Stijn Stijnen

Stijn Stijnen (; born 7 April 1981) is a Belgian professional football coach and a former player who manages Patro Eisden Maasmechelen. 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

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