Stijn Vreven (born 18 July 1973) is a Belgian former professional

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 c ...

and a former manager of

AS Trenčín AS Trenčín () is a Slovakia, Slovak sports club in the town of Trenčín, most known for its association football, football department. The first team currently plays in the Slovak Super Liga, Fortuna Liga after winning the 2010–11 Slovak Fi ...

in the

Fortuna Liga The Slovak Super Liga is the top level football league in Slovakia, currently known as the Fortuna Liga due to a sponsorship arrangement. It was formed in 1993 following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The record for most titles is eleven, ...

Career

Vreven's career began when he signed a professional contract with

Y.R. K.V. Mechelen Yellow Red Koninklijke Voetbalclub Mechelen (), often simply called KV Mechelen () or KVM, or by their former French name FC Malinois, is a Belgian professional football club based in Mechelen in the Antwerp province. KV Mechelen plays in the Be ...

, making his first first-team appearance in 1993, at the age of 20. After four seasons in

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

he moved to

K.A.A. Gent Koninklijke Atletiek Associatie Gent (, English: ''Royal Athletic Association Ghent''), often simply known as Ghent or by their nickname ' ( en, The Buffalos), is a Belgian sports club, based in the city of Ghent, East Flanders. Their football ...

where he developed into a better player for another two seasons. Then he made the step abroad to play for Dutch side

FC Utrecht Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion Galgenwaard. The club was formed in 1970 as a merge ...

. In four seasons Vreven developed from an unknown player into a hero among the FC Utrecht supporters. He's known for his determination and aggressiveness, which gave him the status of a real killer on the pitch. After his period in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

he moved to Germany to play for

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

side 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He was not able to become a first team regular and returned to The Netherlands the year after where he played for

Vitesse Arnhem Vitesse may refer to: * Vitesse Models, a diecast model car company * Vitesse (band), Dutch rock band * Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, a car * Rover 216 Vitesse, a car * Rover 3500 Vitesse, a car * Rover 800 Vitesse, a car * Triumph Vites ...

. At Vitesse he showed that he still had the same determination and became a regular from the start. When criticising his own team mates in December 2005 manager

Edward Sturing Edward Jeroen Sturing (born 13 June 1963) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. Sturing played as a defender and earned three caps for the Netherlands national team. Career Sturing played for De Graafschap and Vitesse, wi ...

placed Vreven in Vitesse's second team. A few weeks later he left the team to sign a new contract at

AC Omonia Athletic Club Omonia Nicosia ( el, Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Oμόνοιας Λευκωσίας, ΑΣΟΛ; ''Athlitikos Sillogos Omonias Lefkosias'', ''ASOL''), commonly known as Omonia Nicosia, or simply Omonia ("Harmony"; also trans ...

in Cyprus. After playing just six matches he returned to The Netherlands once again, where he joined

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation f ...

. In March 2007, Vreven was diagnosed with

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

(type 1). This did not stop him, however, from continuing to play football. In August 2007, Vreven played for

Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; french: link=no, Saint-Trond ; li, Sintruin ) is a city and municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium, and has over 41,500 inhabitants, which makes it one of the largest cities in Limburg. The muni ...

and joined in January 2008 K.S.K. Tongeren on loan. He returned in summer 2008 to

K. Sint-Truidense V.V. Koninklijke Sint-Truidense Voetbalvereniging (), commonly known as Sint-Truiden or STVV () or by their nickname De Kanaries (, is a Belgian professional football club located in the city of Sint-Truiden in Limburg. Sint-Truiden plays in the Be ...

and moved to K.E.S.K. Leopoldsburg. In November 2010 he left K.E.S.K. Leopoldsburg and signed a contract as player-coach by KFC Esperanza Neerpelt. From 2012 till June 2015 he was the coach of

K.F.C. Dessel Sport Koninklijke Football Club Dessel Sport, or KFC Dessel Sport, is a Football in Belgium, Belgian association football club based in Dessel in the province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. Current squad ''Updated 11 August, 2022''Waasland-Beveren Sportkring Beveren is a professional Belgian association football club located in the municipality of Beveren, East Flanders. They play in the Belgian First Division B. History The club was founded in 1936 as Red Star and registered to an amate ...

from July 2015 to October 2016.

Honours

Utrecht *

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

: 2002–03

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vreven, Stijn 1973 births Living people Belgian footballers Belgium international footballers Belgium youth international footballers Belgium under-21 international footballers Association football defenders K.V. Mechelen players K.A.A. Gent players FC Utrecht players 1. FC Kaiserslautern players SBV Vitesse players AC Omonia players ADO Den Haag players Sint-Truidense V.V. players Belgian Pro League players Belgian football managers Belgian expatriate football managers NAC Breda managers Eredivisie players Bundesliga players Cypriot First Division players Belgian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Belgian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Germany Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Sportspeople from Hasselt Footballers from Limburg (Belgium) K.S.K. Tongeren players K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen managers Lommel S.K. managers AS Trenčín managers Expatriate football managers in Slovakia Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Slovakia Slovak Super Liga managers