Nico Claesen

Nicolaas "Nico" Pieter Claesen (born 1 October 1962) is a former Belgian football player who works as head coach of RFC Liège.^[1]

Career

Time at Tottenham

Among the many club teams he played for were Tottenham Hotspur, who bought him from Standard Liege in 1986–87 for £600,000 and sold him for £550,000 to Antwerp FC in August 1988. Whilst at Spurs he played in the 1987 FA Cup Final. He also played for VfB Stuttgart.

Nico Claesen signed for Spurs from Standard Liege in October 1986 for £600, 000, his three goals for the Belgium team that finished fourth in that summer's World Cup alerting manager David Pleat to this pacy, diminutive striker. He went straight into the team for a rare away win at Liverpool, impressing immediately with his endeavour and speed off the mark. He continued to be a regular starter, warmed up by scoring in a friendly against Hamburg Nico then notched his first league goal in a 2–1 away defeat to Norwich in the second week of November, a cool finish to a fine move involving Hoddle and Paul Allen. He next scored when he came off the bench in another away defeat, this time at Coventry in late December. This heralded a profitable January with a run of four goals in five league and cup games. Running onto a through ball and a clean, crisp finish became his trademark, as demonstrated by identical goals against Charlton and Villa. Hoddle supplied both passes, so there was potentially a ready-made supply of chances. Short in stature, his muscular frame and low centre of gravity made him surprisingly difficult to knock off the ball, whilst his acceleration and leg speed gained him further advantages over many defenders. His busy, industrious approach signalled a readiness to contribute to team play, all apparently ideal attributes for the English game. However, the writing was already on the wall for the willing Belgian. The signing of Steve Hodge lead to Pleat preferring a fluid five man midfield, with Chris Waddle shifting from orthodox winger to a roaming forward and Clive Allen as the sole striker. It worked. Spurs moved up the table, eventually coming in third, and reached the League Cup semi-final and the FA Cup final, while Allen's unstoppable goalscoring meant his rival Claesen had to increasingly settle for sporadic appearances, predominantly in a withdrawn role. This wasn't his game: passing and tackling were not his strengths, whilst his goalscorer's instincts were of little use without a partner up front to feed off. He finished the season with eight goals from 26 games. Claesen's prospects looked brighter at the beginning of the next campaign, playing in 16 of the first 20 games. He scored the only goal against Chelsea in late August, followed by two more against Oxford, a total of nine league and cup goals by mid-October. Then Pleat left and as Spurs slipped down the table, Nico scored only once more in two and half months. After Christmas he appeared intermittently, scoring just twice, against Sheffield Wednesday and Norwich. His career at the club, like Spurs' season, petered out. His new manager Terry Venables felt he could dispense with an international striker who recorded almost a goal every other start that season, and he returned to his native country in August 1988, signing for Antwerp for £550, 000.

International career

He earned 36 caps and scored 12 goals from 1983 to 1990 for the Belgium national football team, and was in the squad for three major tournaments: UEFA Euro 1984, the 1986 FIFA World Cup, where he scored three goals as Belgium finished in fourth, and the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

References