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Updated Thursday July 13, 2000, 10:00 PM GMT
Lorenzo Staelens
Position:
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Defender
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(BenRadford/Allsport)
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| Shirt No: |
4 |
| Age: |
36 |
| Caps: |
68 |
| Goals: |
8 |
| Club: |
Anderlecht |
Moustachioed centre-back Staelens experiences the first European Championship finals of his long career this summer, as a key component of the Belgian defence. That much was evident after an imperious performance against Sweden.
Despite spending much of his career in midfield, like Germany's Lothar Matthaeus he has moved back into defence to prolong his career. That didn't stop him scoring against Denmark in the final warm-up game.
Like Matthaeus in the Bundesliga, Staelens was named winner of Belgium's 1999 Golden Boot award as player of the year at the ripe old age of 35.
Staelens is the most reliable and consistent element of a defence which has proved Belgium's Achilles heel over recent years.
A veteran of the 1990, 1994 and 1998 World Cup campaigns. Spent the bulk of his career with Club Bruges.
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