Filip De Wilde

Filip de Wilde

Personal information
Full name	Filip Alfons de Wilde
Date of birth	5 July 1964 (1964-07-05)
Place of birth	Zele, Belgium
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Youth career
1973–1980	Eendracht Zele
1980–1982	Beveren
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1982–1987	Beveren	176	(0)
1987–1996	Anderlecht	245	(0)
1996–1998	Sporting CP	36	(0)
1998–2003	Anderlecht	117	(0)
2003	Sturm Graz	17	(0)
2004	Lokeren	17	(0)
2005	FC Geel
National team
1989–2000	Belgium	33	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Filip Alfons de Wilde (born 5 July 1964 in Zele) is a retired Belgian football goalkeeper, who played mainly with R.S.C. Anderlecht.

Club career

At the age of nine, de Wilde entered Eendracht Zele's youth system, joining the famous K.S.K. Beveren goalkeeper school in 1980. He then signed for R.S.C. Anderlecht in 1987, where he became a legend.

In 1996, de Wilde left Brussels and his country and joined Sporting Clube de Portugal but, after losing first-choice status to youngster Tiago, returned home to Anderlecht in April 1998, for the rest of that season and five more (being first-choice until his last year).

In January 2004, after a brief spell in Austria with SK Sturm Graz, de Wilde joined, at 39, K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen, for his final two seasons as a professional; he did play however, during two months (April–May 2005), for lowly K.F.C. Verbroedering Geel.

Upon retiring in June, de Wilde immediately rejoined former side Anderlecht, as a goalkeeping coach.

International career

De Wilde was on squad for the Belgium national football team in three FIFA World Cups: 1990, 1994 and 1998. He played the first of his 33 matches with the Red Devils against Denmark in a 1989 friendly, replacing Gilbert Bodart at half-time.

In the first two World Cups, de Wilde acted as backup to legendary Michel Preud'homme. After the latter's retirement, he became first-choice, playing in the 1998 edition. His last international appearance was a sour one, as the match Belgium-Turkey at the UEFA Euro 2000 was lost by the hosts 2–0 and de Wilde was sent off with seven minutes to go (previously, he hesitated and lost the ball to opposing striker Hakan Şükür, who opened the scoresheet), as Belgium was eliminated in the first round.

External links

• Stats at Voetbal International (Dutch)
• Filip De Wilde at National-Football-Teams.com