Jan Anna Gumaar Ceulemans (; born 28 February 1957) is a Belgian former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

er who played as

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. A prolific goalscorer, Ceulemans was known for his stamina, aerial ability, technique and was also recognized as one of the greatest Belgium footballers of all time. He was also known for his power, imposing frame and natural authority. Ceulemans was also a regular member of the

Belgium national football team The Belgium national football team has represented Belgium in men's international Association football, football since Évence Coppée Trophy, their maiden match in 1904. The squad is under the global jurisdiction of FIFA and is governed in E ...

, with 96 international appearances, a record that stood for 26 years until it was surpassed by Jan Vertonghen's 97th appearance for Belgium on 10 October 2017; Ceulemans is now the ninth most-capped for Belgium. He still holds the record for most appearances in the

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

with 517. Most of his time with Belgium took place under the guidance of Guy Thys. This period saw the Belgium squad record some of their finest results, which include reaching the final of Euro 80 and fourth place at the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-tea ...

Career

Ceulemans was born in

Lier, Belgium Lier (; ) is a municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. It is composed of the city of Lier proper and the village of Koningshooikt. The city centre is surrounded by the river ''Nete'', around which it g ...

. His first of three World Cup appearances was at the

1982 FIFA World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national footbal ...

, where Belgium beat the defending champions Argentina 1–0 in the opening game of the tournament at Camp Nou en route to reaching the second round. Among Ceulemans' finest achievements was captaining his national side to fourth place in the

, scoring three goals in the tournament including a spectacular diving header against Spain in the quarter-finals. His performance earned the nickname "Captain Courageous". He retired from international competition after the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

; Jan scored the third goal in a 3–1 win over Uruguay but Belgium was eliminated by England in the round of sixteen, with the winning goal being scored by David Platt in the 119th minute in extra time. Jan had struck the post during the game. Professionally, he stayed at Club Brugge for 13 years, endearing himself to his country when he turned down an offer from Italian club A.C. Milan. He remains the only football player to have posed with the A.C. Milan board for the press that never actually became an A.C. Milan player. After retiring as a player due to knee injury, he became a manager at KSC Eendracht Aalst in 1992. He won promotion to

Belgian First Division The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

and even a qualification for

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. He moved in 1998 to K.V.C. Westerlo where he also qualified for UEFA Cup. In 2005, he is back at 'his' Club Brugge where he would be manager for three years but after several bad results he was fired in April 2006. For the 2007–08 season, he returned to K.V.C. Westerlo. He currently lives in

Westerlo Westerlo () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises seven towns: * Westerlo centrum * * Tongerlo * Heultje * Voortkapel * Oosterwijk * In 2021, Westerlo had a total population of 25,288. Th ...

. Ceulemans was named by

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.

Style of play

Considered one of Belgium's greatest players, Ceulemans was a complete and versatile player, able to play anywhere in midfield or the attack. A physically powerful player with a tall frame, Ceulemans had great technique, was a good passer of the ball, possessed a powerful shot, and was superb in the air. He also stood out for his mentality and leadership on the pitch, receiving the nicknames. Fellow Belgium national team teammate Eric Gerets said of Ceulemans: "He wasn't the best dribbler, not the best finisher and not an assist master. He had all three. He was complete."

Career statistics

Honours

Player

Club Brugge *

: 1979–80, 1987–88, 1989–90 *

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

: 1985–86, 1990–91; runners-up: 1978–79, 1982–83 *

Belgian Super Cup The Belgian Super Cup ( ; ; ), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian Pro League champions (also received the Super Cup host) and the Belgian Cup winners. If both teams are the same, ...

: 1980, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991 * Jules Pappaert Cup: 1978, 1991 * Bruges Matins: 1979, 1981, 1984, 1990 * Japan Cup Kirin World Soccer:

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

Amsterdam Tournament The Amsterdam Tournament () was a pre-season association football competition, held in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The competition was hosted by Eredivisie club AFC Ajax, Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena. It was inaugurated in 1975 as the Amsterdam 700 T ...

: 1990 Belgium *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

: runners-up

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

: 1986 ( fourth place) * Belgian Sports Merit Award: 1980

Manager

Eendracht Aalst *

Belgian Second Division The Belgian Second Division was the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was founded by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 1909 and folded in 2016, when it was replace ...

play-off winner: 1993–94 KVC Westerlo *

: 2000–01 Club Brugge * Belgian Super Cup: 2005 Individual * Belgian First Division Man of the Season: 1979–80, 1982–83, 1985–86 * Belgian Golden Shoe: 1980, 1985, 1986, runner-up: 1979, 1984 * UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament:

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French magazine ''France Football'' since 1956 Ballon d'Or, 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. Conceived ...

5th place:

nominations:

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, 1986 *''Sport Ideal European XI'': 1980 * Onze de Bronze: 1981 * Onze Mondial: 1980, 1981 * Belgian Professional Footballer of the Year: 1984, 1985, 1986 * FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1986 * Belgian Fair Play Award: 1986 * Former Belgium's Most Capped Player: 1989–2017 (96 caps) * '' World Soccer Magazine'' World XI: 1990 * Belgian Sports Merit Award: 1990 * Belgian Golden Shoe of the 20th Century (2nd place): 1995 * ''

Voetbal International ''Voetbal International'' (VI) is a Dutch football magazine. It is the oldest Dutch football magazine that is still running. History and profile ''Voetbal International'' was established in 1965. VI was one of the founding members of ESM. It l ...

s 50 World Stars by Raf Willems: 1999 * Platina 11 (Best Team in 50 Years Golden Shoe Winners): 2003 *

FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list compiled by Brazilian professional footballer Pelé featuring his choices of the "greatest living footballers" at the time of its release. The list was unveiled on 4 March 2004 during a gala ceremony at the Natural Histor ...

: 2004 * The Best Golden Shoe Team Ever: 2011 *

Het Nieuwsblad (; ) is a Flemish newspaper that mainly focusses on "a broad view" regarding politics, culture, economics, lifestyle, society and sports. History and profile In 1929, was published by for the first time. In 1939, the sports paper ''Spo ...

Best Club Brugge player ever: 2011 * Honorary Citizen of Lier: 2014 * These Football Times Top 50 Legends: 2017 * RBFA 125 Years Icons Team: 2020 * Pro League Hall of Fame: 2024

References

External links

Jan Ceulemans
on All Red Devils (RBFA) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ceulemans, Jan 1957 births Living people Footballers from Lier, Belgium Men's association football forwards Belgian men's footballers Belgium men's international footballers Belgian Pro League players Lierse S.K. players Club Brugge KV players Belgian football managers S.C. Eendracht Aalst managers K.V.C. Westerlo managers K.M.S.K. Deinze managers Club Brugge KV managers FIFA 100 UEFA Euro 1980 players UEFA Euro 1984 players 1982 FIFA World Cup players 1986 FIFA World Cup players 1990 FIFA World Cup players 20th-century Belgian sportsmen