Robert Braet (11 February 1912, in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population. The area of the whole city a ...

– 23 February 1987, in Bruges) was a tall

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 ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He never played for any other football team besides

Cercle Brugge Cercle Brugge Koninklijke Sportvereniging () is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges. Cercle have played in the Belgian Pro League since the 2003–04 season, having previously spent several years in the Belgian Second Divisi ...

. Braet is seen as one of the biggest monuments in the team's history. He was also part of the Belgian national team that took part in the

1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and was held in France from 4 June until 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, bea ...

Career

Braet made his debut for Cercle when he had just turned 18, in a 0-1 away win against Lierse. He would quite immediately achieve his place in the starting eleven. In 1948, when Braet finished his career as goalkeeper, he had made 352 appearances for Cercle. Only 5 players do better. Braet was also chairman of Cercle Brugge from 1967 until 1970. There are 3 other former Cercle chairmen who have ever played for the green and black side: the others are

Raoul Daufresne de la Chevalerie Lieutenant-General Raoul Daufresne de la Chevalerie (17 March 1881 – 25 November 1967) was a Belgian sportsman and commander of the Free Belgian forces during the Second World War. He was born in Bruges and died in Uccle. Sporting car ...

(35 appearances and 5 goals), Léon De Meester and Edgard De Smedt (both 1 appearance and 0 goals). Braet has named a trophy after him, which is awarded every 2-year to the person who has made himself voluntarily most useful for the team.

References

Information about former presidents of Cercle Brugge

Cerclemuseum.be
1912 births 1987 deaths Belgian footballers Cercle Brugge K.S.V. players Association football goalkeepers Footballers from Bruges Belgium international footballers 1938 FIFA World Cup players Belgian football chairmen and investors Belgian First Division A players {{Belgium-footy-goalkeeper-stub