc Degryse - 3 times [3 times 1980s] Filip De Wilde - 3 times Philippe Albert - 2 times Jan Koller - 2 times Luc Nilis - 2 times Paul Okon - 2 times Luis Oliveira - 2 times Branko Strupar - 2 times Bruno Versavel - 2 times Josip Weber - 2 times Gilbert Bodart - 1 time [1 time in the 1980s] Michel Preud'homme - 1 time [4 times in the 1980s] Number of consecutive appearances in the 1990s Filip De Wilde - 3 times Philippe Albert - 2 times Franky Van der Elst - 2 times (x2; 1989-1990, 1996-1997) Jan Koller - 2 times Luc Nilis - 2 times Paul Okon - 2 times Luis Oliveira - 2 times Lorenzo Staelens - 2 times Branko Strupar - 2 times Bruno Versavel - 2 times Josip Weber - 2 times Pär Zetterberg - 2 times (x2)
In 2007 the organizers of the 'footballer of the year award' held a vote among 10 first league (ex-)coaches about the best foreign player ever in the Belgian league. These are the first 10 (golden shoe recipients in bold, top 5 nominees in italics): 1. Robby Rensenbrink 10 votes (out of 10) 2. Pär Zetterberg 9 votes 3. Johan Boskamp 8 votes 3. Juan Lozano 8 votes 3. Simon Tahamata 8 votes 6. Jan Koller 6 votes 6. Wlodzimierz Lubanski 6 votes 6. Jan Mulder 6 votes 9. Preben Elkjaer 5 votes 9. Arie Haan 5 votes 9. Morten Olsen 5 votes Funnily, a former coach of Zetterberg (Hugo Broos) did not nominate him. Therefore he is not level with Rensenbrink.
[FONT="]Golden Shoe 2000[/FONT] [FONT="]1. Jan Koller (RSC Anderlecht, attacker [Czech Republic]) 315 points (102 + 213)[/FONT] [FONT="]2. Yves Vanderhaeghe (RSC Anderlecht, midfielder) 177 points (82 + 95)[/FONT] [FONT="]3. Walter Baseggio (RSC Anderlecht, midfielder) 161 points (6 + 155)[/FONT] [FONT="]4. Bart Goor (RSC Anderlecht, midfielder) 124 points (100 + 24)[/FONT] [FONT="]5. Gert Verheyen (Club Brugge, attacker/midfielder) 97 points (19 + 78)[/FONT] [FONT="]6. Tomasz Radzinski (Can, Anderlecht) 3 73 76[/FONT] [FONT="]7. Marc Degryse (GB Anvers) 45 7 52 [Footballer of the year][/FONT] [FONT="]8. Ole-Martin Aarst (Nor, La Gantoise et Standard) 0 36 36[/FONT] [FONT="]9. Pär Zetterberg (Suè, Anderlecht) 0 29 29[/FONT] [FONT="]10. Timmy Simons (Lommel et FC Bruges) 1 26 27[/FONT] [FONT="]11. Toni Brogno (Westerlo) 23 0 23[/FONT] [FONT="]12. Nzelo Lembi (FC Bruges) 21 1 22[/FONT] [FONT="]13. Alin Stoica (Rou, Anderlecht) 3 18 21[/FONT] [FONT="]14. Eric Deflandre (FC Bruges) 20 0 20[/FONT] [FONT="]15. Eric Joly (Fra, La Gantoise) 0 16 16[/FONT] [FONT="]16. Sven Vermant (FC Bruges) 11 0 11[/FONT] [FONT="]17. Bertrand Crasson (Anderlecht) 0 7 7[/FONT] [FONT="]18. Michaël Goossens (Standard) 3 3 6[/FONT] [FONT="]19. Marc Hendrikx (Genk) 0 5 5[/FONT] [FONT="]Lorenzo Staelens (Anderlecht) 5 0 5[/FONT] [FONT="]21 Filip De Wilde (Anderlecht) 2 1 3 [Goalkeeper of the year][/FONT] [FONT="]Ivica Dragutinovic (Cro, La Gantoise et Standard) 0 3 3[/FONT] [FONT="]Thordur Gudjonsson (Isl, Genk) 0 3 3[/FONT] [FONT="]Nenad Jestrovic (Cro, Mouscron) 3 0 3[/FONT] [FONT="]Vedran Runje (Cro, Standard) 1 2 3[/FONT] [FONT="]Golden Shoe 2001[/FONT] [FONT="]1. Wesley Sonck (Genk, attacker) 247 points (7 + 240)[/FONT] [FONT="]2. Gert Verheyen (Club Brugge, attacker/midfielder) 180 points (7 + 173)[/FONT] [FONT="]3. Walter Baseggio (RSC Anderlecht, midfielder) 139 points (0 + 139) [Footballer of the year][/FONT] [FONT="]4. Timmy Simons (Club Brugge, midfielder) 126 points (34 + 92)[/FONT] [FONT="]5. Jan Koller (RSC Anderlecht, attacker [Czech Republic]) 82 points (0 + 82)[/FONT] [FONT="]6. Yves Vanderhaeghe (Anderlecht) 72 6 78[/FONT] [FONT="]7. Marc Degryse (Germinal Beerschot) 37 29 66[/FONT] [FONT="]8. Almani Moreira (Por, Standard) 0 46 46[/FONT] [FONT="]9. Filip De Wilde (Anderlecht) 0 45 45[/FONT] [FONT="]10. Bart Goor (Anderlecht) 0 39 39[/FONT] [FONT="]11. Ahmed Hossam (Egy, Gand) 0 34 34[/FONT] [FONT="]12. Matthieu Verschuere (Fra, Gand) 0 33 33[/FONT] [FONT="]13. Alin Stoica (Rou, Anderlecht) 0 29 29[/FONT] [FONT="]14. Daniel Van Buyten (Standard) 0 26 26[/FONT] [FONT="]15. Glen De Boeck (Anderlecht) 4 21 25[/FONT] [FONT="]16. Bertrand Crasson (Anderlecht) 20 2 22[/FONT] [FONT="]17. Tomasz Radzinski (Can, Anderlecht) 0 18 18[/FONT] [FONT="]18. Danny Boffin (Saint-Trond) 13 0 13[/FONT] [FONT="]19. Nzelo Lembi (RDC, FC Bruges) 8 1 9[/FONT] [FONT="]. Moumouni Dagano (B-F, GBA, Genk) 0 9 9[/FONT] [FONT="]21. Vedran Runje (Cro, Standard) 8 0 8 [Goalkeeper of the year][/FONT] [FONT="]. Bart Deelkens (Westerlo) 8 0 8[/FONT] [FONT="]. Josip Skoko (Aus, Genk) 8 0 8[/FONT] [FONT="]24. Didier Zokora (CIv, Genk) 0 7 7[/FONT] [FONT="]Ivica Dragutinovic (Cro, Standard) 0 7 7[/FONT] [FONT="]Golden Shoe 2002[/FONT] [FONT="]1. Timmy Simons (Club Brugge, midfielder) 401 points (117 + 284)[/FONT] [FONT="]2. Wesley Sonck (Genk, attacker) 275 points (129 + 146) [Footballer of the year][/FONT] [FONT="]3. Danny Boffin (Sint Truiden, midfielder) 215 points (7 + 208)[/FONT] [FONT="]4. Josip Skoko (Genk, midfielder [Australia]) 82 points (56+26)[/FONT] [FONT="]5. Yves Vanderheaghe (RSC Anderlecht, midfielder) 41 points (36+5)[/FONT] [FONT="]6. Gaetan Englebert (FC Bruges) 27 (3+24)[/FONT] [FONT="]7. Bernd Thijs (RC Genk) 26 (25+1)[/FONT] [FONT="]Mbo Mpenza (Mouscron) 26 (26+0)[/FONT] [FONT="]9. Marc Degryse (GBA) 24 (24+0)[/FONT] [FONT="]10. Moumou Dagano (RC Genk) 22 (22+0)[/FONT] [FONT="]11. Jacky Peeters (La Gantoise) 17 (17+0)[/FONT] [FONT="]12. Dany Verlinden (FC Bruges) 13 (0+13)[/FONT] [FONT="]13. Almani Da Silva Moreira (Standard) 12 (0+12)[/FONT] [FONT="]Glen De Boeck (Anderlecht) 12 (12+0)[/FONT] [FONT="]15. Paul Kpaka (GBA) 8 (8+0)[/FONT] [FONT="]Gert Verheyen (FC Bruges) 8 (4+4)[/FONT] [FONT="]17. Patrick Goots (Antwerp) 7 (1+6)[/FONT] [FONT="]Walter Baseggio (Anderlecht) 7 (1+6)[/FONT] [FONT="]19. Johan Walem (Standard) 6 (5+1)[/FONT] [FONT="]20. Ki Hyeon Seol (Anderlecht) 5 (0+5)[/FONT] [FONT="]Koen Dearden (RC Genk) 5 (5+0)[/FONT] [FONT="]22. Runar Kristinsson (Lokeren) 4 (0+4)[/FONT] [FONT="]23. Francky Vandendriessche (Mouscron) 3 (3+0) [Goalkeeper of the year][/FONT] [FONT="]Cédric Roussel (Mons) 3 (0+3)[/FONT] [FONT="]Eric Joly (AloSaintMons) 3 (0+3)[/FONT] [FONT="]Frédéric Herpoel (La Gantoise) 3 (3+0)[/FONT] [FONT="]27. Didier Zokora (RC Genk) 2 (2+0)[/FONT] [FONT="]Gunther Verjans (SaintTrond) 2 (2+0)[/FONT] [FONT="]Désiré Mbonabucya (Saint-Trond) 2 (0+2)[/FONT] [FONT="]Ibrahim Kargbo (RWDM) 2 (2+0)[/FONT] [FONT="]Ivica Dragutinovic (Standard) 2 (2+0)[/FONT] [FONT="]Filip De Wilde (Anderlecht) 2 (2+0)[/FONT] [FONT="]Davy De Beule (Lokeren) 2 (0+2)[/FONT] [FONT="]Golden Shoe 2003[/FONT] [FONT="]1. Aruna Dindane (RSC Anderlecht, attacker [Cote d’Iviore]) 494 (193 + 301)[/FONT] [FONT="]2. Walter Baseggio (RSC Anderlecht, midfielder) 116 points (50 +66)[/FONT] [FONT="]3. Mbo Mpenza (Moeskroen, attacker) 109 points (0 + 109)[/FONT] [FONT="]4. Timmy Simons (Club Brugge, midfielder) 99 points (93 +6) [Footballer of the year][/FONT] [FONT="]5. Vincent Kompany (RSC Anderlecht, defender) 77 points (0 +77)[/FONT] [FONT="]6. Nenad Jestrovic (Anderlecht) 61 (61 +0)[/FONT] [FONT="]7. Wesley Sonck (RC Genk) 57 (57 +0)[/FONT] [FONT="]Philippe Clement (FC Bruges) 57 (0 +57)[/FONT] [FONT="]9. Dany Verlinden (FC Bruges) 43 (18 +25) [Goalkeeper of the year][/FONT] [FONT="]10. Cédric Roussel (Mons/RC Genk) 36 (36 +0)[/FONT] [FONT="]11. Emile Mpenza (Standard) 31 (0 +31)[/FONT] [FONT="]12. Runar Kristinsson (Lokeren) 25 (25 +0)[/FONT] [FONT="]Nastja Ceh (FC Bruges) 25 (25 +0)[/FONT] [FONT="]14. Ivica Mornar (Anderlecht) 24 (0 +24)[/FONT] [FONT="]15. Almani Da Silva Moreira (Stanard) 17 (0 +17)[/FONT] [FONT="]16. Gneri Yaya Touré (Beveren) 14 (0 +14)[/FONT] [FONT="]Frédéric Herpoel (Gand) 14 (3 +11)[/FONT] [FONT="]18. Dany De Beule (Lokeren) 11 (11 +0)[/FONT] [FONT="]19. Olivier Deschacht (Anderlecht) 9 (1 +9)[/FONT] [FONT="]20. Bertrand Laquait (Charleroi) 8 (4 +4)[/FONT] [FONT="]Besnik Hasi (Anderlecht) 8 (0 +8)[/FONT] [FONT="]22. Andres Mendoza (FC Bruges) 7 (0 +7)[/FONT] [FONT="]23. Arnard Vidarsson (FC Bruges) 5 (5 +0)[/FONT] [FONT="]Sandy Martens (FC Bruges) 5 (5 +0)[/FONT] [FONT="]Dany Boffin (Saint-Trond) 5 (5 +0)[/FONT] [FONT="]26. Jan Moons (RC Genk) 4 (0 +4)[/FONT] [FONT="]Ivica Dragutinovic (Standard) 4 (1 +3)[/FONT]
Golden Shoe 2004 1. Vincent Kompany (RSC Anderlecht, defender/midfielder) 507 points (228+279) 2. Luigi Pieroni (Moeskroen/Auxerre, attacker) 104 points (104+0) 3. Marius Mitu (Lierse S.K., midfielder [Romania]) 71 points (0+71) 4. Christian Wilhelmsson (RSC Anderlecht, midfielder [Sweden]) 70 points (4+66) 5. Bosko Balaban (Club Brugge, attacker [Croatia]) 69 points (0+69) 6. Mbo Mpenza (Mouscron/Anderlecht) 55 ( 55 + 0) 7. Philippe Clement (FC Bruges) 51 ( 50 + 1) 8. Timmy Simons (FC Bruges) 50 ( 14 + 36) 9. Nastja Ceh (FC Bruges) 42 ( 0 + 42) 10. Emile Mpenza (Standard/Hambourg) 39 ( 39 + 0) 11. Jonathan Blondel (FC Bruges) 37 ( 37 + 0) 12. Bertrand Laquait (Charleroi) 33 ( 1 + 32 . Silvio Proto (La Louvière) 33 ( 0 + 33) 14. Dany Verlinden (FC Bruges) 21 ( 21 + 0) 15. Gert Verheyen (FC Bruges) 18 ( 11 + 7) 16. Gregory Dufer (Charleroi/Caen) 17 ( 17 + 0) 17. Aruna Dindane (Anderlecht) 16 ( 9 + 7) [Footballer of the year] 18. Ogushi Onyewu (La Louvière/Standard) 15 ( 0 + 15) 19.Peter Van der Heyden (FC Bruges) 9 ( 0 + 9) . Tomislav Butina (FC Bruges) 9 ( 0 + 9) 21. Sergio Conceiçao (Porto/Standard) 7 ( 0 + 7) 22. Frédéric Herpoel (Gand) 6 ( 6 + 0) [Goalkeeper of the year] 23. Gaetan Englebert (FC Bruges) 5 ( 0 + 5) . Marco Né (Beveren) 5 ( 2 + 3) . Dimitri de Condé (Heusden-Zolder/Genk) 5 ( 5 + 0) 26. Roberto Bisconti (Standard/Nice) 4 ( 4 + 0) . Mbark Boussoufa (Ajax/Gand) 4 ( 0 + 4) . Walter Baseggio (Anderlecht) 4 ( 4 + 0) Golden Shoe 2005 1. Sergio Conceiçao (Standard Liège, attacker [Portugal]) 230 points (54+176) 2. Vincent Kompany (RSC Anderlecht, defender) 200 points (124+76) [Footballer of the year] 3. Christian Wilhelmsson (RSC Anderlecht, midfielder [Sweden]) 190 points (60+130) 4. Kevin Vandenbergh (Genk, attacker) 67 points (61+6) 5. Karel Geraerts (Standard Liège, midfielder) 49 points (17+32) 6. Timmy Simons (Club Brugge/PSV) 45 (45+0) 7. Tomislav Butina (Kro/Club Brugge) 38 (24+14) 8. Jackson Avelino Coelho (Bra/Westerlo) 36 (0+36) 9. Silvio Proto (La Louvière/Anderlecht) 34 (33+1) [Goalkeeper of the year] 10. Gert Verheyen (Club Brugge) 31 (14+17) 11.Koen Daerden (KRC Genk) 26 12. Mémé Tchité (Standard Luik) 23 13. Yves Vanderhaeghe (RSC Anderlecht) 21 14. Mbark Boussoufa (AA Gent) 15 15. Steven Defour (KRC Genk) 13 16. Bosko Balaban (Club Brugge) 12 17. Bertrand Laquait (Sporting Charleroi) 11 18. Nenad Jestrovic (RSC Anderlecht) 10 18. João Carlos (Sporting Lokeren) 10 20. Igor De Camargo (FC Brussels) 7 21. Nastja Ceh (Club Brugge) 6 21. Pär Zetterberg (RSC Anderlecht) 6 21. Rune Lange (Club Brugge) 6 24. Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Luik) 5 25. Ivica Dragutinović (Standard Luik) 4 25. Tony Sergeant (Zulte Waregem) 4 Golden Shoe 2006 1. Mbark Boussoufa (Ghent/RSC Anderlecht, midfielder [Morocco]) 283 points (251+32) [Footballer of the year] 2. Mohammed Tchité (Standard/RSC Anderlecht, attacker [Burundi]) 201 points (11+190) 3. Nicolas Frutos (RSC Anderlecht, attacker [Argentina]) 111 points (98+13) 4. Lucas Biglia (RSC Anderlecht, midfielder [Argentina]) 74 points (0+74) 5. Karel Geraerts (Standard Liège, midfielder) 67 points (40+27) 6. Zitka (Anderlecht) 51 (0+51) 7. Balaban (FC Bruges) 49 (0+49) 8. Bailly (Genk) 47 (0+47) 9.Zetterberg (Anderlecht) 46 (46+0) 10. Soetaers (Genk) 46 (0+46) 11. Vrancken (Gand/Genk) 45 (7+38) 12. Stijnen (FC Bruges) 26 (8+18) 13. Camus (Charleroi) 25 (0+25) Salou (Zulte/FC Bruges) 25 (25+0) 15. Olufade (Gand) 19 (0+19) 16. Defour (Standard) 18 (17+1) 17. Fellaini (Standard) 17 (0+17) 18. Runje (Standard) 16 (16+0) [Goalkeeper of the year] 19. Ogunsoto (Westerlo) 14 (0+14) 20. Wilhelmsson (Anderlecht) 12 (12+0) 20. Onyewu (Standard) 12 (8+4) 20. De Decker (GBA/Genk) 12 (1+11) 23. Goor (Anderlecht) 10 (3+7) 24. Bosnjak (Genk) 9 (0+9) Jovanovic (Standard) 9 (0+9) Golden Shoe 2007 1. Steven Defour (Standard Liège, midfielder) 312 points (38+274) 2. Ahmed Hassan (RSC Anderlecht, midfielder [Egypt]) 206 points (178+28) 3. Tom De Sutter (Cercle, attacker) 94 points (0+94) 4. Daniel Zitka (RSC Anderlecht, goalkeeper [Czech Republic]) 90 points (86+4) [Goalkeeper of the year] 5. Mohammed Tchité (RSC Anderlecht, attacker [Burundi]) 74 points (74+0) [Footballer of the year] 6. Sterchele (GBA/FC Bruges) (69+3) 72 7. Fellaini (Standard) (27+35) 62 8. De Smet (CS Bruges) ( 0+61) 61 9. Jovanovic (Standard) (31+20) 51 10. Stijnen (FC Bruges) (0+34) 34 11. Biglia (Anderlecht) (17+16) 33 Iachtchouck (CS Bruges) ( 0+ 33) 33 13. Soetaers (Genk) (20+1) 21 van Heerden (FC Bruges) ( 1+20) 21 15. Barda (Genk) (0+19) 19 16. Losada (GBA) (1+ 17) 18 17. Ruiz (Gand) ( 0+17) 17 18. Geraerts (Standard/FC Bruges) ( 5+ 7) 12 19. Frutos (Anderlecht) (9+ 2) 11 Clément (FC Bruges) (11+0) 11 21. Camus (Charleroi) (8+ 0) 8 22. Pocognoli (Genk) ( 7+ 0) 7 Stoica (Gand) (7+0) 7 Gombami (CS Bruges) (0+ 7) 7 25. Lombaerts (Gand) (6+ 0) 6 Blondel (FC Bruges) ( 0+6) 6 Legear (Anderlecht) (0+6) 6 Doll (Lokeren) (0+ 6) 6 29. Gillet (Gand) (2+3) 5 Deschacht (Anderlecht) (3+2) 5 Balaban (FC Bruges) ( 5+ 0) 5 Colman (GBA) (0+5) 5 Sarr (Standard) ( 0+5) 5 Witsel (Standard) (1+4) 5 Golden Shoe 2008 1. Axel Witsel (Standard Liège, midfielder) 204 points (22+182) 2. Milan Jovanovic (Standard Liège, attacker [Serbia]) 200 points (33+167) [Footballer of the year] 3. Marouane Fellaini (Standard Liège/Everton, midfielder) 179 points (175+4) 4. Mbark Boussoufa (RSC Anderlecht, midfielder [Morocco]) 152 points (143+9) 5. Steven Defour (Standard Liège, midfielder) 127 points (22+105) 6. Mbokani (Cgo/Standard)113 ( 25 + 88) 7. Gillet (Anderlecht) 74 (11 + 63) 8. Stijnen (Bruges)57 (35 + 22) 9. Polak (Tch/Anderlecht)47 (17 + 30) 10. Ruiz (C-R, Gand)47 ( 44 + 3) 11. Sonck (Bruges) 35 ( 0 + 35) 12. Losada (Arg/GBA/Anderl.)24 (24 + 0) 13. Van Damme (Anderlecht) 14 (10 + 4) 14. De Sutter (Cercle) 11 (3 + 8) 15. Barda (Isr/Genk) 11 (4 + 7) 16. De Smet (Cercle) 10 (10 + 0) 17. Dante (Bré/Standard) 9 (8 + 1) 18. Onyewu (USA/Standard) 8 (0 + 8) 19. Doll (Lokeren) 6 (3 + 3) 20. Maazou (Nig/Lokeren) 6 (0 + 6) 21. Zitka (Tch/Anderlecht) 6 ( 6 + 0) 22. Akpala (Nga/Charl./Bruges) 4 (2 + 2) 23. Frutos (Arg/Anderlecht) 3 (0 + 3) 24. Marcos (Bré/Standard) 3 ( 0 + 3) 25. Dalmat (Fra/Mons/Standard) 3 ( 0 + 3) Kenny Steppe (Beerschot/Heerenveen) was goalkeeper of the year Golden Shoe 2009 1. Milan Jovanovic (Standard Liège, attacker [Serbia]) 218 points (35+183) 2. Mbark Boussoufa (RSC Anderlecht, midfielder [Morocco]) 174 points (69+105) [Footballer of the year] 3. Romelu Lukaku (RSC Anderlecht, attacker) 167 points (0+167) 4. Steven Defour (Standard Liège, midfielder) 146 points (143+3) 5. Dieumerci Mbokani (Standard Liège, attacker [Congo]) 136 points (122+14) 6. Bryan Ruiz 95 (95 + 0) 7. Ivan Perisic 32 (0 + 32) 8. Tom De Sutter 27 (27 + 0) 9. Sinan Bolat 26 (17 + 9) Simon Mignolet 26 (0 + 26) 11. Franck Berrier 23 (16 +7) 12. Bart Goor 22 (0 + 22) 13. Stijn Stijnen 16 (1 + 15) 14. Roland Juhasz 12 (2 + 10) 15. Oguchi Onyewu 9 (9 + 0) 16. Sherjill MacDonald 7 (2 + 5) 7. Olivier Doll 6 (3 + 3) Igor De Camargo 6 (3 + 3) Axel Witsel 6 (6 + 0) 20. Milos Maric 5 (0 + 5) 21. Mark Volders 4 (4 + 0) Faris Haroun 4 (0 + 4) Lucas Biglia 4 (0 + 4) Wilfried Dalmat 4 (4 + 0) 25. Bjorn Vleminckx 3 (3 + 0) Teddy Chevalier 3 (0 + 3) Glenn Verbauwhede 3 (0 + 3) Barry Copa Boubacar 3 (3 + 0) [Goalkeeper of the year] Carl Hoefkens 3 (0 + 3) Jan Polak 3 (3 + 0) Golden Shoe 2010 1. Mbark Boussoufa (RSC Anderlecht, midfielder [Morocco]) 344 points (242+102) [Footballer of the year] 2. Romelu Lukaku (RSC Anderlecht, attacker) 255 points (89+166) 3. Jelle Vossen (Genk, attacker) 187 points (0+187) 4. Ronald Vargas (Club Brugge, attacker [Venezuela]) 57 points (0+57) 5. Lucas Biglia (RSC Anderlecht, midfielder [Argentina]) 52 points (51+ 1) 6. Proto (Anderlecht) ( 0+37) 37 7. Mignolet (St-Trond) ( 26+ 0) 26 [Goalkeeper of the year] De Bruyne (Genk) (14+ 12) 26 Van Damme (Anderlecht) (26+0) 26 10. Lepoint (Gand) ( 23+0) 23 11. El Ghanassy (Gand) ( 1+ 20) 21 12. Carcela (Standard) ( 0+16) 16 Legear (Anderlecht) (5+ 11) 16 14. Thijs (Gand) (10+ 0) 10 Witsel (Standard) (2+8) 10 16. Defour (Standard) ( 2+7) 9 Kouemaha (FC Bruges) ( 9+0) 9 Rosales (Gand) (9+ 0) 9 19. Jorgacevic (Gand) ( 5+ 2) 7 20. Juhasz (Anderlecht) (5+1) 6 21. Hoefkens (FC Bruges) ( 5+ 0) 5 22. Courtois (Genk) (0+ 4) 4 Kouyaté (Anderlecht) (4+ 0) 4 Benteke (Courtrai/Malines)(4+0) 4 Deschacht (Anderlecht) (4+0) 4
Number of appearances in the 00s Walter Baseggio - 3 times Mbark Boussoufa - 3 times Steven Defour - 3 times Vincent Kompany - 3 times Timmy Simons - 3 times Karel Geraerts - 2 times Milan Jovanovic - 2 times Jan Koller - 2 times [2 times in the 1990s) Wesley Sonck - 2 times Mohammed Tchité - 2 times Yves Vanderhaeghe - 2 times Gert Verheyen - 2 times Christian Wilhelmsson - 2 times Danny Boffin - 1 time [1 time in the 1990s] Consecutive appearances in the 00s Steven Defour - 3 times Vincent Kompany - 3 times Timmy Simons - 3 times Walter Baseggio - 2 times Mbark Boussoufa - 2 times Karel Geraerts - 2 times Milan Jovanovic - 2 times Jan Koller - 2 times [4 times including 1990s] Mohammed Tchité - 2 times Wesley Sonck - 2 times Gert Verheyen - 2 times Christian Wilhelmsson - 2 times A poor decade for obvious reasons but one of them is also that they speak about a 'curse': many players did not maintain their level for several years after they won the Golden Shoe (Vincent Kompany for example)
Full overview: Players with three or more appearances Paul Van Himst - 11 times [1960-1965, 1970-1974] Jan Ceulemans - 7 times [1979, 1980, 1982-1986] Robby Rensenbrink - 7 times [1972-1978] Marc Degryse - 6 times [1987-1989, 1991, 1995, 1999] Wilfried Van Moer - 6 times [1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1980, 1981] Nico Dewalque - 5 times [1967, 1969-1971, 1973] Eric Gerets - 5 times [1979-1983] Michel Preud'homme - 5 times [1980, 1987-1989, 1994] Franky Van der Elst - 5 times [1989, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1997] Mbark Boussoufa - 4 times [2006, 2008-2010] Ludo Coeck - 4 times [1976, 1977, 1982, 1983] Jef Jurion - 4 times [1957, 1960, 1962, 1969] Jan Koller - 4 times [1998-2001] Juan Lozano - 4 times [1981, 1982, 1986, 1987] Vic Mees - 4 times [1954-1957] Christian Piot - 4 times [1970-1972, 1974] Lorenzo Staelens - 4 times [1993, 1996, 1998, 1999] Franky Vercauteren - 4 times [1981-1984] Pär Zetterberg - 4 times [1992, 1993, 1996, 1997] Yves Baré - 3 times [1961, 1965, 1966] Walter Baseggio - 3 times [2000, 2001, 2003] Julien Cools - 3 times [1975-1977] Rik Coppens - 3 times [1954, 1958, 1959] Steven Defour - 3 times [2007-2009] Jean Dockx - 3 times [1968-1970] Pierre Hanon - 3 times [1961, 1963, 1966] Denis Houf - 3 times [1956, 1958, 1961] Vincent Kompany - 3 times [2003-2005] Raoul Lambert - 3 times [1966, 1975, 1976] Maurice Martens - 3 times [1972-1974] Jean Nicolay - 3 times [1962-1964] Wilfried Puis - 3 times [1964, 1965, 1967] Timmy Simons - 3 times [2001-2003] Erwin Vandendaele - 3 times [1971, 1973, 1974] René Vandereycken - 3 times [1975, 1978, 1985] Filip De Wilde - 3 times [1994-1996] Players with three or more consecutive appearances Robby Rensenbrink - 7 times [1972-1978] Paul Van Himst (1) - 6 times [1960-1965] Jan Ceulemans - 5 times [1982-1986] Eric Gerets - 5 times [1979-1983] Paul Van Himst (2) - 5 times [1970-1974] Jan Koller - 4 times [1998-2001] Vic Mees - 4 times [1954-1957] Franky Vercauteren - 4 times [1981-1984] Mbark Boussoufa - 3 times [2008-2010] Julien Cools - 3 times [1975-1977] Steven Defour - 3 times [2007-2009] Marc Degryse - 3 times [1987-1989] Nico Dewalque - 3 times [1969-1971] Jean Dockx - 3 times [1968-1970] Vincent Kompany - 3 times [2003-2005] Maurice Martens - 3 times [1972-1974] Jean Nicolay - 3 times [1962-1964] Christian Piot - 3 times [1970-1972] Michel Preud'homme - 3 times [1987-1989] Timmy Simons - 3 times [2001-2003] Filip De Wilde - 3 times [1994-1996] Ranking of attackers Paul Van Himst - 11 times [1960-1965, 1970-1974] Robby Rensenbrink - 7 times [1972-1978] Jan Koller - 4 times [1998-2001] Franky Vercauteren - 4 times [1981-1984] Rik Coppens - 3 times [1954, 1958, 1959] Denis Houf - 3 times [1956, 1958, 1961] Raoul Lambert - 3 times [1966, 1975, 1976] Wilfried Puis - 3 times [1964, 1965, 1967] Ranking of midfielders Jan Ceulemans - 7 times [1979, 1980, 1982-1986] Marc Degryse - 6 times [1987-1989, 1991, 1995, 1999] Wilfried Van Moer - 6 times [1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1980, 1981] Franky Van der Elst - 5 times [1989, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1997] Mbark Boussoufa - 4 times [2006, 2008-2010] Ludo Coeck - 4 times [1976, 1977, 1982, 1983] Jef Jurion - 4 times [1957, 1960, 1962, 1969] Juan Lozano - 4 times [1981, 1982, 1986, 1987] Vic Mees - 4 times [1954-1957] Pär Zetterberg - 4 times [1992, 1993, 1996, 1997] Walter Baseggio - 3 times [2000, 2001, 2003] Julien Cools - 3 times [1975-1977] Steven Defour - 3 times [2007-2009] Pierre Hanon - 3 times [1961, 1963, 1966] Timmy Simons - 3 times [2001-2003] René Vandereycken - 3 times [1975, 1978, 1985] Ranking of defenders Nico Dewalque - 5 times [1967, 1969-1971, 1973] Eric Gerets - 5 times [1979-1983] Lorenzo Staelens - 4 times [1993, 1996, 1998, 1999] Yves Baré - 3 times [1961, 1965, 1966] Jean Dockx - 3 times [1968-1970] Vincent Kompany - 3 times [2003-2005] Maurice Martens - 3 times [1972-1974] Erwin Vandendaele - 3 times [1971, 1973, 1974] Ranking of goalkeepers Michel Preud'homme - 5 times [1980, 1987-1989, 1994] Christian Piot - 4 times [1970-1972, 1974] Jean Nicolay - 3 times [1962-1964] Filip De Wilde - 3 times [1994-1996]
Congrats mate, a very great info!! I don't get the idea that the world soccer born and die in the same nations (Brazil, Italy, Germany, Argentine, England). These nations had poor ages, even lower than 2nd tier nations in the same era. It's good to know something new (especially for SA fans like me)
Yes, and it is also good to know how they were seen before they moved abroad. Or before they shined in a World Cup.
PuckVanHeel, Thanks very much for this rating ! It helps me to know how consistency of Paul Van Himst, Jan Cuelemans and Rob Rensenbrink. Could you suggest me to compare Van Himst VS Raul ? Whom do you think should be rated higher in history ?
Different type of players with different strengths, playing for different sides in different era's. Van Himst is the youngest golden shoe recipient ever and also the third oldest recipient ever. Van Himst is a 'pioneer' type of player (besides a stylish one, he was noted for using the outside of his boot a lot). His presence cemented the dominance of Anderlecht for ages. Anderlecht became so dominant that in one Belgian national team match, against Holland, 11 Anderlecht players were standing on the field. Only the goalkeeper was from another club (Standard) but after he got substituted all 11 players were of anderlecht. This has never happened ever since. Also his accumulation of eight championships is unprecedented. With him, an Belgian club reached for the first time an European final, in 1970. Also unprecedented are his 33 European goals for Anderlecht (Rensenbrink has 30). His 235 league goals is the eight highest of all-time. He was also four times topscorer despite not being a pure striker. His national team career was initially underwhelming but in the Indian Summer of his career he helped them to reach both World Cup 1970 and Euro72. In a famous quarter-final match against World Cup finalists Italy, he and Christian Piot (who stopped many Italian shots and also scored from the penalty spot; Van Himst scored the other goal) were the best Belgian players on the pitch. Despite some lows with the national team (including WC1970 itself) he was for a long time the all-time topscorer until Wilmots broke it (but Wilmots needed more matches to do so). With him Belgium played also a few other legendary matches like the 5-1 trashing of World Champion Brazil in 1963 (Van Himst scored), a couple against Holland, a couple against France, against Spain and also a very important WC-1970 qualification match against European runners-up Yugoslavia. Interestingly, Van Himst scored in his European debut a goal against Real Madrid. Real Madrid made two years later an offer which he declined, he wanted to stay at Anderlecht. Raul was a totally different type of player. His presence on the pitch and involvement in general play wasn't as strong but he was a very deadly striker. In many ways, his statistics are better but he had also the opportunity to do so: Raul has 71 goals in 148 european matches, Van Himst has 33 goals in 56 matches. If you ask me, I would Van Himst higher. It is perhaps even an offence to suggest otherwise. But this is based on ratings things like consistency, influence in play, pioneering work and so on. It is important though to note that Van Himst was not the striker. This role was for Stockman and later on Jan Mulder (Van Himst said a few years ago, in a show around himself, that Mulder was as good as any other striker the Netherlands had, including Van Basten and Van Nistelrooy, who he named explicitly).
This is very impressive detail. How about Van Himst VS Keegan would be more suitable to compare for thier style ? Most people surely rated Keegan higher due to existing of internationally individual awards but do you think Van Himst could beat Keegan if consider only overall skills and performances ?
I do not know Keegan that well. But he can certainly be compared with a Keegan/Dalglish kind of player. In the best days of Anderlecht you had this kind of central attacking line-up: Jurion as playmaker/central midfielder (his job was to distribute the ball, a job which Van Himst took over when Jurion ended his career), Van Himst as second-striker and Stockman/Mulder as striker. But Van Himst did as second-striker much more in a match than Raul. He was the deputy-playmaker so to speak. In this respect, he can indeed be better compared with Dalglish and Keegan who were a focal point as well for their club (especially Dalglish). I'm quite certain though that in terms of pure skill Van Himst was better than Keegan. His treating and touch of the ball were universally praised, for example by Cruyff, who recognised the simplicity, efficiency, effectiveness and effortlessness of his touch. Pelé and Cruyff participated by the way in his testimonial match.
I have one more thing to ask about Jean Marie Pfaff and Micheal Preud'Homme. Whom do you think the best Belgain goalkeeper ever ? They seems to be equal in Belgain golden shoe rating. Aside from this, Marie Pfaff was rated in 1.5 World-Class and 4.5 International-Class seasons in Bundesliga while there was no evidence of rating of Preud'homme for his performance in Portuguese liga but his performance for Belgium in 1994, is one of the best I have ever seen.
This is a difficult question. My personal preference goes to Preud'homme (although Pfaff had some magnificent performances as well, for example during the 1986-1987 European Cup campaign) but in lists you see both coming at top. Also a vote among coaches and an anonymous vote among former national team players (the players who played with both) ended in a split, almost 50/50 result. As said, my personal taste goes to Preud'homme but this is influenced by that I saw more of him during my life and the weighing I give to prizes (Pfaff won more but arguably the 'few' prizes that Preud'homme won were also 'his' prizes, with him as the talisman of the team). I'm afraid that this matter cannot be settled and a decision depends heavily on the used criteria and your personal preferences. (Pfaff was and is the nicer person though )
Of course Pfaff also had a great tournament in 1986, with some important (penalty-)saves, together with 1980 and 1972 the best result of Belgium in a major tournament. In the end, this counts heavier in the assessments than Preud'homme's 1994WC efforts.
The results show that Scifo's 1984 was seemingly considered more highly than adjacent years. Any ideas about the reasons - more goals scored, better form generally? Seems like it was a close call between him and Ceulemans for outstanding Belgian player that year. Ceulemans comes to the fore in terms of placing in the awards in 1979. Any memories or info about his career and form before that point? Also you might have insight into the role he was used in during Euro '80 as I've seen reference to him lining up as a left-forward but some footage from that tournament I've seen shows great play from him on the right side of the pitch - maybe his role was quite free or he changed roles?
I also had that idea about Ceulemans role on pitch. That he begins as Left Winger and in early 80's develop like a Left Mid (in a 4-4-2 formation), and then assuming sometimes playmaking role. Anybody can clarify this?
Maybe Puck or others will clarify but I too assumed he'd transferred from being more of a support forward (and probably often or in significant games more from the left side or lining up as the left of 3 roaming forwards perhaps?, but not completely sure) to an attacking midfielder. I thought when he was in midfield he'd either be central or on the right side. In WC '86 for example he seemed to be a central attacking midfielder - I'd have to check whether he might have lined up on the right side at all but again he scored a goal in the Play-Off for 3rd place in the inside-right channel, which he could still have scored as an AM though of course. Highlights don't always allow us to understand the basic formation especially if mainly the goals of the game and I was only 8 in 1986. Scifo actually played as the right-midfielder (definately in the Soviet Union game anyway) in that World Cup wheras he was the central playmaker-come-goalscorer for his club Anderlecht. In 1990 he played more centrally.
Regarding specific info for the tournaments, I have to look that up. I don't know it out of the top of my head but it is indeed correct that in 1986 his 'default' position was as midfielder with a tendency to drift to the left (but not too much because Vercauteren was also on the pitch...). This varied during the tournament a bit but I don't know the details out of the top of my head. Ceulemans was a very versatile player, a quality that is particularly useful for a small nation like Belgium with a limited depth of the squad, quality-wise. Ceulemans could play on the left side, right side, attacking midfielder and as second-striker (in the beginning of his career). He was even sometimes used as striker and central/defensive midfielder (with box-to-box duties) for both club and country. Especially the striker-role suited him well but this was of course a waste of his varied talents. He had a lot of energy, a fine acceleration, nice vision and leadership skills, was a good header, good shooter (around 190 goals in 400 matches is not bad for an utility player), good passer and a decent touch and footspeed (not of the same quality as Lozano and Scifo of course). He had very few weak spots and could adapt in a match as well (different tactic, position? no problem. using him as a ball-chasing midfielder? no problem. sitting deep, defend and break whenever possible? no problem. hold the ball up as a striker? no problem). Apart from his energy, vision (the combination of the two weared the opposition down) and determination you can question whether any of his single qualities was really world class, but taken all these talents together, you had a beast of a player. Scifo was often seen as someone who never fulfilled his potential. The portrait of him in a well-known book that covers 100 years league football or so ended with the sentence: "What a pity he never fulfilled the promises, but what a natural talent!" Another factor is that in the summer of 1983 Lozano leaved the club. The newly promoted Scifo took immediately this role over and apparently did his job good enough to deserve the Golden Shoe in 1984. Lozano came however back in the summer of 1985 with as a result that young playmaker Scifo was relegated to a role in the shadow on the flanks and had to play the second fiddle, hence his similar role in 1986WC. Anyhow, I think Ceulemans is deservedly only one of the four footballers who received the Belgian lifetime achievement award (if you wonder why Wilmots received one: that was for his performance in WC2002 -including the game against Brazil- and also for his presentation outside of the pitch as an 'ambassador' of Belgium; he speaks multiple languages fluently, according to the commission). edit: I see now that Scifo played also sometimes centrally in the midfield post-1985. But his role was still a bit more supporting than without Lozano.
I rewatched the 20min highlights of USSR-Belgium and apparently Ceulemans was everywhere on the pitch. Predominantly he seems to stick to the right side of the axis but you also see him on the left, centrally and as holding midfielder. You can judge it yourself if you want: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQPUj6C8PxQ"]Belgica - USSR (4-3) - 8ste Finale - WK '86 Deel 1 - YouTube[/ame] [ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKNrw7MnX1E[/ame] Ceulemans is playing with number 11
Thanks for your thoughts Puck - they seem to tally with what I thought mainly and Ceulemans' versatily is certainly one of his best assets. In his early days especially he could make long-striding runs with the ball down the flanks (the right seems more natural and actually I've seen more footage of him doing that eg in Euro 80 and WC 82) but also through the middle (there was an excellent goal for Bruges which has now been taken off Youtube where he goes through the middle and then shoots possibly left-footed, but I can't remember, from just inside the box - difficult to recall accurately having just seen it once). I've seen highlights of that World Cup game - though from a different Youtube video I think (obviously a popular one for uploading being a classic extra-time game including Belanov's hat-trick etc). Scifo scores his goal after coming infield to control a cross, but his best moment in that World Cup might be a disallowed free-kick vs Paraguay after a foul on Ceulemans actually. He had a very good game for Belgium against England in '90 including hitting the post, playing as a central playmaker. I'm not very familiar with Lozano apart from seeing comments about him being one of the best players in the Belgian league. I'm a bit more familiar with Vercauteran for example as he played for Belgium in tournaments. I've seen some highlights of Anderlecht in European competition so maybe he was involved in some of those games but Scifo was the most prominent in the clips I've seen including scoring with a left-footed volley and a lob volley. As mentioned on this thread Belgian teams often had very good results in Europe including in games with the likes of Bayern Munich I think I'm right in saying. There was a certain controversial Uefa Cup semi-final against Forest though where the referee was bribed in the second leg.
Yes, but never entirely proven. In contrast to a bribery scandal involving Standard Liège. As a result of that, players like Gerets and Preud'homme fled to other clubs. Especially Gerets was damaged, in terms of publicity, by that affair. I forgot to say it helps to see the videos on the youtube website itself. The picture is larger and the squad-numbers are readable. Indeed, Scifo played centrally in 1990 but by that time he had already moved abroad. Lozano broke by the way his leg at april 1987 and never reached the same level. Scifo took centre-stage again which secured his move to Italy. Thanks to your comment I began to search for videos of Ceulemans on youtube. I found this nice header in a match against Borussia Dortmund (right at the beginning): [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B6edsTCCfU"]1/8 finale UEFA-Beker Club Brugge - Borussia Dortmund 87-88 - YouTube[/ame] His nicknames were 'caje' and 'strong Jan', a glimpse of that can be seen in that header.
Thank you for your comments, that clarify my initial thoughts Could you draw the Belgium main line-up in major tournaments, like a complement of your great thread, please!
I will try for 1986. The preparation for this tournament was not good, sure first-starters Vandereycken and Vandenbergh leaved the line-up and later on the squad. A lot of mutations were going on. The coach was also unsatisfied with the performance of Scifo. Constant figures were: Pfaff on goal, Gerets as right back (did not play against Paraguay because of injury) and Vercauteren as left-midfielder/left-winger. Also Ceulemans was used in all line-ups. In the first match he was a right-midfielder but later on he moved forward when Vandenbergh was substituted. In the second match Ceulemans played as a left-forward but in the third group match he was right-midfielder again, but when the match progressed he was yet again found everywhere from left, right, holding and also in the striker position when the striker-pair Veyt or Claesen drifted to the sides. In the knock-out matches he had a more central role. Scifo's role varied between a central one and one on the sides. All other names weren't first choice throughout the tournament.
Euro80 is an easier task: On goal was Pfaff. Right back was Gerets, centre-backs were Meeuws as sweeper/libero and Millecamps as stopper, Renquin as left back. Renquin also played in 1986 but wasn't a first choice any more. Forwards were Francois Van Der Elst as right-winger (his natural position), Vandenbergh as striker (though in the match against Italy he was dropped for an extra midfielder in the line-up) and Ceulemans as left-winger. The midfield varied a bit: Van Moer was a holding midfielder, Vandereycken a bit more advanced and Cools as captain (both were comfortable on both sides of the axis so they could be swapped). Sometimes the midfield was strengthened with Mommens (usually Vandenbergh lost his place). So this one is a lot easier but there is an explanation for it: the preparation was good, with not many quarrelling in the squad.