Kevin De Bruyne

Kevin De Bruyne

De Bruyne with Belgium in 2013
Personal information
Full nameKevin De Bruyne[1]
Date of birth28 June 1991
Place of birthDrongen, Belgium
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[2][3]
Playing positionAttacking midfielder / Winger
Club information
Current team
VfL Wolfsburg
Number14
Youth career
1997–1999KVV Drongen
1999–2005Gent
2005–2008Genk
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2008–2012Genk84(14)
2012–2014Chelsea3(0)
2012→ Genk (loan)13(2)
2012–2013→ Werder Bremen (loan)33(10)
2014–VfL Wolfsburg45(17)
National team‡
2008–2009Belgium U187(1)
2009Belgium U1910(1)
2011Belgium U212(0)
2010–Belgium30(7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 April 2015.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 31 March 2015

Kevin De Bruyne (Dutch pronunciation: [də ˈbrœy̆nə]; born 28 June 1991) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg and the Belgian national team.

He began his career at Genk, where he was a regular player as they won the 2010–11 Belgian Pro League. In 2012 he joined English club Chelsea, where he was used sparingly and also loaned to Werder Bremen. He signed with Wolfsburg for £18 million in 2014.

De Bruyne made his full international debut in 2010, and has gone on to earn over 25 caps for Belgium. He was part of the Belgian squad that reached the quarter-finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Early career

De Bruyne began his career with hometown club KVV Diller in 2003. Two years later, he joined Gent and in 2005 moved to Genk. De Bruyne continued his development in their youth set-up and was rewarded for his progress by being promoted to the first team squad in 2008.

Genk

De Bruyne made his first team debut for Genk in a 3–0 defeat at Charleroi on 9 May 2009.[4] Having established himself in the team the following season,[5] On 7 February 2010, De Bruyne scored his first goal for the club, which secured all three points for Genk in a 1–0 win against Standard Liège.[6] He scored five goals and made 16 assists in 32 league matches during the 2010–11 season as Genk were crowned Belgian champions for the third time.[7] On 29 October 2011, De Bruyne scored his first hat-trick for Genk against Club Brugge, which ended in a 5–4 win for Genk.[8] On 28 January 2012, De Bruyne scored a brace against OH Leuven in a 5–0 win. On 18 February 2012, De Bruyne scored his first goal back at Genk following his agreed transfer to Chelsea and also assisted the other goal in a 1–2 away win against Mons. De Bruyne ended the season by wrapping up the scoring in a 3–1 victory over Gent. He finished the league campaign with eight goals from 28 appearances.[5]

Chelsea

On 31 January 2012, on the winter transfer deadline day, English Premier League club Chelsea and Genk announced the permanent signing of De Bruyne, with the fee rumoured to be in the region of £7 million.[9] He signed a five-and-a-half-year contract at Stamford Bridge, but would stay at Genk for the remainder of the 2011–12 season. De Bruyne told the club website, "To come to a team like Chelsea is a dream but now I have to work hard to achieve the level that's necessary."[10][11] On 18 July 2012, De Bruyne made his debut for Chelsea in a friendly match against Major League Soccer (MLS) side Seattle Sounders FC in a 4–2 win. De Bruyne also played the first half against French Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain at Yankee Stadium, New York.

Loan to Werder Bremen

De Bruyne with Werder Bremen in 2012

On 2 August 2012, Chelsea announced that De Bruyne was to join Werder Bremen in the German Bundesliga on a season-long loan deal after having successfully completed a medical.[12] De Bruyne scored his first goal for Bremen in a 3–2 defeat to Hannover 96 on 15 September, netting from 11 yards out after being played in by Eljero Elia.[13][14] De Bruyne continued his good form, scoring in Bremen's next game, a 2–2 draw with VfB Stuttgart, on 23 September.[15][16] De Bruyne got back on the score sheet on 18 November, scoring the winning goal — despite his team being down to 10 men — as Bremen came from a goal down to defeat Fortuna Düsseldorf 2–1.[17][18]

De Bruyne scored his first goal in over two months on 4 May 2013, since netting a consolation goal in Bayern Munich's 6–1 hammering of Bremen, putting his side up 2–0 at home to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim before a late brace from Sven Schipplock meant that the game finished 2–2.[19][20] He followed this up with a goal in Bremen's next match, securing a place in the Bundesliga for the next season with a 1–1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt on 11 May.[21][22]

Return to Chelsea

De Bruyne with Chelsea in 2013

After a successful loan spell in the German Bundesliga with Werder Bremen, De Bruyne was linked with a move to stay in Germany with either Borussia Dortmund or Bayer Leverkusen. Incoming manager José Mourinho, however, assured De Bruyne he was a part of Chelsea's plan for the future, and the player officially returned to Chelsea on 1 July 2013. De Bruyne's agent, Patrick De Koster, explained, "We didn't receive any guarantees, but that's normal in a club like Chelsea. It's up to him [De Bruyne] to prove, like he did in the last 18 months."[23]

De Bruyne injured a knee while scoring his first goal for Chelsea, in a pre-season friendly game against a Malaysia XI,[24] but was fit to make his competitive debut on the opening day of the 2013–14 Premier League season against Hull City, and made an assist for the first goal in a 2–0 win.[25]

Wolfsburg

2013-14 Season

On 18 January 2014, Wolfsburg signed De Bruyne for a fee of £18 million, ending a protracted transfer saga.[26] On 25 January 2014, he made his debut for Wolfsburg in a 3–1 home loss against Hannover 96.[27] On 12 April 2014, De Bruyne assisted 2 goals in their 4–1 home win against 1. FC Nürnberg.[28] After a week he scored his first goal for Wolfsburg in 3–1 away win against Hamburger SV.[29] He also scored in the last two matches of the Bundesliga helping his team to win against VfB Stuttgart and Borussia Mönchengladbach.

2014-15 Season

De Bruyne scored his first goal of the 2014–15 season on 2 October 2014, volleying in a clearance from outside the box to salvage a 1–1 draw against Lille in the Europa League.[30] In the third group match away to Krasnodar on 23 October, De Bruyne bagged a brace as Wolfsburg secured their first win in the competition with a 4–2 victory.[31] On 30 January 2015, he scored another brace in a 4-1 home win against Bayern Munich, their first Bundesliga defeat since April 2014.[32] On 1 March 2015, De Bruyne assisted three goals in a 5-3 win over his former club on loan Werder Bremen.[33][34][35]

On 12 March 2015, De Bruyne scored two goals in a 3-1 first-leg Europa League Round-of-16 victory over Inter Milan.[36][37] On 15 March 2015, De Bruyne scored one goal and assisted another two in 3-0 victory over SC Freiburg.[38]

International career

De Bruyne lining up for Belgium in 2013, alongside Vincent Kompany and Simon Mignolet

Although De Bruyne was never called up nor chose to play for the England national youth teams, his mother was raised in Ealing, living there for 17 years, thus hypothetically making De Bruyne eligible to play for England, too. His grandparents and uncle still live there, and his mother has always communicated in English to him.[39] De Bruyne was capped by Belgium at under-18, under-19, and under-21 level. He made his debut for the Belgian senior team on 11 August 2010 in an international friendly against Finland in Turku; the game ended in a 1–0 loss for Belgium.[40]

De Bruyne became a regular member of Belgium's team during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, where he scored four goals as the Red Devils qualified for their first major tournament in 12 years.[41]

On 13 May 2014, he was named in Belgium's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[42] In their first game of the tournament, against Algeria in Belo Horizonte, De Bruyne assisted Marouane Fellaini's equaliser[43] and was named man of the match by FIFA.[44] In the round of 16, De Bruyne scored Belgium's opening goal in the third minute of extra time as they defeated the United States 2–1.[45]

Career statistics

Club

As of 19 April 2015.[3]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Total
AppsGoalsAssistsAppsGoalsAssistsAppsGoalsAssistsAppsGoalsAssistsAppsGoalsAssists
Genk
2008–09 200000000000200
2009–10 35342000002003934
2010–11 3251600000031135617
2011–12 2881410010060136815
Total 97163430010011121121736
Werder Bremen (loan)
2012–13 33109102––––––341011
Total 33109102––––––341011
Chelsea
2013–14 301000300300901
Total 301000300300901
Wolfsburg
2013–14 1636200––––––1836
2014–15 301018302–––1056431526
Total 461324502–––1055611832
Career Total 179396890440024672164579

International career

National team Season Apps Goals
Belgium[5] 2010 1 0
2011 1 0
2012 5 1
2013 11 3
2014 10 3
2015 2 0
Total 30 7

International goals

Scores and results lists Belgium's goal tally first.[46]
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 12 October 2012 Stadium Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia  Serbia 2–0 3–0 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
2. 22 March 2013 Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia  Macedonia 1–0 2–0 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
3. 7 June 2013 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium  Serbia 1–0 2–1 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
4. 15 October 2013 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium  Wales 1–0 1–1 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
5. 1 July 2014 Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil  United States 1–0 2–1 2014 FIFA World Cup
6. 10 October 2014 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium  Andorra 1–0 6–0 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
7. 2–0

Honours

Club

Genk[47]

Individual

Personal life

He speaks Dutch, French and English. He is son to a English mother, who was born in Burundi and also lived in Ivory Coast.[49] His hometown Drongen, a submunicipality of the city of Ghent, is situated in Flanders, the Dutch speaking part of Belgium.

In 2013 the Daily Mail alleged that Chelsea team-mate Thibaut Courtois, had had an affair with De Bruyne’s girlfriend Caroline Lijnen. De Bruyne was said to have been ‘devastated’ about the affair, but had since had a reconciliation with Courtois.[50] Since 2014 De Bruyne has been in a relationship with Michèle Lacroix.[51]

In August 2014 De Bruyne completed the Ice Bucket Challenge.[52]

References

  1. ↑ "Barclays Premier League Squad Numbers 2013/14". Premier League. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  2. ↑ "Player Profile: Kevin De Bruyne". Premier League. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Kevin de Bruyne". ESPN FC. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  4. ↑ "Charleroi 3–0 Genk". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Kevin De Bruyne". National Football Teams. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  6. ↑ "Genk 1–0 Standard Liege". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  7. ↑ "Genk clinch third Belgian title with Liege draw". Reuters. 17 May 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  8. ↑ "Kevin De Bruyne (3) stars as Genk win 5–4 at Club Brugge".
  9. ↑ Bailey, Graeme (31 January 2012). "Genk confirm De Bruyne sale". Sky Sport. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  10. ↑ "Kevin becomes a blue". Chelsea F.C. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  11. ↑ "Chelsea sign Kevin De Bruyne from Genk". BBC Sport. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  12. ↑ Chelsea send £7m youngster De Bruyne to Werder Bremen on season-long loan
  13. ↑ "Hannover 96 3–2 Werder Bremen". ESPN FC. 15 September 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  14. ↑ "Huszti is hero and villain". Sky Sports. 15 September 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  15. ↑ "Werder Bremen 2–2 VfB Stuttgart". ESPN FC. 23 September 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  16. ↑ "Honours even at Weser Stadion". Sky Sports. 23 September 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  17. ↑ "Werder Bremen 2–1 Fortuna Düsseldorf". ESPN FC. 18 November 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  18. ↑ "Winning start for Schaaf". Sky Sports. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  19. ↑ "Werder Bremen 2–2 TSG Hoffenheim". ESPNFC. 4 May 2013.
  20. ↑ "Hoffenheim fight back to draw". Sky Sports. 4 May 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  21. ↑ "Werder Bremen 1–1 Eintracht Frankfurt". ESPNFC. 11 May 2013.
  22. ↑ "Eagles secure a point". Sky Sports. 11 May 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  23. ↑ "De Bruyne to fight for Chelsea place". ESPNFC. 21 June 2013.
  24. ↑ Conway, Richard (22 July 2013). "Chelsea: Kevin De Bruyne set for scan on knee injury". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  25. ↑ Taylor, Daniel (18 August 2013). "José Mourinho enjoys stylish return as Chelsea cruise against Hull". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  26. ↑ "Chelsea sell Kevin De Bruyne to Wolfsburg". The Guardian. 18 January 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  27. ↑ "Team News: Kevin de Bruyne straight in for Wolfsburg". Sports Mole. 25 January 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  28. ↑ "Wolfsburg-Nurnberg Live". Whoscored.com. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  29. ↑ "De Bruyne: 'We want nine points' | VfL Wolfsburg | Matchday 31 | Reaction – Bundesliga – official website". Bundesliga. 20 April 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  30. ↑ "Wolfsburg rally to peg back LOSC". UEFA. 2 October 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  31. ↑ "De Bruyne Double Fires Wolfsburg to First European Win". Bundesliga. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  32. ↑ Begley, Emlyn (30 January 2015). "Bayern Munich suffered a first meaningful Bundesliga defeat in over two years as they lost to Wolfsburg.". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  33. ↑ "Wolfsburg striker Bas Dost continued his incredible run of form by making it 14 goals in his last nine appearances to help his side defeat Werder Bremen in an eight-goal thriller.". BBC Sport. 1 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  34. ↑ "Werder Bremen 3-5 VfL Wolfsburg". ESPN (UK). 1 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  35. ↑ "Werder Bremen 3-5 Wolfsburg: Bas Dost scores a brace as visitors fight back to keep pace with Bayern Munich". Daily Mail. 1 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  36. ↑ "De Bruyne-powered Wolfsburg snap back at Inter". UEFA.COM. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  37. ↑ Bailey, Ryan (12 March 2015). "De Bruyne, Salah and Lukaku Make Chelsea's European Disappointment Even Worse". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  38. ↑ "Kevin De Bruyne scored one goal and made two to help second-placed Wolfsburg to a Bundesliga win over relegation-threatened Freiburg.". BBC Sport. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  39. ↑ De Groote, Raoul (24 February 2010). "Interview Kevin De Bruyne". Sport Voetbal (Belgium).
  40. ↑ "Finland 1–0 Belgium". Eurosport. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  41. ↑ "Kevin DE BRUYNE". FIFA. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  42. ↑ "Adnan Januzaj included in Belgium's World Cup squad". BBC Sport. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  43. ↑ Chowdhury, Saj (17 June 2014). "Belgium 2–1 Algeria". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  44. ↑ "Belgium 2–1 Algeria". FIFA. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  45. ↑ "Belgium 2–1 USA". BBC. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  46. ↑ "Kevin De Bruyne". eu-football.info. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  47. ↑ Kevin De Bruyne profile at Soccerway. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  48. ↑ Anderson, Cammy (21 April 2014). "Analysing Kevin De Bruyne". Vavel. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  49. ↑ "Bremens Belgier ist im Sommer weg: De Bruyne: „Es gibt keine Chance für Werder!“" [Bremen's Belgian going to leave in summer: De Bruyne: „There is no chance for Werder!“] (in German). Bild. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  50. ↑ "Chelsea Keeper Thibaut Courtois Has Affair With Caroline Lijnen, Girlfriend Of Team-Mate Kevin De Bruyne". CaughtOffside.com. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  51. ↑ Newman, Benjamin (3 January 2014). "Michèle Lacroix, new blonde girlfriend of Chelsea’s De Bruyne, has posted pictures of the couple on Facebook". 101 Great Goals. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  52. ↑ "stars join the Ice Bucket Challenge – Bundesliga – official website". Bundesliga. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.

External links

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