Alphonse Emile Pierre Decorte (2 August 1909, in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Scienc ...

– 31 May 1977, in Bruges) was a Belgian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

. His position on the field was

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. Throughout his career, Decorte only played for one team:

Cercle Brugge Cercle Brugge Koninklijke Sportvereniging () is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges. Cercle have played in the Belgian Pro League since the 2003–04 season, having previously spent several years in the Belgian Second Division ...

. He made his debut in the 1927–28 season, right after Cercle Brugge's

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

and

cup final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official attend ...

victory. In Decorte's first match, Cercle lost 5–1 at the pitch of

Beerschot Koninklijke Beerschot Voetbalclub Antwerpen, or simply Beerschot, is a Belgian professional football club located in Antwerp, that competes in the second-tier First Division B after relegating from the top tier in the 2021–22 season. In 201 ...

. Even though Decorte never really became a first team regular, he managed twice to become top scorer of the team, in 1932 and

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

. He also became national champions with Cercle in the 1929–30 season. Alphonse Decorte played his last match for Cercle against

Daring Club de Bruxelles Royal Daring Club Molenbeek was a football team from the city of Brussels, Belgium until 1973. It was created in 1895 as Daring Club de Bruxelles and was the second club to register to the Belgian Football Association (it thus received the ...

on 29 December 1935. Cercle lost the match 1–6. Cercle would eventually relegate that season.

External links

Alphonse Decorte
a
Cerclemuseum.be
1909 births 1977 deaths Belgian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Belgian Pro League players Cercle Brugge K.S.V. players Footballers from Bruges {{Belgium-footy-forward-stub