Stijn Stijnen (; born 7 April 1981) is a Belgian professional football coach and a former player who is the sporting director of Challenger Pro League club Patro Eisden. A goalkeeper, he played in 189 Belgian Pro League games during thirteen seasons, mainly with Club Brugge with which he won nine major titles, including two national championships.
Club career Born in Hasselt, Limburg, Stijnen moved from K.S.C. Hasselt to Club Brugge KV in 2000, aged 19, and became the club's first stand-in for veteran Dany Verlinden – when the latter retired at 41, he backed up Tomislav Butina. On 18 April 2003, he made his debut in the league, in a 3–0 away win against K.R.C. Genk. However, his big breakthrough came in the 2005–06 season, when he replaced the injured Butina several times; some strong performances (including the UEFA Champions League 2–1 home loss to Juventus in the group stage) made him the undisputed first-choice onwards.
In the 2006–07 campaign, Stijnen was between the posts as Brugge won the Belgian Cup 1–0 against Standard Liège, but the club only finished sixth in the domestic league. He never played in less than 31 league games in the following three seasons, but the Blue and Black did not manage to win any silverware.
Stijnen retired in the 2013 summer at the age of 32, after two top flight seasons with Beerschot AC. He returned to youth club Hasselt subsequently, after being appointed director of football.
International career Belgium manager René Vandereycken noticed Stijnen's performances at club level, and handed him his debut in a friendly against Saudi Arabia on 11 May 2006. In March 2007, before an UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Portugal, he reportedly claimed his teammates should take opponent star Cristiano Ronaldo out of the game in an early stage, by all means necessary; eventually the home side won 4–0, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice, and the Manchester United player accepted the Belgian's apologies.
Stijnen retired from international play in October 2009, after collecting 30 caps.
Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueDivisionAppsGoalsClub Brugge2002–03Belgian Pro League202003–04Belgian Pro League002004–05Belgian Pro League102005–06Belgian Pro League1502006–07Belgian Pro League2702007–08Belgian Pro League3102008–09Belgian Pro League3102009–10Belgian Pro League3602010–11Belgian Pro League120Total1550Beerschot AC2011–12Belgian Pro League1302012–13Belgian Pro League200Total330Career total1880
Honours Club Brugge Belgian First Division: 2002–03, 2004–05 Belgian Cup: 2001–02, 2006–07 Belgian Super Cup: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Bruges Matins: 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Jules Pappaert Cup: 2005
References
External links Club Brugge profile