Thomas Buffel
Buffel in training with Belgium in 2006 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | (1981-02-19) 19 February 1981 (age 43) | ||
Place of birth | Bruges, Belgium | ||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Belgium U21 (assistant) | ||
Youth career | |||
1986–1990 | Daring Ruddervoorde | ||
1990–1997 | Cercle Brugge | ||
1997–1999 | Feyenoord | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1999–2005 | Feyenoord | 80 | (35) |
2000–2002 | → Excelsior (loan) | 63 | (27) |
2005–2008 | Rangers | 51 | (8) |
2008–2009 | Cercle Brugge | 35 | (5) |
2009–2018 | Genk | 235 | (34) |
2018–2019 | Zulte Waregem | 18 | (4) |
Total | 482 | (113) | |
International career | |||
1995 | Belgium U15 | 2 | (0) |
1995–1998 | Belgium U16 | 12 | (1) |
1995–1998 | Belgium U17 | 22 | (14) |
1998–1999 | Belgium U18 | 11 | (1) |
2000 | Belgium U19 | 1 | (0) |
2002 | Belgium U21 | 2 | (0) |
2002–2013 | Belgium | 36 | (6) |
Managerial career | |||
2019–2020 | Belgium U19 (assistant) | ||
2020– | Belgium U21 (assistant) | ||
2021 | Cercle Brugge (assistant) | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Thomas Buffel (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtoːmɑz ˈbʏfəl],[1] born 19 February 1981) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. He represented the Belgium national team at international level.
Club career
Early career
Buffel began his career with Belgian sides Daring Ruddervoorde and Cercle Brugge before making a move to the Netherlands.
Buffel played for the Dutch team Feyenoord in the 1999–2000 season, before moving to their feeder team Excelsior Rotterdam from 2000 to 2002. He returned to Feyenoord for the 2002–03 Eredivisie season. He reportedly fell out with then-manager Ruud Gullit in the next season "after refusing to sign a new contract".[2]
Rangers
Buffel moved to the Scottish side Rangers in January 2005 in a £2.3 million, four-and-a-half-year deal.[3] He made his debut in the Scottish Cup coming on as a substitute against Old Firm rivals Celtic in what was to be a 2–1 defeat.[4] However, the season did not end badly for him as he was to play a key role in the 2005 Scottish League Cup Final, where Rangers defeated Motherwell 5–1.[5] He also featured in the Rangers team for the latter part of the season where he would help them to their 51st league title[6] making it a double for his first season with the club. Buffel scored five goals in 18 appearances in all competitions.[7][8]
Buffel featured in the Champions League and helped Rangers reach the last 16 of the tournament, where they lost to Villarreal 3–3 on aggregate and were knocked out on away goals rule. Across all competitions, he scored seven goals in 38 appearances during the 2005–2006 season[8] mostly playing in the midfield.[citation needed]
In the 2007 January transfer window, German club Hannover 96 expressed an interest in him, with Rangers manager Walter Smith saying Buffel was free to leave. However, the deal fell through when Buffel was unable to agree personal terms with the Bundesliga side.[9] It was announced on 9 February 2007 that Buffel would undergo surgery on a long-term knee injury and would not take any further part in the 2006–07 season.[10] He returned to action on 26 September as a substitute in a Scottish League Cup tie against East Fife.[11] He would go on to make just five appearances in all competitions in his final season at Rangers.[12]
Cercle Brugge
Buffel's Rangers career came to an end when he joined former club Cercle Brugge on 1 July 2008.[13]
Genk
In the 2009 summer transfer window Buffel made a last-minute transfer to KRC Genk as part of a deal between Genk and Cercle Brugge with Jelle Vossen (on loan) and Hans Cornelis moving the opposite way.[14]
In the 2010–11 season he won the Belgian league title with Genk.[15]
His contract was not renewed at the end of the 2017–18 season.[16]
Zulte Waregem
In June 2018, it was announced Buffel would continue his career at Zulte Waregem.[16]
Buffel retired at the end of the 2018–19 season.[17]
International career
Buffel made his debut for Belgium against Andorra in October 2002 in what was to be a 1–0 victory.[18] He has since then gained 35 caps and scored 7 goals. In recent times he has been out of the picture as a player of the Belgium national football team.
Coaching career
Buffel began his coaching career in September 2019, when he was appointed assistant manager to Jacky Mathijssen at the Belgium national U-19 team.[19] In March 2020, Buffel and Mathijssen was promoted to the U-21 national team.[20]
On 3 February 2021, Buffel was also hired as an assistant manager for former club Cercle Brugge under newly appointed manager Yves Vanderhaeghe, next to his job at the national team.[21] However, on 5 October 2021, Buffel decided to leave the position, as he was going to start his Pro License course and he therefore no longer could combine his two jobs.[22]
Personal life
Buffel was married to Stephanie De Buysser, with whom he had twin sons born in November 2013. They married in June 2016, when De Buysser was already suffering from colon cancer. On 26 January 2017, De Buysser died.[23]
Career statistics
Club
Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | Ref. | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
Excelsior (loan) | 2000–01 | Eerste Divisie | 31 | 12 | — | — | 31 | 12 | [24] | ||||
2001–02 | 32 | 15 | — | — | 32 | 15 | [24] | ||||||
Total | 63 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 63 | 27 | – | ||
Feyenoord | 2002–03 | Eredivisie | 31 | 18 | 7 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 39 | 18 | [24] | ||
2003–04 | 34 | 15 | 4 | 2 | — | 38 | 17 | [24] | |||||
2004–05 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | 21 | 2 | [24] | |||||
Total | 80 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 98 | 37 | – | ||
Rangers | 2004–05 | Scottish Premier League | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5[b] | 3 | 15 | 4 | [24] | ||
2005–06 | 24 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 5[c] | 0 | 36 | 5 | [24] | ||||
2006–07 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 4 | [24] | ||||
2007–08 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | [24] | ||
Total | 51 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 76 | 13 | – | ||
Cercle Brugge | 2008–09 | Belgian First Division | 30 | 3 | — | — | 30 | 3 | [24] | ||||
2009–10 | Belgian Pro League | 5 | 2 | – | — | 2 | 5 | [24] | |||||
Total | 35 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 5 | – | ||
Genk | 2009–10 | Belgian Pro League | 25 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 9[d] | 3 | 36 | 7 | [24][25] | |
2010–11 | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7[e] | 0 | 37 | 1 | [24][25] | ||
2011–12 | 26 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 8[f] | 0 | 44 | 9 | [24][25] | ||
2012–13 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 10[g] | 0 | 55 | 7 | [24][25] | ||
2013–14 | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 10[h] | 3 | 46 | 7 | [24][25] | ||
2014–15 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[i] | 3 | 35 | 6 | [24][25] | ||
2015–16 | 28 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12[j] | 3 | 44 | 10 | [24][25] | ||
2016–17 | Belgian First Division A | 21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 4 | 10[k] | 2 | 50 | 8 | [24][25] | |
2017–18 | 26 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9[l] | 0 | 41 | 4 | [24][25] | ||
Total | 235 | 34 | 24 | 3 | 48 | 8 | 81 | 14 | 388 | 59 | – | ||
Cercle Brugge | 2018–19 | Belgian First Division A | 18 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 21 | 4 | [24] | |
Career total | 482 | 113 | 27 | 3 | 79 | 12 | 93 | 17 | 681 | 145 | – |
- ^ Two appearances in UEFA Super Cup
- ^ Five appearances, three goals in Scottish Premiership playoffs
- ^ Five appearances in Scottish Premiership playoffs
- ^ Nine appearances, three goals in Belgian Pro League playoffs
- ^ Seven appearances in Belgian Pro League playoffs
- ^ Seven appearances in Belgian Pro League playoffs, one appearance in Belgian Super Cup
- ^ Ten appearances in Belgian Pro League playoffs
- ^ Nine appearances, three goals in Belgian Pro League playoffs, one appearance in Belgian Super Cup
- ^ Six appearances, three goals in Belgian Pro League playoffs
- ^ Twelve appearances, three goals in Belgian Pro League playoffs
- ^ Ten appearances, two goals in Belgian First Division playoffs
- ^ Nine appearances in Belgian First Division playoffs
International
- Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Buffel goal.
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 30 April 2003 | King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium | Poland | 2–0 | 3–1 | Friendly |
2 | 11 October 2003 | Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège, Belgium | Estonia | 2–0 | 2–0 | Euro 2004 Qualification |
3 | 18 August 2004 | Ullevaal, Oslo, Norway | Norway | 1–0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
4 | 2–1 | |||||
5 | 26 March 2005 | King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2006 World Cup Qualification |
6 | 7 September 2005 | Olympisch Stadion, Antwerp, Belgium | San Marino | 3–0 | 8–0 | 2006 World Cup Qualification |
Honours
Rangers
Genk
References
- ^ In isolation, Thomas is pronounced [ˈtoːmɑs].
- ^ "Rangers just fan-tastic". Evening Times. 6 January 2005. Archived from the original on 16 February 2005. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
- ^ "Rangers secure Buffel signature". BBC Sport. 5 January 2005.
- ^ "Celtic 2-1 Rangers". BBC Sport. 9 January 2005.
- ^ "Rangers 5-1 Motherwell". BBC Sport. 20 March 2005.
- ^ Grahame, Ewing (23 May 2005). "Novo has Rangers in a party mood". The Telegraph. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
- ^ "Games played by Thomas Buffel in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
- ^ a b "Rangers Player Thomas Buffel Details". fitbastats.com. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
- ^ "Buffel Bundesliga move collapses". BBC Sport. 31 January 2007.
- ^ "Buffel's season ended by injury". BBC Sport. 9 February 2007. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
- ^ "East Fife 0-4 Rangers". BBC. 26 September 2007. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ "Games played by Thomas Buffel in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ "Buffel exits Rangers for Cercle". BBC Sport. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
- ^ "Buffel naar Genk, Vossen en Cornelis naar Cercle" [Buffel to Genk, Vossen and Cornelis to Cercle]. De Morgen (in Dutch). 1 September 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
- ^ Scholten, Berend (17 May 2011). "Genk pip Standard to Belgian title". UEFA. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
- ^ a b "Thomas Buffel trekt naar Zulte Waregem". KW (in Dutch). Knack. 24 June 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
- ^ Afscheid van Thomas Buffel zal hem nog lang heugen: compleet bestickerde auto, bloem en rode haarkleur, gva.be, 16 May 2019
- ^ "Andorra 0-1 Belgium". UEFA.com. 12 October 2002.
- ^ Thomas Buffel nouvel adjoint de l'équipe nationale U19, sportmagazine.levif.be, 9 September 2019
- ^ JACKY MATHIJSSEN, NOUVEL ENTRAÎNEUR FÉDÉRAL DES U21, rbfa.be, 14 March 2020
- ^ Officieel: Yves Vanderhaeghe is de nieuwe trainer van Cercle Brugge, Thomas Buffel wordt assistent, voetbalkrant.com, 3 February 2020
- ^ Cercle Brugge neemt afscheid van assistent-coach Thomas Buffel, sporza.be, 5 October 2021
- ^ Stevens, Guy. "Vrouw van Thomas Buffel verliest strijd tegen darmkanker".
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Thomas Buffel » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "T. Buffel". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
External links
- Official website (in Dutch and English)
- Thomas Buffel at Soccerbase
- Thomas Buffel at the Royal Belgian Football Association
- Thomas Buffel at National-Football-Teams.com
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