Ludo Coeck (25 September 1955 – 9 October 1985) was a Belgian

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 le ...

who played as

left 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 ...

central midfielder 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 ...

. His clubs included

Berchem Sport K. Berchem Sport is a Belgian association football club based in the district of Berchem in the municipality of Antwerp and currently playing in the Belgian Second Amateur Division. It has formerly played in the first division. The club was f ...

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

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 Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...

and

Ascoli Calcio Ascoli Calcio 1898 F.C., commonly referred to as Ascoli, is an Italian football club based in Ascoli Piceno, Marche. The club was formed in 1898 and currently plays in Serie B. The team traditionally play in vertical black and white stripes. H ...

. First

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

for the Belgium national team at the age of 19, he went on to play for his country 46 times, scoring four goals, over an international career which lasted a decade. Coeck was a member of the Belgium squad at España 82, where he played in all five of his country's games and scored with a long-range free-kick against

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

, and at Euro 84, where he appeared as a substitute in the defeats by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. On 7 October 1985, while he was on his way back to Antwerp, after signing for R.W.D. Molenbeek and taking part in a TV sports programme in Brussels, Coeck was badly injured when his BMW ploughed into crash barriers on a motorway near the town of

Rumst Rumst (, old spelling: ''Rumpst'') is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. Since 1976 the municipality not only comprises Rumst proper but also the towns of (old spelling: ''Reeth'') and , which were independent municipalit ...

. He died two days later, at the University of Antwerp Clinic in

Edegem Edegem (, first mentioned as ''Buizegem'' in 1173) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Edegem proper. In 2021, Edegem had a total population of 22,244. The total area is 8.65&nb ...

. He was 30 years old.

Honours

Player

; RSC Anderlecht *

Belgian First Division 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 team ...

: 1973–74, 1980–81 *

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (french: link=no, Coupe de Belgique; nl, Beker van België []; german: link=no, Belgischer Fußballpokal) is the main Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in Belgium, run by the Belgia ...

: List of Belgian Cup finals, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1975–76 *

Belgian League Cup The Belgian League Cup was a Belgian association football cup created in 1973. The competition was held from 1973 by eleven clubs wanting to increase professionalism in Belgian football but lasted only three seasons before being disbanded. The tourn ...

: 1973, 1974 *

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

: 1975–76 (

winners Winners Merchants International L.P is a chain of off-price Canada, Canadian department stores owned by TJX Companies. It offers brand name clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, fine jewelry, beauty products, and housewares. Products are at a ...

), 1976–77 (

runners-up A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

), 1977–78 (

) *

European Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

: 1982–83 (

) *

Amsterdam Tournament The Amsterdam Tournament ( nl, Amsterdam Toernooi) was a pre-season association football competition, held in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The competition was hosted by Eredivisie club Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena. It was inaugurated in 1975 as the Ams ...

: 1976 *

Tournoi de Paris The Tournoi de Paris, also known as Trophée de Paris, was a pre-season association football invitational competition hosted by French club Paris Saint-Germain at their home ground Parc des Princes in Paris, France. The competition was founded in ...

: 1977 *

Jules Pappaert Cup Trophy Jules Pappaert or Pappaert cup is a Belgian football trophy since 1953 and is awarded annually to a club in the first, second or third division of the Belgian Pro League with the longest uninterrupted series of unbeaten games. The award is ...

: 1977, 1983 * Belgian Sports Merit Award: 1978

Individual

* Belgian Golden Shoe of the 20th Century (1995): 10th place * DH The Best RSC Anderlecht Team Ever: 2020 * Ludo Coeck stadium in Berchem

References

External links

* 1955 births 1985 deaths Flemish sportspeople Belgian footballers Belgium international footballers Belgian expatriate footballers K. Berchem Sport players R.S.C. Anderlecht players Inter Milan players Ascoli Calcio 1898 F.C. players R.W.D. Molenbeek players Belgian Pro League players Serie A players Expatriate footballers in Italy 1982 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1984 players Road incident deaths in Belgium People from Berchem UEFA Cup winning players Association football midfielders Footballers from Antwerp {{Belgium-footy-midfielder-stub