Nico Claesen

Nico Claesen
Personal information
Full name Nicolaas Pieter Claesen
Date of birth (1962-10-01) 1 October 1962 (age 62)
Place of birth Maasmechelen, Belgium
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1977–1978 K. Patro Eisden Maasmechelen
1978–1984 R.F.C. Seraing 85 (43)
1984–1985 VfB Stuttgart 29 (11)
1985–1986 Standard de Liège 28 (10)
1986–1988 Tottenham Hotspur 50 (18)
1988–1992 Antwerp 119 (39)
1992–1993 Germinal Ekeren 29 (15)
1993–1994 Antwerp 31 (2)
1994–1996 KV Oostende 57 (33)
1996–1998 K. Sint-Niklase S.K.E. 55 (19)
1998–2000 K. Beringen
Total 473 (190)
International career
1983–1990 Belgium 36 (12)
Managerial career
2005–2008 Patro Eisden MM
2010 RFC Liège
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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

Career

Claesen was signed by Tottenham Hotspur in October 1986 by David Pleat who bought him from Standard Liège for £600,000. He made his debut against Liverpool at Anfield.[2] In August 1988, when Terry Venables arrived, Claesen fell out of favour and was sold for £550,000 to Antwerp FC.[2] He also played for VfB Stuttgart.[3]

International career

Oleh Kuznetsov, Claesen and goalkeeper Rinat Dasayev, during USSR-Belgium (FIFA 1986 World Cup)

Claesen earned 36 caps and scored 12 goals from 1983 to 1990 for the Belgium national 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.

Honours

Antwerp

Belgium

Individual

International goals

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 17 October 1984 Brussels, Belgium  Albania 1–0 3–1 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
2. 19 May 1986  Yugoslavia 1–3 1–3 Friendly
3. 8 June 1986 Toluca, Mexico  Iraq 2–0 2–1 1986 FIFA World Cup
4. 15 June 1986 León, Mexico  Soviet Union 4–2 4–3 (a.e.t.)
5. 28 June 1986 Puebla, Mexico  France 2–2 2–4 (a.e.t.)
6. 10 September 1986 Brussels, Belgium  Republic of Ireland 1–0 2–2 UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying
7. 14 October 1986 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg  Luxembourg 2–0 6–0
8. 4–0
9. 6–0
10. 1 April 1987 Anderlecht, Belgium  Scotland 1–0 4–1
11. 2–1
12. 4–1

References

  1. ^ "Tous les transferts à Huy-Waremme" (in French). lavenir.net. 1 July 2010. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  2. ^ a b "NICO CLAESEN 1986–1988". Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  3. ^ Henderson, Charlie (31 January 2007). "Were you there?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  4. ^ "FC Antwerp | Palmares".
  5. ^ "FIFA 1986 World Cup". Archived from the original on 5 June 2016.
  6. ^ "Topscorer Eerste Klasse".


Flag of BelgiumSoccer icon

This biographical article related to association football in Belgium, about a forward, is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.