Last night, Belgian international forward François Sterchele died at the age of 26.
Driving much too fast (220 km/h) in his Porsche at 3am on the Knokke-Antwerp road (where the speed limit is 90km/h), he lost control of his bolid and crashed into a tree.
It's a stupid death, and many people will say that he was looking for it, driving at such speed.
He may not be an household name for those who don't take interest inBelgian football (all of you probably) but here, he was one of the best forward of the league.
Liège lad Sterchele was a late developper in football. In 2004, he was still playing for 4th division La Calamine (Kelmis in German, one the very few clubs coming from the German-speaking part of Belgium - pop.1% of Belgium).
Before that, he played for 7 years in the FC Liège youth teams, coming from his local club FC Loncin, near Liège.
He was snapped by 3rd division OH Leuven in 2004-2005, helping them to promotion to division 2.
Sporting Charleroi, of the first division, bought him the next season. His first season in the top division was a successful one, scoring 9 goals.
He then went to Germinal Beerschot Antwerp, where he scored 21 goals, and finished as top scorer in the Belgian league last season.
At the start of this season, he had the choice to play for any of the "big three" in Belgium; Anderlecht, home-town club Standard and FC Bruges. He went to Bruges, where he immediately became a crowd favourite.
He scored 11 goals this season, including 2 on his debut for the club.
In March 2007, he made his international debut for Belgium, away to Portugal. In total, he played 4 times for his country.
In this divided country of ours, he played for clubs in Walloonia and Flanders, and he was a crowd favourite everywhere he went. A kind of "flash" guy, liking good-looking clothes and posh cars (it eventually killed him), he was always playing with a smile on his face.
I have never met the guy, but he seemed very friendly, and that was confirmed by the people who actually met him.
I was really shocked when I heard the news this morning on the radio.
A very sad loss.
Rest in peace François.
Driving much too fast (220 km/h) in his Porsche at 3am on the Knokke-Antwerp road (where the speed limit is 90km/h), he lost control of his bolid and crashed into a tree.
It's a stupid death, and many people will say that he was looking for it, driving at such speed.
He may not be an household name for those who don't take interest inBelgian football (all of you probably) but here, he was one of the best forward of the league.
Liège lad Sterchele was a late developper in football. In 2004, he was still playing for 4th division La Calamine (Kelmis in German, one the very few clubs coming from the German-speaking part of Belgium - pop.1% of Belgium).
Before that, he played for 7 years in the FC Liège youth teams, coming from his local club FC Loncin, near Liège.
He was snapped by 3rd division OH Leuven in 2004-2005, helping them to promotion to division 2.
Sporting Charleroi, of the first division, bought him the next season. His first season in the top division was a successful one, scoring 9 goals.
He then went to Germinal Beerschot Antwerp, where he scored 21 goals, and finished as top scorer in the Belgian league last season.
At the start of this season, he had the choice to play for any of the "big three" in Belgium; Anderlecht, home-town club Standard and FC Bruges. He went to Bruges, where he immediately became a crowd favourite.
He scored 11 goals this season, including 2 on his debut for the club.
In March 2007, he made his international debut for Belgium, away to Portugal. In total, he played 4 times for his country.
In this divided country of ours, he played for clubs in Walloonia and Flanders, and he was a crowd favourite everywhere he went. A kind of "flash" guy, liking good-looking clothes and posh cars (it eventually killed him), he was always playing with a smile on his face.
I have never met the guy, but he seemed very friendly, and that was confirmed by the people who actually met him.
I was really shocked when I heard the news this morning on the radio.
A very sad loss.
Rest in peace François.
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