- Stijn Stijnen
Football player infobox
playername = Stijn Stijnen
fullname = Stijn Stijnen
nickname = The Nose
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1981|4|7|mf=y
cityofbirth =Hasselt
countryofbirth =Belgium
height = 188 cm
weight = 83 kg
currentclub =Club Brugge
clubnumber = 1
position = Goalkeeper
youthyears = ?
?
youthclubs =Runkst VV
KSC Hasselt
years = 2000-
clubs =Club Brugge
caps(goals) = 43 (0)
nationalyears = 2006-
nationalteam = Belgium
nationalcaps(goals) = 22 (0)
pcupdate = November 17, 2006
ntupdate = September 14, 2008Stijn Stijnen (
Hasselt , LimburgApril 7 ,1981 ) is a Belgian footballgoalkeeper with Italian roots. He is currently playing forClub Brugge and Belgium.Club Brugge
Stijnen moved from KSV Hasselt to Bruges in 2000, and became the club's first stand-in for
Dany Verlinden and, when Verlinden had retired, forTomislav Butina . On 18 April 2003 he made his debut in theJupiler League , in the game againstRacing Genk (0-3) in April 2003. However, his big breakthrough came in the season 2005-2006, when he replaced the injured Tomislav Butina several times. Some strong performances (including the champions league game againstJuventus ) made Stijnen become first goalkeeper.In 2003 and 2005, he was part of the Club Brugge side that became Belgian First Division champions, as well as the 2007
Belgian Cup win overStandard Liège (1-0).Belgium national team
Belgium manager
René Vandereycken noticed Stijnen's performances as well and let him make his debut for theBelgium national football team in the game against Saudi Arabia, on 11 May 2006. He remains the incumbent goalkeeper in Belgium'sEuro 2008 campaign, outsing Anderlecht goalkeeperSilvio Proto .Controversy
Stijnen outraged
Gilberto Madaíl , the president of the Portuguese football association, andAlex Ferguson with comments aboutCristiano Ronaldo . He said, “"After two minutes we will normally have massacred him so much that he will have to leave the pitch on a stretcher",” followed by “"What else do we need to do? Portugal have greater quality and that’s why we have to do things our way. If we try to play like them we will certainly lose".”, referring to Belgium's 24 March 2007 clash against Portugal, a Euro 2008 qualifier. Belgium lost the match 4-0, with Ronaldo scoring two goals.He is known for his brutal moves on the field.tatistics
External links
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
