Paul Van Himst

Paul Van Himst was born on October 2, 1943 in Leeuw Saint-Pierre in Belgium. He joined the legendary RSC Anderlecht club at the age of 9. He quickly stood out for his incredible dribbling skills, and in addition to being a very good finishing player, he was also a great football technician.

He fell in love with his club and the one nicknamed "Polle Gazon" gradually joined the club's first team at the age of 16. The public was immediately won over and saw their young player as already a great one. And the whole country will realize it when he plays his first match with the Belgian national team in October 1960, when he has just turned 17.

The striker has an incredible precocity. He is extremely effective in front of goal, capable of scoring in any position and dribbling any opponent. His rise is meteoric and he is already elected best Belgian player at 17 years old. He will also win this individual prize 4 times. Already scoring quite a few goals, scoring around 10 goals per season, it is finally during the 1963/64 season that the turning point occurs, at the end of this season, he scores 27 goals in 32 matches in all competitions. At the end of this wonderful season he wins the Belgian championship and becomes the country's top scorer. In total, he will be 3 times top scorer in the Belgian championship, with 2 other times in 1966 (26 goals) and in 1968 (20 goals).

It was finally during the 1965/1966 season that he reached his statistical peak with 35 goals scored in 38 matches. Crazy statistics. He won a total of 8 Belgian championships, 4 Belgian Cups and 2 Belgian League Cups. On Belgian soil, the player dominates all competitions, he is quite simply the King of football in his country. He is the "White Pelé".

In European competitions, the player also made a good showing by often being decisive. Between 1964 and 1970, the player participated in 30 matches in official international competitions with his club for 31 goals. Crazy statistics and showing his great efficiency in big matches.

In 1970, he also reached the final of the European Fairs Cup, the ancestor of the Europa League. The player scored a total of 10 goals in 10 matches in the competition that season. He lost the final at the end of a crazy double confrontation, winning 3-1 in the first leg against Arsenal before cracking and losing 3-0 in the return match.

For 16 years, the Belgian striker will make his club happy. Unfortunately, despite total domination over Belgian football, his team will not have allowed him to reach the summits of European football, not winning a single continental trophy despite his good individual performances. In 1975, he left his club and joined RWD Molenbeek for whom he played about twenty matches. Then he joined Eendracht Aalst in the Belgian second division to end his career in 1977, at the age of 33.

Paul Van Himst's international career with the Belgian national team was also successful. In total, he played 81 matches for his country and scored 30 goals, becoming at the time the top scorer in the history of his country. In 1970, he took part in the World Cup, a disappointment. Then in 1972, he obtained 3rd place in Euro 1972 after losing in the semi-final against West Germany of Gerd Müller and Franz Beckenbauer. He finally retired from international football in 1974, a long career of 14 years with the Red Devils.

- Voted best Belgian player of the 20th century

- Top scorer in the Belgian Championship in 1964 (26 goals), 1966 (25 goals) and 1968 (20 goals) (RSC Anderlecht)

- Top scorer in the Champions League in 1967 (6 goals) (RSC Anderlecht)

- Voted Belgian Golden Shoe in 1960, 1961, 1965 and 1974 (RSC Anderlecht)

- Voted Belgian Man of the Season in 1971

- Voted "golden player" of the last 50 years of Belgium by UEFA in 2003

- Received the Belgian national trophy for sporting merit in 1974

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