François Sterchele

Football player infobox
playername = François Sterchele


fullname = François Sterchele
height = 185 cm
nickname = Coike, Sterke Lé
dateofbirth = birth date|1982|3|14
cityofbirth = Liège
countryofbirth = Belgium
dateofdeath = death date and age|2008|5|8|1982|3|14
cityofdeath = Vrasene, Beveren
countryofdeath = Belgium
currentclub =
clubnumber =
position = Striker
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
2006-2007
2007-2008
clubs = Union La Calamine
Oud-Heverlee Leuven
Charleroi SC
Germinal Beerschot
Club Brugge
Total
caps(goals) = 029 (23)
031 (32)
031 0(9)
032 (21)
031 (11)
154 (96)
nationalyears = 2007-2008
nationalteam = Belgium
nationalcaps(goals) = 004 0(0)
pcupdate =
ntupdate =

François Sterchele (March 14, 1982 - May 8, 2008) was a Belgian footballer who played for Club Brugge. The striker was the top scorer of the Jupiler League in 2006-07. Sterchele died in a single-person car accident on May 8, 2008.cite news |title= François Sterchele (26) killed in car accident |url=http://www.deredactie.be/cm/de.redactie.english/sports/080508_Sterchele|publisher=Sporza|date=2008-05-08]

Club career

Sterchele started his career at FC Loncin, a small team from the Belgian Provincial leagues in the province of Liège. At the age of ten, he moved to R.F.C. de Liège where he stayed for ten years before moving to R.F.C. Union La Calamine. After three seasons, he was signed by Oud-Heverlee Leuven, a team in the third division, where he scored 21 goals during the 2004-2005 season, finishing second in the topscorers list. In the subsequent playoffs, he scored another eight goals which would help earn the team to promotion to the second tier.

As a result, Sterchele was able to secure a transfer to the top division in Belgian football, the Jupiler League, when he joined Charleroi, where he was trained by Jacky Mathijssen, who would become a considerable influence in his development as a footballer. After just one year, he went to K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot and became the league's top scorer.

On July 19, 2007, Sterchele returned to the tutorship of Mathijssen when he moved to Club Brugge; he scored 2 goals on his league début against Mons.

Death

In the early morning of May 8, 2008, Sterchele was killed instantly when he crashed his Porsche Cayman S into a tree.

The previous day, Sterchele had visited some friends in Antwerp and was supposed to meet with Jurgen Cavens and Vicenzo Verhoeven. While travelling home on the N49 between Antwerp and Knokke, at around 03:00 on May 8, Sterchele lost control of his Porsche and veered into a ditch before hitting a tree. No other vehicles were involved in the accident. [cite news |title= Belgium grieves for striker Sterchele |url=http://www.uefa.com/footballeurope/news/kind=2/newsid=693153.html|publisher=uefa.com|date=2008-05-08]

References

External links

* [http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SPORT/football/05/08/belgium.footballer/index.html Belgian striker Sterchele killed in crash]
* [http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza.be/voetbal/eersteklasse/080508_Francois_Sterchele_overleden/ Sterchele komt om bij ongeluk] nl icon