Laurence Henry Cristine De Bock (born 7 November 1992), known as Laurens De Bock, 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

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for

Greek Super League 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 ...

club

Atromitos Atromitos (Greek: Ατρόμητος, "fearless") may refer to: * Atromitos F.C., a football team based in Peristeri, Greece * Atromitos Piraeus, a football team based in Piraeus, Greece * Atromitos Yeroskipou Atromitos Yeroskipou () was a Cy ...

. He has represented Belgium at various youth levels including Belgium U21s. He has been named in the Belgium national team but remains uncapped.

Club career

Early career

De Bock joined HO Kalken in his youth. After three years, the defender made the switch to the neighboring

Standaard Wetteren Standaard Wetteren was a football in Belgium, Belgian association football club team from Wetteren. Its matricule (5479) still exists as it was sold to investors who created a new team, R.W.D. Molenbeek (2015), RWD Molenbeek The Matricule 47. ...

, where he was discovered at the age of 11 by scouts of KSC Lokeren. De Bock combined football with his studies at the top sports school in Ghent.

KSC Lokeren

After coming through the

Lokeren Lokeren () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders, and belongs to the Waasland, also called ''Land van Waas'', of which it is the second ...

youth set up, manager

Georges Leekens Georges Leekens (born 18 May 1949) is a Belgian football manager and former player. During his managerial career, he was in charge of four national teams: the Belgian, Tunisian, Algerian and Hungarian national football teams. He also manage ...

brought then 16-year-old De Bock to the first team squad. In the 2009–10 season, in the first match of the play-offs, De Bock made his debut at the highest level under manager

Emilio Ferrera Emilio Ferrera (born 19 June 1967) is a Belgian football manager and former player, who manages the U21 squad of Gent. His last former club was OH Leuven in the Belgian First Division B. Before he also worked at Genk, where he was fired after ...

. During the 2011–12 season he won the

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 ...

Club Brugge

After being linked with Anderlecht, on 5 January, De Bock joined

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,042. They pl ...

, where he signed a contract until the end of the 2017 season, for a transfer fee of €3.5 million. He won the

with Brugge during the 2014–15 season and followed this up by winning 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 ...

in the 2015–16 season and then the

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, ...

in 2016.

Leeds United

On 11 January 2018, De Bock signed for

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

on a four-and-a-half-year contract. De Bock was handed the number 12 shirt. He made his debut for Leeds on 20 January 2018 in a dramatic 4–3 loss against

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

. De Bock featured in seven games, including having a 'tough game' against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

, before losing his starting place to 19-year-old Tom Pearce.

Loan to Oostende

After falling behind left backs

Barry Douglas Barry James Douglas (born 4 September 1989) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Scottish Premiership club St Johnstone. After playing for Queen's Park and Dundee United in Scotland, he joined Polish club Lech Po ...

Leif Davis Leif Davis (born 31 December 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left-back for club Ipswich Town. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Davis spent time in the youth systems at Wallsend Boys Club and Morecambe before joining Lee ...

and Tom Pearce in the pecking order under new head coach

Marcelo Bielsa Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (, nicknamed ''El Loco Bielsa'' , meaning 'The Madman Bielsa'; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional Association football, football manager who is the current manager of the Uruguay national football team ...

for the start of the 2018–19 season, on 21 August 2018, De Bock joined

Belgian First Division A 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– ...

side Oostende on a season-long loan. De Bock revealed that he had turned down a loan move to

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

side

Beitar Jerusalem F.C. Beitar Jerusalem Football Club (), commonly known as Beitar Jerusalem () or simply Beitar (), is an Israeli professional association football, football club based in the city of Jerusalem, that plays in the Israeli Premier League, the top tie ...

to join

K.V. Oostende Koninklijke Voetbalclub Oostende, also called KV Oostende () or KVO, was a Belgian professional association football, football club based in Ostend, West Flanders. The team was founded in 1904 as ''VG Oostende'' and had Football in Belgium#Matr ...

. In total, he made 20 appearances scoring 1 goal for K.V. Oostende in

Loan to Sunderland

On 2 September 2019, De Bock signed for

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

on a season-long loan. He made his

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

debut for the club on 28 September in their 2–1 defeat of

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

Loan to ADO Den Haag

On 13 January 2020, De Bock joined

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

club

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation ...

on loan until the end of the season.

Loan to Zulte Waregem

He joined Zulte Waregem on a season-long loan in July 2020. He subsequently rejoined Zulte Waregem on a fresh season-long loan agreement in July 2021. Having not made an appearance for Leeds since January 2018, De Bock's time with the Yorkshire club concluded in June 2022 with the end of his contract.

Zulte Waregem

It was announced on 20 May 2022 that De Bock had signed a permanent 1 year deal for the 2022-23 season with Zulte Waregem, with the option of a further year.

Atromitos

On 30 July 2022, De Bock signed a two-year contract with

in Greece, moving on a free transfer.

International career

De Bock 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 ...

at various age levels including Under 21. In November 2014, De Bock was named in the Belgium squad for a friendly against

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, however was unused. In November 2014 De Bock was recalled into the senior Belgium squad as injury cover for

Vincent Kompany Vincent Jean Mpoy Kompany (born 10 April 1986) is a Belgian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former Association football, player who played as a centre-back. He is currently the head coach of ...

in their

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's association football, football ch ...

qualifier against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and was called up again in March 2015.

Career statistics

Honours

KSC Lokeren *

: 2011–12 Club Brugge *

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– ...

: 2015–16 * Belgian Cup: 2014–15 *

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:De Bock, Laurens 1992 births Living people Belgian men's footballers Belgium men's youth international footballers Belgium men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football defenders K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen players Club Brugge KV players Leeds United F.C. players K.V. Oostende players Sunderland A.F.C. players ADO Den Haag players SV Zulte Waregem players Atromitos F.C. players Belgian Pro League players English Football League players Eredivisie players Super League Greece players Footballers from Dendermonde Belgian expatriate men's footballers Belgian expatriate sportspeople in England Belgian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Greece 21st-century Belgian sportsmen