Louis Saeys (26 November 1887 – 2 June 1952) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

striker. He has played 24 times for the Belgian team and has the 7th most goals for Cercle Brugge. Saeys would probably have been Cercles leading top scorer of all time and player with most appearances if

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

had not broken out, which stopped the Belgian football competition for 5 seasons. Saeys played for no other team than Cercle throughout his career. He made his début for the first team in the 1903–04 season. Saeys would rapidly become one of the key players for the green and black side, despite his young age. Four years later, he would be called up for the first time to play for his country. In the 1910–11 season, Saeys became national champions with the green and black side. Louis Saeys was part of the team that played the

cup final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...

in 1913. The match was lost 3–2 against Union SG, after

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

. It was the first time that extra time was added, as the score after 90 minutes still was 2–2. Belgian football officials decided on the spot that an extra 30 minutes would have to be played. When World War I broke out, Saeys was appointed

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

of Cercle aged just 26. From the start of his career until 1914, Saeys was one of the more important goal scorers for Cercle. After the war, his goal scoring ability never quite matched his earlier success. But he still remained one of the most important players in the green and black eleven. Saeys left football as player after the 1926–27 season, a season in which Cercle captured their second national title. He remained in his coaching position until 1928, and returned for one season in 1941.

References

*Roland Podevijn, ''Cercle Brugge 1899-1989'', K.S.V. Cercle Brugge, 1989

External links

Cerclemuseum.be
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saeys, Louis 1887 births 1952 deaths Belgian footballers Belgium international footballers Player-coaches Cercle Brugge K.S.V. players Association football forwards Footballers from Bruges Cercle Brugge K.S.V. managers Belgian football managers Belgian First Division A players