Albert De Cleyn

Albert De Cleyn is without a doubt one of the best Belgian players in history. Very consistent in his ability to score, he is still the top scorer in the Belgian championship, 70 years later.

Trophies

386

Goals

500

Games

1932/55 KV Mechelen (BEL) 488 matches, 377 goals

With the National Team :

12 caps, 9 goals

(Friendly matches: 12 caps, 9 goals)

1st cap: January 19, 1946 against England (0-2)

Last cap: April 28, 1948 against Scotland (0-2)

Albert Antonia Gustaaf De Cleyn

Born on June 28, 1917 in Mechelen (BEL)

Died on March 13, 1990 in Belgium

Belgian, striker

Nickname: "Bert"

The famous goalscorer of Belgium

Albert De Cleyn was born on June 28, 1917 in Mechelen, Belgium. Very talented, he is one of the best strikers of his generation. He began his professional career when he was only 15 years old. Very quickly he became the best player of his club that he would never leave: KV Mechelen.

In the Belgian championship, the player is just too strong, he won the title of top scorer in the Belgian championship 4 times. During the seasons:

1940/41: 23 years old, 12 matches, 19 goals

1941/42: 24 years old, 25 matches, 34 goals

1944/45: 27 years old, 17 matches, 25 goals

1945/46: 28 years old, 36 matches, 40 goals

The best player in the history of KV Mechelen

With KV Mechelen, he won the Belgian championship three times, in the 1943/43, 1945/46 and 1947/48 seasons. His number of goals scored in the 1945/46 season is still the record for goals scored in a league season by a player.

His reference match remains that of another record, that of the greatest number of goals scored by a single player during a match, during a match against Racing Club de Bruxelles in 1943, he will have scored the 7 goals of his team during the 7-1 victory. At the end of his career, he is the best scorer in the history of the Belgian championship with a total of 377 goals.

A legend of Belgian football

His career with the Belgian selection will have lasted only 2 short years between 1946 and 1948. In a small selection that struggles to achieve victories, he will have nevertheless left his mark by scoring a quintuple against Luxembourg on February 23, 1946 during a 7-0 victory.

He also scored twice against the Netherlands in a 6–3 defeat on 12 May 1946. He then scored against France on 1 June 1947 before scoring a goal and an assist in the match against England on 21 September 1947 in a 5–2 defeat. In total, he played 12 matches for Belgium and scored 9 goals.

He retired at the age of 38 after 23 years at KV Mechelen, in total he played 488 games for 377 matches and was the best player in the history of the club and one of the best in the history of his country.