Luc Gilbert Cyrille Nilis (born 25 May 1967) is a Belgian professional

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

who is the striker coach of Patro Eisden. He spent most of his career in his native Belgium and, in particular, in the Netherlands with PSV. His playing days came to an end in the 2000–01 season after breaking his leg in a match with his club Aston Villa following a clash with Ipswich Town

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

Richard Wright.

Club career

His former clubs include Winterslag,

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

, PSV and Aston Villa.

Early years

As youth player, Nilis was regarded as Winterslag's greatest talent. Standard, Club Brugge and PSV Eindhoven showed interest in the stylish attacker, but under the influence of Raymond Goethals, Nilis was transferred to Anderlecht at the age of 18.

Anderlecht

Forming a duo with players such as Luís Oliveira or

Marc Degryse Marc Gabriel Degryse (born 4 September 1965), nicknamed ''Le Lutin d'Ardooie'' ("The Lutin/ Imp of Ardooie") and ''The Little One'',

, he would win several national prizes in the next seasons. Although he was not considered as a very quick football player, his scoring ability and excellent kicking technique stood out. Long, placed distance shots with both left and right feet became his hallmark.

PSV Eindhoven

Having left Anderlecht for Eindhoven in 1994, Nilis topped the Dutch scoring charts in the 1995–96 season, plundering 21 goals. He continued that form into 1996–97 – leading the pack by December 1996 with 13 – before matching his previous total, in a season that ended with PSV winning the league title for the first time in five years. In late 1997, Nilis scored thrice in three games over a fifteen-day period, all against

Shay Given Séamus John James Given (born 20 April 1976) is an Irish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Irish goalkeepers of all time ...

; with a goal at Newcastle United in the 1997–98 UEFA Champions League group stage coming in between goals for Belgium against the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

. During his time with PSV, Nilis formed one of the deadliest partnerships in Europe with team-mate

Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (; born 1 July 1976), commonly known as Ruud van Nistelrooy (), is a Dutch professional Association football, football manager and former player who is the current manager of EFL Championship club Leic ...

, who signed for PSV in 1998. In the 1998–99 season, Nilis and van Nistelrooy scored 55 league goals between them. Van Nistelrooy finished as top-scorer, Nilis came second. In the following season, Nilis' last for PSV, they scored 48 league goals between them.

Aston Villa

After six years in the Netherlands, Nilis joined Aston Villa on a Bosman transfer in June 2000. Nilis' Villa career started well, as he scored on his debut in the

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

against Dukla Příbram on 22 July 2000 before going on to score on his league debut against Chelsea on 27 August 2000. In a league match against Ipswich Town on 9 September 2000, Nilis was involved in a clash with goalkeeper Richard Wright that left him with a double compound fracture of his right shin. At one point, the injury became infected and Nilis even feared a possible amputation. This hypothesis was later ruled out, although his playing career was effectively ended.

International career

Nilis played 56 times for the Belgium national team, scoring ten times. A prolific goalscorer with his clubs, he scored his first goal for Belgium only on his 24th cap (a 9–0 win against

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

). Nilis played in the

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 ...

s in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

. Qualification for the latter was sealed with Nilis' goals in each leg of Belgium's

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

against the Irish Republic. Nilis dropped out of international football after the 1998 Finals, reportedly in response to an "unhealthy atmosphere within the squad and their lack of achievement". However, with control of the Belgian national side having changed, Nilis returned to the international fold in November 1999, in time for

Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

, co-hosted by his birth-country Belgium and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Coaching career

After his playing career ended, Beringen-Heusden-Zolder were his next port of call, becoming technical director in 2005, not long before the club's liquidation after financial difficulties. Nilis took a job with PSV, first as a scout, and then training the club's forwards. In January 2011, Nilis became assistant manager with Turkish club Kasımpaşa, followed by another assistant manager stint with Gençlerbirliği S.K., also in Turkey. In April 2015, he was re-hired by PSV as a striker coach. In August 2021, Nilis became the head coach of

Belgian Division 2 The Belgian Division 2, commonly referred to as simply Tweede Afdeling (in Dutch) or Division 2 (in French) is the fourth-highest division in the Football in Belgium, Belgian football Belgian football league system, league system, one level below ...

club Belisia Bilzen, which had been founded earlier that year from a merger between Spouwen-Mopertingen and Bilzerse Waltwilder. It was his first assignment as head coach. In the round of 16 of 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 ...

, Belisia were drawn against Gent. At the end of October 2021, they lost that cup match 4–0. In addition to his position as manager of Belisia Bilzen, Nilis was also hired as striker coach at the Talent Academy of KRC Genk on 10 March 2022. In 2023, he was appointed striker coach of Patro Eisden.

Personal life

Nilis's father, Roger (1938–2011), played as a professional footballer in Belgium in the 1960s. His son Arne was a youth player for Genk and PSV Eindhoven but was unable to pursue a professional career, mainly due to injuries and a gambling addiction.

Legacy

Ronaldo occasionally names Nilis as one of the best strike partners he had played with, despite sharing only a brief time with him at PSV.

has also stated on several occasions that the Belgian was one of the best players, if not the best, he had ever played with. Despite the lack of a major international career, the technically skilled attacker is still praised by football fans and journalists in the low countries. In 2020, he was named in the "Best squad of all time", of both Anderlecht and PSV Eindhoven.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nilis goal.''

Honours

Anderlecht *

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– ...

: 1986–87, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94 *

: 1988–89, 1989–90, 1993–94 * Belgian Supercup: 1987, 1993 * European Cup Winners' Cup runner-up: 1989–90 * Bruges Matins: 1988 PSV *

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 ...

: 1996–97, 1999–2000 *

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

: 1995–96; runner-up: 1997–98 * Johan Cruyff Shield:

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

Individual * Belgian Bronze Shoe: 1990, 1991 * Dutch Eredivisie Footballer of the Year:

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

* Belgian Professional Footballer of the Year: 1995–96 * Eredivisie Top Scorer: 1995–96 (21 goals), 1996–97 (21 goals) * Golden Shoe Lifetime Achievement Award: 2001 * AD The Best PSV Team Ever: 2020 * DH The Best RSC Anderlecht Team Ever: 2020 * Pro League Hall of Fame: 2024

References

External links

Voetbal international website
– Nilis stats

– CV

– End of career report
Google Video
– Luc Nilis Compilation * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nilis, Luc 1967 births Living people Footballers from Hasselt Men's association football forwards Belgian men's footballers K.F.C. Winterslag players R.S.C. Anderlecht players PSV Eindhoven players Aston Villa F.C. players Belgian Pro League players Eredivisie players Premier League players Belgium men's international footballers Belgium men's under-21 international footballers Belgium men's youth international footballers 1994 FIFA World Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2000 players Belgian expatriate men's footballers Belgian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in England Belgian expatriate sportspeople in England Belgian football managers Belgian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Turkey Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate football managers in the Netherlands Expatriate football managers in Jordan Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Jordan PSV Eindhoven non-playing staff Gençlerbirliği S.K. non-playing staff 20th-century Belgian sportsmen VVV-Venlo non-playing staff