Hugo Cuypers (born 7 February 1997) is a Belgian professional

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 lea ...

who plays as a

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) ** Smal ...

for Chicago Fire in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

Club career

Youth

Cuypers began his career at Zwaluw Vechmaal, followed by fourth-tier

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

side Excelsior Veldwezelt. When the latter went bankrupt in 2012, Cuypers moved to

Visé Visé (; , ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, located on the river Meuse in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Argenteau, Cheratte, Lanaye, Lixhe, Richelle, and Visé. In the ...

. He played for ''Les Oies'' for three seasons, and was eventually picked up by Belgian top tier side

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

in the summer of 2014, when Visé also went bankrupt.

Standard Liège

After his move to ''Les Rouches'', Cuypers' made an impression in his debut season for the club's U−19 outfit, scoring 31 times and dishing out 13 assists. He added an additional 2 goals with Standard Liège U−21, thus drawing the interest of several

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an top clubs. In June 2015, Cuypers signed a new two-year contract with Standard Liège and made his professional debut on 3 April 2016, coming in as a late substitute for

Renaud Emond Renaud Emond (born 5 December 1991) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Challenger Pro League club Eupen. Career Virton Born in Arlon, Belgium, Emond began his career at R.E. Virton, where his father was the presid ...

during the play-off II home match vs.

Waasland-Beveren Sportkring Beveren (SK Beveren) is a Belgian professional association football club based in Beveren, East Flanders. The club is affiliated with the founded number 4068 and has yellow and blue as its colours. The team was founded in 1936 in H ...

RFC Seraing (loan)

On 31 October 2016, Cuypers was loaned out to

Belgian First Amateur Division The Belgian Division 1 is a semi-professional division and the third-highest division in the Belgian football league system A league system is a hierarchy of sports league, leagues in a sport. They are often called pyramids, due to their tend ...

side

Seraing Seraing (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city of Wallonia located in the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Boncelles, Jemeppe-sur-M ...

. He managed to score six goals in a total of nineteen caps during his loan spell.

Ergotelis

In the summer of 2017, Cuypers was acquired by

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

side

Ergotelis Ergotelis Football Club () is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in Heraklion, Crete, which competes in the Heraklion Football Clubs Association, FCA Heraklion A1, the fourth tier of the Greek football league system, ...

, owned by

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian businessman Maged Samy, who also owned Belgian second tier side Lierse at the time. Despite rumors of a possible loan move to Lierse, Cuypers signed a two-year contract with the

Cretans Crete ( ; , Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and Corsica. Crete is loc ...

and joined Ergotelis' pre-season build-up at

Karpenisi Karpenisi (, ) is a town in central Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Evrytania. Karpenisi lies within the valley of the river Karpenisiotis (Καρπενησιώτης), a tributary of the Megdovas, in the southern part of the ...

. During his first season with the

, Cuypers became a permanent starter and made an immediate impact for his new club, scoring three goals in the first four matches of the 2017–18 Greek Football League during a 1−1 draw vs. Chania − Kissamikos on 5 November 2017, a 2−1 loss vs.

Panachaiki Panachaiki G.E. (Greek: Παναχαϊκή Γυμναστική Ένωση, ''Panachaiki Gymnastiki Enosi'', "Pan- Achaean Gymnastic Union") is a Greek multi-sport club based in the city of Patras, Greece. The history of Panachaiki began in 1891, ...

on 12 November 2017, and a 2−3 loss vs.

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...

on 19 November 2017. Despite Ergotelis' rough start and early struggle to avoid relegation, Cuypers became the club's most prolific player, strongly following up on his early performances by scoring goals on a regular basis and eventually "victimizing" 14 out of the total 16 opponents faced by Ergotelis during the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

. He had his first two-goal performance vs.

Veria Veria (; ), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Beroea or Berea, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of Imathia. It is located north-nor ...

on 21 January 2018, a feat he repeated on 1 April against fellow relegation candidates Panegialios during a decisive 5−1 home win for the

. At the end of the first round, Cuypers had already scored 11 goals in 16 games and by match-day 27 he had tallied up 20 goals, almost single-handedly giving his club a chance of staying in the division. He became the first player to score over 20 goals for Ergotelis in one season in 12 years, a feat which earned Cuypers a spot in the club's list of all-time top-scorers in Greek professional division. On 20 May 2018 Cuypers scored his fourth brace during the season, in a 5−1 home win against Aiginiakos, which cemented his team's place above the relegation zone. After scoring 22 goals in 28 caps, Cuypers became the most productive player in club history in the competition, surpassing Ergotelis' all-time scoring legend

Patrick Ogunsoto Patrick Ogunsoto (born 19 April 1983) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent the majority of his career in Greece and is best known for his tenure at Greek side Ergotelis, for which he still remains the al ...

's 21-goal season performance in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. His performances reportedly drew the attention of several Greek top-tier clubs as a result, including newly-crowned

Superleague Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

champions

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

, who reportedly placed a €380,000 bid for the player, along with offering two of the club's players on loan to the

. However, despite reports of the two teams reaching a deal, the transfer fell through after both Cuypers and manager Jacques Lichtenstein gave statements to the

press, which ruled out any transfer to

, reportedly due to «lack of respect». He subsequently failed to report for Ergotelis' 2018−19 pre-season preparation and effectively placed himself out of the team.

Olympiacos

On 18 June 2019, Cuypers joined

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

signing a three years' contract for an undisclosed fee. During the 2018–19 season, the Belgian forward didn’t play in a single match for Ergotelis, as the Cretan club finished in fourth place of the Football League to miss out on promotion. On 17 August 2019, Cuypers joined

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...

on a season-long loan from Olympiacos.

Mechelen

On 4 June 2021,

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

has announced Cuypers and according to the publications, Olympiacos will receive €1 million for the transfer, and will keep a 50% in a possible resale. On 14 June 2021, his transfer to Mechelen, in which he signed a four-year contract, was officially concluded, following an official announcement from Olympiacos.

Gent

On 14 June 2022, Cuypers signed a four-year contract with

Gent Gent is a shortened form of the word gentleman. It may also refer to: * Ghent ( Dutch: Gent), a Belgian city ** K.A.A. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** K.R.C. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** Gent RFC, a rugby club in Ghent ** .gent, ...

. In the year 2022 he scored 30 goals in 45 games, and in the year 2023 he scored 32 goals in 44 games. Entering the Top Ten of the top scorers of the year 2023

Chicago Fire FC

On 6 February 2024, Cuypers signed a contract with

team

Chicago Fire FC Chicago Fire Football Club is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Chicago. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The Fire play their hom ...

through 2026 with an option for 2027 for a Club record fee.

International career

Cuypers has represented

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

with the U−19 national team during the

2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification The 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification was a men's under-19 football competition organised by UEFA to determine the seven national teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Germany in the 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Champ ...

. He played in all three matches during the Elite round of the competition, scoring one goal vs.

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

in his only match as a starter.

Career statistics

Honours

Standard Liège *

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 ...

: 2015–16 Olympiacos *

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Individual * Super League Greece 2 Best Foreign Player: 2017−18 * Belgian First Division A Top scorer:

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Jean-Claude Bouvy Trophy Koninklijke Atletiek Associatie Gent (; English: ''Royal Athletic Association Ghent''), often simply known as Gent or by their nickname ' (), is a Belgian professional sports club, based in the city of Ghent, East Flanders. Their football tea ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuypers, Hugo 1997 births Living people Footballers from Liège Belgian men's footballers Belgium men's youth international footballers Belgian expatriate men's footballers Belgian Pro League players Super League Greece players Football League (Greece) players Ligue 2 players Standard Liège players Ergotelis F.C. players Olympiacos F.C. players R.F.C. Seraing (1922) players AC Ajaccio players K.V. Mechelen players K.A.A. Gent players Chicago Fire FC players Designated Players (MLS) Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Belgian expatriate sportspeople in France Belgian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Men's association football forwards Major League Soccer players 21st-century Belgian sportsmen