Dany Verlinden

Dany Verlinden
Personal information
Full name Daniël Verlinden
Date of birth (1963-08-15) 15 August 1963
Place of birth Aarschot, Belgium
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Youth career
1973–1975 Ourodenberg Sport
1975–1980 Lierse
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1980–1988 Lierse 204 (0)
1988–2004 Club Brugge 433 (0)
Total 637 (0)
National team
1998 Belgium 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Daniël 'Dany' Verlinden (born 15 August 1963 in Aarschot, Flemish Brabant) is a Belgian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.[1]

Often referred to as De Muur ("the wall"),[2] he spent most of his career at Club Brugge, having played into his 40s.

Club career

Having arrived at Club Brugge K.V. from Lierse S.K. in 1988, Verlinden gained first-choice status in his second year and, except for one season, never lost it again. He ranked the second most-capped player for the club in the Belgian Pro League, trailing only Franky Van der Elst, and was instrumental in the side's five league conquests (with the addition of as many cups and nine supercups).

In December 2003, Verlinden became the oldest footballer ever to play in the UEFA Champions League, aged 40 years and 116 days. Alessandro Costacurta of A.C. Milan took over the record on 21 November 2006, when the Italian played in a 0–1 group stage away defeat against AEK Athens F.C. aged 40 years and 211 days.[3] Verlinden, however, held the European record for longest time spent in goal without conceding, managing to keep a clean sheet a total of 1,390 minutes in the Belgian league between 3 March and 26 September 1990.[3]

After his footballing career Verlinden remained with Club Brugge, as a goalkeeping coach,[4] until his unceremonious dismissal in 2012.[5]

International career

Verlinden played once for Belgium, and was called up for the squad at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cups. His sole cap was obtained on 25 March 1998, as he played the full 90 minutes in a 2–2 friendly home draw to Norway.

References

  1. ↑ "Stoke eyeing up 15-year-old Standard Liege starlet Thibaut Verlinden as Mark Hughes looks to boost standard of Under 21 squad". Mail Online. 20 April 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  2. ↑ "Record holder Verlinden salutes Van der Sar". UEFA.com. 20 February 2009. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  3. 1 2 Record-breaker Van der Sar joins exclusive club; UEFA.com, 29 January 2009
  4. ↑ Dany Verlinden gaat doelmannen trainen bij VV Coxyde (Dany Verlinden becomes goalkeeper coach at VV Coxyde); Focus & WTV, 21 April 2015 (in Dutch)
  5. ↑ "Verlinden komt terug op ontslag bij Club Brugge: "Het kwam hard aan, maar doe het dan op een deftige manier"" [Verlinden returns to the topic of his dismissal from Club Brugge: "It was a hard blow, but please do it courteously"]. Voetbalkrant (in Dutch). 5 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
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