Erwin Vandenbergh (; born 26 January 1959) is a Belgian retired professional footballer who played as a forward. Between 1979 and 1991, he finished six times as topscorer of the Belgian First Division (a still standing record), with three clubs (the first three with Lierse, the following two with Anderlecht, and the last one with Gent). In 1980, he was European topscorer with 39 goals out of 34 games. As a Belgium national team regular, Vandenbergh scored a memorable victory goal against Argentina in the opening game of the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
Vandenbergh also played for the French club Lille with his Belgium national team partner Filip Desmet under the management of another fellow Belgian Georges Heylens. His son, Kevin Vandenbergh, also became a professional football striker, mainly at Genk and also for the Belgian national team.
Club career
Lierse At the age of 16, Erwin Vandenbergh made his debut in the team of his hometown, Ramsel. In his first season, the striker immediately scored 18 goals in 28 games. He was quickly noticed by the Belgian elite clubs. Vandenbergh could have gone to Beveren, Diest and Lokeren but he chose the nearby Lierse SK, the club he had supported since he was a child. Things went fast. After 6 months with the reserves, his career took off. The young Vandenbergh became the founder of Lierse's rise to the Belgian sub-top. The club was able to force European football in the 1977–78 season after finishing fourth in the standings.
In the 1979–80 season, Erwin Vandenbergh became the national and European top scorer with 39 goals, despite the fact that his team only finished sixth in the competition. Juventus, Naples, Hamburg and Bayern Munich were angling for his services, without success. He also became top scorer in the following season (24 goals) and in 1981 he won the Golden Shoe. In the 1981–82 season, he became Belgium's top scorer once more with 25 goals.
As a result of all that success, Lierse SK had to let their forward go to Anderlecht for 60 million Belgian francs (1.5 million euros), a fortune at the time.
Anderlecht Anderlecht also bought forward Alex Czerniatynski that season. The collaboration between the two was initially difficult. Erwin Vandenbergh could not thrive in the demanding “Ivic System”. When the Croat was fired 3 months later, Erwin Vandenbergh breathed a sigh of relief. Under the new coach, Anderlecht club icon Paul Van Himst, things went well immediately.Steegen, D. & Van Loock, S. (2008) 100 jaar Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht. Leuven: Uitgeverij Van Halewyck He became top scorer in the national competition for the fourth time in a row, with 20 goals.
In his first season with the club, he also immediately won his first trophy with a team: the UEFA Cup. He just missed the title of top scorer in that tournament, as Zoran Filipović, player of their opponents in the final Benfica, had scored 1 time more with 8 goals.
Vandenbergh won his first national title with Anderlecht in the 1984–85 season. The final of the UEFA Cup was also reached again, but after penalties the trophy went to Tottenham.
With the next trainer, problems arose again. The striker thought that the football was too defensive under coach Arie Haan. He scored less, although he still netted 27 goals in the 1985–86 season under the Dutchman. Anderlecht could also extend their title. When Haan left him out of the selection for most of the European Cup matches, his decision was made: he decided to leave, despite the fact that he still had one more season under contract.
Lille After the 1986 World Cup, he left for the French Flanders side Lille, which was trained by former Anderlecht star Georges Heylens. Despite an offer from Barcelona, the home-loving Vandenbergh chose a team located close to the Belgian border. Although Vandenbergh would later consider rejecting the Barcelona contract as a mistake.
He would stay at the French club for four seasons, scoring 38 goals in the Division 1 and 44 overall. These numbers were generally below his standard. Lille was one of the lowest scoring teams in the competition, no trophies could be won and the club usually finished in the middle of the standings at its best. Coach Georges Heylens left at the end of the 1989–90 season.
Gent In 1990, aged 31, Vandenbergh moved to Belgian side AA Gent, coached by his former Anderlecht teammate René Vandereycken. During the 1990–91 season, Gent was also leading the league after 24 games but ultimately had to let the title to his former team Anderlecht. Vandenbergh became top scorer for the sixth and final time, with 23 goals. In the 1991–92 season, Gent surprisingly managed to reach the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup.
RWD Molenbeek After his contract with Standard Liège was not extended, coach René Vandereycken moved to Brussels side RWDM. He convinced Erwin Vandenbergh to also make the transfer to the club. Season 1994–95 would be his only one at the club, and immediately his last as a professional footballer.
International career Erwin Vandenbergh reached a sporting peak quite early, in 1979. At that time, he was the most productive forward in Europe. That did not go unnoticed by then national coach Guy Thys either. He selected the 20-year-old attacker for the Red Devils. His first international match was on 19 December 1979 against Scotland. Belgium won 1–3 and Vandenbergh scored once.
The successful debut made Vandenbergh a regular in the national team in no time. In 1980 he was allowed to go to the European Championship in Italy. Belgium reached the final, but lost to West Germany. Vandenbergh had played three times, but he did not score.
In the run-up to the 1982 World Cup in Spain, Vandenbergh played seven World Cup Cup qualifying matches in which he scored five times. Belgium played the tournament opening match against reigning world champion Argentina in Camp Nou, the stadium of FC Barcelona. Vandenbergh scored the only goal of the match after a long, crooked cross from Frank Vercauteren. Because of the importance of the goal and the cry of joy - Goaaaal, goal, goal! - from the Belgian reporter Rik De Saedeleer, the goal went down in Belgian history as one of the most famous goals ever scored by the Red Devils. De Saedeleer's famous reaction later became the title of Vandenbergh's biography. Belgium eventually won the group, but were eliminated in the next round. Poland and the Soviet Union proved too strong.
Vandenbergh was also present at the 1984 European Championship. Belgium had won silver at the previous European Championship, so expectations were high. Belgian coach Thys saw how his Red Devils started the tournament well. Vandenbergh scored a goal in the first game for the 2–0 victory against Yugoslavia. But the Belgians only ended up third in the group stage, after host country France and Denmark.
At the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Vandenbergh was 27 years old. It would be his last international tournament with the Red Devils. Belgium got through the group stage as the best third-placed team. Vandenbergh only played against Mexico. In that match, lost with 1–2, he scored the only Belgian goal. Due to an injury, Vandenberg left the squad earlier than expected. The Red Devils eventually reached the semi-finals, but this time Argentina, with star player Maradona, was too strong. Belgium finished the World Cup in fourth place, the best result achieved by the Red Devils until 2018.
Belgium did not qualify for the 1988 European Championship and the then 31-year-old Vandenbergh was not called up for the 1990 World Cup. He had been more or less forgotten at Lille. Guy Thys preferred Nico Claesen and attacking midfielders such as Jan Ceulemans and Marc Degryse. The non-selection seemed to be the end of Vandenbergh with the national team. But a strong season at KAA Gent brought him back into the spotlight. Vandenbergh was allowed to play in the Euro 1992 qualifying matches again and scored his last goal for the Red Devils at the age of 32. That was in the match against Luxembourg on 27 February 1991, which was won 3–0.
Style of play Vandenbergh can be described as a typical example of a pure striker, capable of making the actions himself but above all instinctively feeling where to position himself to score a goal. Author Raf Willems described him as "A phenomenal finisher but at the same time elegant and aesthetic in his movements. With insight as his greatest quality, as an instinctive gift.".
Career statistics Club +Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupEuropeTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsLierse1976–77First Division142——1421977–78First Division341244—38161978–79First Division3215105238171979–80First Division343911—35401980–81First Division332442—37261981–82First Division312531—3426Total17811713852196127Anderlecht1982–83First Division32203212747291983–84First Division2920219440251984–85First Division2920553337281985–86First Division312722513830Total1218712102915162112Lille1986–87Division 128831—3191987–88Division 1301162—36131988–89Division 1311441—35151989–90Division 125532—2817Total114381660013044AA Gent1990–91First Division342310—35231991–92First Division3311607246131992–93First Division21910—2291993–94First Division224——224Total11047807212549RWDM1994–95First Division21410—224Career total54429050244119635333
International
National TeamYearFriendliesWorld CupEuropean ChampionshipsTotalBelgium1979—11—11198033—4395198110—4353198231225110419831032—4219841031—411985——414119862112114219871010—20198810——101989———00199010——1019911021—31Total1551671784820 Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Vandenbergh goal. +List of international goals scored by Erwin VandenberghCapDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1119 December 1979Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland1–0 Euro 1980 qualification2 217 February 1980Stade Municipal, Luxembourg, Luxembourg1–0rowspan="2" Friendly33–0442 April 1980Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium2–0 Friendly5919 November 1980Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium1–0 1982 World Cup qualification61021 December 1980Makario Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus1–0 1982 World Cup qualification71118 February 1981Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium2–0 1982 World Cup qualification81329 April 1981Parc des Princes, Paris, Brussels0–1 1982 World Cup qualification9149 September 1981Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium2–0 1982 World Cup qualification101728 April 1982Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium1–0 Friendly111911 June 1982Estadi del Futbol Club Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain1–0 1982 World Cup - Group stage12246 October 1982Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium3–0 Euro 1984 qualification132515 December 1982Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium1–1 Euro 1984 qualification142630 March 1983Zentralstadion, Leipzig, East Germany2–0 Euro 1984 qualification15296 October 1982Wankdorfstadion, Bern, Switzerland1–1 Euro 1984 qualification163113 June 1984Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens, France1–0 UEFA Euro 1984 - Group stage17351 May 1985Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium1–0 1986 World Cup qualification183823 April 1986Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium2–0 Friendly19409 June 1986Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico1–2 1986 World Cup - Group stage204827 March 1991Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht, Belgium1–0 Euro 1992 qualification +KeyIndicates goal was scored from a penalty kick
Honours Anderlecht Belgian First Division: 1984–85, 1985–86 Belgian Super Cup: 1985 UEFA Cup: 1982–83; runners-up 1983–84 Jules Pappaert Cup: 1977, 1983, 1985 Bruges Matins: 1985
Belgium UEFA European Championship: runners-up 1980 FIFA World Cup: fourth place 1986 Belgian Sports Merit Award: 1980
Individual Belgian First Division top scorer: 1979–80 (39 goals), 1980–81 (24 goals), 1981–82 (25 goals), 1982–83 (20 goals), 1985–86 (27 goals), 1990–91 (23 goals) European Golden Shoe: 1979–80 (39 goals) Ballon d'Or nominations: 1980, 1983 Belgian Golden Shoe: 1981