Anthony Henri Vanden Borre (born 24 October 1987) is a Belgian former
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who played as a
defender. Vanden Borre previously played for clubs in Belgium, Italy, England and France. He won 28 caps for the
Belgium national team. He is capable of playing as both a
right back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
and a
right winger
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
.
Club career
Anderlecht
Vanden Borre was trained at
Anderlecht throughout his entire youth career, at the same time as his friend
Vincent Kompany
Vincent Jean Mpoy Kompany (; ; born 10 April 1986) is a Belgian professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back and is the current manager of EFL Championship club Burnley. He most notably played for Manchester Ci ...
. He made his debut in the regular competition when he was 16 years and 187 days old. At that time, only one other player,
Paul Van Himst
Paul Van Himst (born 2 October 1943) is a Belgian former football player and a football manager who played as a forward, most notably for R.S.C. Anderlecht.
Career
Van Himst was nicknamed ''Polle Gazon'' (''Polle'' is Paul in Brussels dialect ...
, was younger when he debuted. A month on, Vanden Borre signed a contract with Anderlecht until 2007. In 2005, he drew attention to himself in a
Champions League game against
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
, when he had the best attempt on goal for Anderlecht as they lost 1–0 to the English champions, striking Chelsea goalkeeper
Petr Čech
Petr Čech (; born 20 May 1982) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He also plays semi-professional ice hockey as a goaltender for Chelmsford Chieftains. Described by numerous players, pundits and managers as ...
's post around midway through the game. He finally scored his first official goal at home against
K.S.V. Roeselare
Koninklijke Sport Vereniging Roeselare, abbreviated to KSV Roeselare (),''V.'' in isolation: ., also known in French as KSV Roulers, was a Belgian football club from the city of Roeselare in West Flanders. Its matricule was 134. It last played ...
in a 5–1 win when he opened the scoring on 21 September 2005.
While both Kompany and Vanden Borre were considered huge football talents, Vanden Borre was considered to be an even greater star-in-the-making than Kompany. Anderlecht-icon Paul Van Himst called Vanden Borre "the biggest talent he has ever seen in his career". He was praised for his technical ability, passing and vision. However, while Kompany managed to maintain a high level of play match after match, Vanden Borre's Anderlecht career was marked by irregularity, lack of concentration and injuries. After several minor incidents, including a stint which featured him shaving the initials of his name 'AVB' into his hair, he received a 'bad boy'-label from both the press and his coaches.
While at Anderlecht, Vanden Borre was linked a move away from the club like
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...
,
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
,
Inter Milan
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...
,
Real Betis
Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...
,
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
,
Juventus and
Lazio
it, Laziale
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.
But eventually, he decided to extend his contract with Anderlecht until 2010, during the 2005–06 season.
Italian career
Vanden Borre joined
Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...
, completing his move on 1 June 2007, for €4 million and signing a four-year contract that will keep him until 2012. The move was previously made on 8 March 2007, with an agreement, according to his agent. He made his Serie A debut on 7 October against
Juventus, coming on for
Giampaolo Pazzini
Giampaolo Pazzini (; born 2 August 1984), nicknamed ''Il Pazzo'' ("The Madman") after his surname, is a former Italian professional footballer who played as a striker.
He spent most of his career in Serie A with Atalanta, Fiorentina, Sampdoria ...
. Having made two appearances, Vanden Borre said he was developing at the club, though he was not playing.
On 19 January 2008, Vanden Borre was on the move again. This time, joining Serie a side Genoa in a
co-ownership deal for €2.1 million,
[ACF Fiorentina S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2008 ]
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
/ref>[Genoa C.F.C. S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 31 June 2008 ]
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
/ref> with Papa Waigo
Papa Waigo N'Diaye (born 20 January 1984), often simplified as Papa Waigo, is a Senegalese international footballer who currently plays as a striker.
Club career
Early career
Born in Saint-Louis, Senegal, Waigo began his career at Verona ...
moving the opposite way also in co-ownership deal, also for €2.1 million.[ After the move, Vanden Borre says joining Genoa is a great opportunity to play. On 8 March 2008, Vanden Borre made his debut, coming on as a substitute in the 78th minute, in a 2–0 loss against Juventus. In an interview with Belgium Soccer, he stated he want to stay at Genoa, insisting he is happy there In June 2008, Genoa announced that the club had acquired the full rights of the player for €1.7 million,][ following eight appearances at the club. In his first full season at Genoa, Vanden Borre made twenty-five appearances for the club, under manager Gian Piero Gasperini. However, the next season, Vanden Borre was soon available on a transfer and has since fallen out of the first team.
]
Portsmouth
On 13 August 2009, it was announced that Vanden Borre had joined Portsmouth on a season-long loan. He made his debut for the club on 19 August 2009 against Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
. He scored his first goal for Portsmouth in a 3–1 Football League Cup win over Carlisle United on 22 September 2009. On 6 February 2010, he scored an own-goal in a 5–0 loss against Manchester United. Two months later, on 3 April 2010, Vanden Borre received two bookings in a 0–0 draw against Blackburn. After the match, he accused referee Steve Bennett of costing him his dream of playing at Wembley as he had to serve a one-match suspension. However, his time at Portsmouth was difficult, battling to hold down a regular place in the Portsmouth defence as the club was relegated to the Championship. At the end of the season, new manager Steve Cotterill
Stephen John Cotterill (born 20 July 1964) is an English former footballer who played as a striker. He is currently the manager of side Shrewsbury Town.
Cotterill had a nine-year career as a footballer playing for Burton Albion, Wimbledon, ...
announced that Vanden Borre would not be returning to the club, having expected to extend his stay at Portsmouth, and he was subsequently linked with German side FC Köln
FC may refer to:
Businesses, organisations, and schools
* Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India
* Finncomm Airlines (IATA code)
* FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC
* Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...
.
Genk
After returning to Genoa from a loan spell at Portsmouth, Vanden Borre was heavily linked a move away in the transfer window, including a return to Pompey as part of Kevin-Prince Boateng
Kevin-Prince Boateng (; born 6 March 1987), also known as Prince, is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or forward for club Hertha BSC. Born in Germany, he represented the Ghana national team.
Coming through the youth system, ...
's deal. But, Vanden Borre announced he would move to Belgian side Genk
Genk () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the town of Genk itself. It is one of the most important industrial towns in Flanders, located on the Albert Canal, ...
in a temporary deal. However, the move fell through, due to the interest from Hapoel Tel Aviv, despite he already signed a six-month contract with Genk, without a mutual agreement between the transfer fee. Eventually, Genoa released the player for free, effectively on 5 January 2011 the re-opening of the transfer window and with-in the time frame of Genoa's 2011 financial year. Vanden Borre also signed a two-year deal, with an option of a third year on 8 September 2010 and he won't play until January 2011, though playing in friendlies and reserve team.
A week after being an official player, he made his debut for the club, coming on as a substitute for Kevin De Bruyne
Kevin De Bruyne (born 28 June 1991) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Manchester City and the Belgium national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best players in the world. Pundits have often des ...
in the 78th minute, in a 3–2 win over Kortrijk
Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders.
It is the capital and large ...
on 22 January 2011. In the last game of Jupiler Pro League before splitting to PlayOff I, he received two bookings, in a 1–1 draw against Standard Liège
Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège.
They are one of the most ...
. In the PlayOff I, he played almost every game in action and thus played an important role in achieving the national title.
The next season, Vanden Borre was involved with the squad, playing in the Champions League campaign, which led to Group-stage. While in the league, he often play in the first team, but received more disciplined under newly manager Mario Been
Marinus Antonius Been (born 11 December 1963) is a Dutch football manager and former professional player.
As a footballer, Been played for Feyenoord, Pisa, Roda JC, Heerenveen, FC Tirol Innsbruck and Excelsior. He played in an attacking mid ...
. In a match against Zulte Waregem on 15 January 2012, he received a booking on the 18th minute and was substituted in the 78th minute. He wasn't featured for five games and made his return. In PlayOff I, Vanden Borre scored his first goal for the club, in a 3–1 win over his former club, Anderlecht on 14 April 2012. At the end of the season, he wasn't offered a new contract at the club, which had decided not to retain him. After his release, Vanden Borre was linked heavily, once again, with the club, but the move never happened. However, in October, he joined Ukrainian side Tavriya Simferopol
Sports Club Tavriya ( uk, Спортивний клуб "Таврія") was a Ukrainian football club from Simferopol. Tavriya was a member of the Ukrainian Premier League from its founding and won the first Ukrainian Premier League making them ...
, until the end of the season. But his time in Ukraine was short-lived.
Return to Anderlecht
In 2013, after five years away from the club, Vanden Borre made his return to Anderlecht, until the end of the season after being given a second chance by team-manager Herman Van Holsbeeck. His move was welcomed by teammates when the team had a training scheduled. Having made a comeback with the reserve team on 4 March 2013, Vanden Borre made a league comeback, a week later on 16 March 2013, coming on for Ronald Vargas, in a 1–1 draw against Genk
Genk () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the town of Genk itself. It is one of the most important industrial towns in Flanders, located on the Albert Canal, ...
.
On 4 November 2014, in a Champions League group match at Arsenal, he scored two goals (one a penalty) as Anderlecht earned a draw from being 3–0 down after 60 minutes.
Loan to Montpellier
On 8 July 2016, Vanden Borre joined Ligue 1 side Montpellier on season-long loan with the option of signing permanently. After 10 appearances in all competitions for Montpellier, he returned to Anderlecht in January 2017.
Initial retirement
On 10 January 2017, Vanden Borre announced his retirement from football at the age of 29.
TP Mazembe
On 2 March 2017, after less than two months in retirement, Vanden Borre signed for Congolese side TP Mazembe
Tout Puissant Mazembe, commonly referred to as TP Mazembe, is a Congolese professional football club based in Lubumbashi.
History
Tout Puissant Mazembe, the first sports club from the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a value of at least $10 ...
, however his stay only lasted 4 months.
Second return to Anderlecht
After 3 years without a club, Vanden Borre returned to Anderlecht, once again reuniting with Vincent Kompany
Vincent Jean Mpoy Kompany (; ; born 10 April 1986) is a Belgian professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back and is the current manager of EFL Championship club Burnley. He most notably played for Manchester Ci ...
who was manager.
International career
Holding Belgian and Democratic Republic of Congo citizenship, Vanden Borre played his first international match, opting for Belgium at age sixteen, having come on for Eric Deflandre as a substitute in a late minutes, as Belgium lose 3–2 against Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
on 28 April 2004. One year later, on 4 June 2005, Vanden Borre made his first start, in a 0–0 draw against Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
and Montenegro. Vanden Borre has since represented the national team by playing at the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
The UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2007 were held from 10 June 2007 to 23 June 2007. It was the 16th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship.
Summary
For the first time, a host nation was chosen ahead of the competition – the Neth ...
and the 2008 Summer Olympics.
On 13 May 2014, Vanden Borre was named in Belgium's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
International goal
:''Scores and results lists Belgium's goal tally first.''
Personal life
Born in Likasi
Likasi (formerly official names: Jadotville (French) and Jadotstad ( Dutch)) is a city in Haut-Katanga Province, in the south-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Demographics
Likasi has a population of around 635,000 (2015). During the 1990 ...
, Zaire
Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...
, Vanden Borre moved to Belgium at early age. He is the son of a Belgian father and a Congolese mother.
Career statistics
Honours
*Belgian Pro League
The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 tea ...
: 2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...
*Belgian Super Cup
The Belgian Super Cup ( nl, Belgische Supercup, ; french: Supercoupe de Belgique; german: Belgischer Fußball-Super Cup), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian First Division A champio ...
: 2011
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanden Borre, Anthony
1987 births
Living people
People from Likasi
Belgian footballers
Belgium youth international footballers
Belgium under-21 international footballers
Belgium international footballers
Democratic Republic of the Congo footballers
Belgian people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent
Democratic Republic of the Congo people of Belgian descent
Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to Belgium
Expatriate footballers in Italy
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate footballers in France
Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Olympic footballers of Belgium
2014 FIFA World Cup players
Belgian expatriate footballers
Belgian Pro League players
Serie A players
Premier League players
Ligue 1 players
R.S.C. Anderlecht players
ACF Fiorentina players
Genoa C.F.C. players
Portsmouth F.C. players
K.R.C. Genk players
Montpellier HSC players
TP Mazembe players
Association football fullbacks
Black Belgian sportspeople