Steven Defour

Steven Defour

Personal information
Full name	Steven Arnold Defour
Date of birth	15 April 1988 (1988-04-15) (age 23)
Place of birth	Mechelen, Belgium
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Porto
Number	35
Youth career
2002–2004	Mechelen
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–2006	Racing Genk	30	(1)
2006–2011	Standard Liège	125	(13)
2011–	Porto	4	(1)
National team‡
2006–	Belgium	32	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:20, 27 May 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:51, 11 November 2011 (UTC)

Steven Arnold Defour (born 15 April 1988) is a Belgian footballer who plays as a midfielder for FC Porto.

Career

Racing Genk

Defour had been with KV Mechelen since 2002. But when that team went bankrupt he was part of a mass exodus of young talent from the club. Steven Defour went to Racing Genk (together with future Genk players Marvin Ogunjimi, David Hubert & Anthony Limbombe). His Genk was as a substitute in the 2004–05 season but his big breakthrough was to be in the next season, when the 17 year old showed himself to be a playmaker in midfield with his passing ability. Defour wanted to leave for Ajax soon after, but Genk refused the transfer. After a drawn-out period of negotiations he eventually signed a contract for Standard.

Standard Liège

Defour signed a 5-year deal with Standard, and played alongside Portuguese star Sérgio Conceição and Croatian international Milan Rapaić in the 2006–07 season. At the start of the 2007-08 season Standard chose Defour as their captain despite only being 19 years old.

During the 2007–08 season Defour received the Golden Shoe, the official award for most valuable player in the league. He won this personal award at the same time as leading his team to their first Jupiler League title in 25 years. The next season was equally successful as Standard won the league for the second time in a row but only after a two-game play-off with Belgian heavyweights Anderlecht.

In late 2009 Defour broke his right foot. During his period of recovery he received a letter from Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United, wishing him all the best in his recovery.^[2] This led to persistent rumours of a switch to the English giants. On 26 October talking to talksport Defour refuted these rumours by saying "I do know that Manchester United are monitoring me - if everything goes well and I continue playing as I am, there is a better chance of me leaving than there was at the start of the season. " ^[3]

FC Porto

On 15 August, 2011 Portuguese giants FC Porto reached an agreement with Standard Liege^[4] for €6m for the sporting rights of Steven Defour with a contract valid for 5 seasons.^[5][6]

Awards and honours

Club

Standard Liège

• Belgian League winner (2): 2007–08, 2008–09

• Belgian Cup (1): 2010-11

• Belgian Supercup (2): 2008, 2009

Individual

• Man of the Season - Highest average rating across the entire season (votes after every match on the official website)
  • Winner : 2006–07
  • Third : 2007–08
• Trophy Scharlaken UGH - Best Standard Liege player of the season presented by fan club Les Rouches des Flandres in cooperation with the official website
  • Winner : 2006–07, 2007–08
• Belgian Golden Shoe: 1

2007

Steven Defour: International Goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 September 2008	Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège	Estonia	3 – 2	Won	2010 World Cup Qualification

External links

• Steven Defour at National-Football-Teams.com
• ESPN Profile

References

1. ^ http://www.standard.be/fr/c_joueurs_saison.php?id=659
2. ^ http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=836270&sec=transfers&cc=4716
3. ^ http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/transfer-rumours/2079/5/defour-ready-make-manchester-united-move
4. ^ "COMUNICADO [Communication]" (in Portuguee). FC Porto official site. 15 August 2011. http://www.fcporto.pt/IncFCP/PDF/Investor_Relations/FactosRelevantes/ir_compradefour_15082011.pdf. Retrieved 18 August 2011. 
5. ^ "COMUNICADO [Communication]" (in Portuguee). FC Porto official site. 16 August 2011. http://www.fcporto.pt/IncFCP/PDF/Investor_Relations/FactosRelevantes/CompraDefour16082011.pdf. Retrieved 18 August 2011. 
6. ^ "FC Porto deal for Defour". ESPN Soccernet. 16 August 2011. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/944429/fc-porto-deal-for-standard-liege's-steven-defour?cc=5739. Retrieved 30 August 2011. 

Sporting positions
Preceded by Sérgio Conceição	Standard Liège Captain 2007–2011	Succeeded by TBA

Persondata
Name	Defour, Steven
Alternative names
Short description	footballer
Date of birth	15 April 1988
Place of birth	Mechelen, Belgium
Date of death
Place of death