Thomas Buffel

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Thomas Buffel
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Buffel in training with Belgium in 2006
Personal information
Full name Thomas Buffel
Date of birth (1981-02-19) 19 February 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth Bruges, Belgium
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Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
Genk
Number 19
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2005 Feyenoord 80 (34)
2000–2002 Excelsior (loan) 63 (27)
2005–2008 Rangers 83 (16)
2008–2009 Cercle Brugge 35 (5)
2009– Genk 212 (33)
International career
1995 Belgium U15 2 (0)
1995–1998 Belgium U16 12 (1)
1995–1998 Belgium U17 22 (14)
1998–1999 Belgium U18 11 (1)
2000 Belgium U19 1 (0)
2002 Belgium U21 2 (0)
2002– Belgium 36 (6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:26, 16 August 2015 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 6 September 2013

Thomas Buffel (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtoːmɑs ˈbʏfəl], born 19 February 1981 in Bruges, Belgium) is a Belgian footballer who plays for Jupiler League side RC Genk. He is an attacking midfielder and can play as a striker. He has represented the Belgian football team at international level.

Club career

File:Thomas Buffel Genk.jpg
Thomas Buffel in Genk

Early career

Buffel began his career with Belgian sides Ruddervoorde and Cercle Brugge before making a move to the Netherlands.

Buffel played for the Dutch team Feyenoord in the 1999-2000 season, before moving to their feeder team Excelsior Rotterdam from 2000 to 2002. He returned to Feyenoord for the 2002-2003 Dutch season. He reportedly fell out with then-manager Ruud Gullit in the next season "after refusing to sign a new contract".[1]

Rangers

Buffel moved to the Scottish side Rangers in January 2005 in a £2.3 million, four-and-a-half-year deal.[2] He made his debut in the Scottish Cup coming on as a substitute against Old Firm rivals Celtic in what was to be a 2-1 defeat.[3] However, the season did not end badly for him as he was to play a key role in the 2005 Scottish League Cup Final, where Rangers defeated Motherwell 5-1.[4] He also featured in the Rangers team for the latter part of the season where he would help them to their 51st league title[5] making it a double for his first season with the club. Buffel scored five goals is 18 appearances in all competitions.[6][7]

Buffel featured in the Champions League and helped Rangers reach the last 16 of the tournament, where they lost to Villarreal 3-3 on aggregate and were knocked out on away goals rule. Across all competitions, he scored seven goals in 38 appearances during the 2005-2006 season[8] mostly playing in the midfield.[citation needed]

In the 2007 January transfer window, German club Hannover 96 expressed an interest in him, with Rangers manager Walter Smith saying Buffel was free to leave. However, the deal fell through when Buffel was unable to agree personal terms with the Bundesliga side.[9] It was announced on 9 February 2007 that Buffel would undergo surgery on a long-term knee injury and would not take any further part in the 2006-07 season.[10] He returned to action on 26 December as a substitute in Rangers' 3-1 win over Motherwell[11] but did not feature regularly.

Cercle Brugge

Buffel's Rangers career came to an end when he joined former club Cercle Brugge on 1 July 2008.[12]

KRC Genk

In the 2009 summer transfer window Buffel made a last-minute transfer to KRC Genk as part of a deal between Genk and Cercle Brugge with Jelle Vossen (on loan) and Hans Cornelis moving the opposite way.[13]

In the 2010-2011 season he won the Belgian league title with Genk.[14]

International career

Buffel made his debut for Belgium against Andorra in October 2002 in what was to be a 1-0 victory.[15] He has since then gained 35 caps and scored 7 goals. In recent times he is still in the picture as a player of the Belgian national football team.

Thomas Buffel: International Goals
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 30 April 2003 Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels  Poland 3 – 1 Won Friendly
2 11 October 2003 Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège  Estonia 2 – 0 Won Euro 2004 Qualification
3 18 August 2004 Ullevaal, Oslo  Norway 2 – 2 Drawn Friendly
4 18 August 2004 Ullevaal, Oslo  Norway 2 – 2 Drawn Friendly
5 26 March 2005 Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels  Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 – 1 Won 2006 World Cup Qualification
6 7 September 2005 Olympisch Stadion, Antwerp  San Marino 8 – 0 Won 2006 World Cup Qualification

Honours

Club

Rangers
Genk

References

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External links