Bernard Voorhoof (10 May 1910 – 18 February 1974) 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 ...

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, rugb ...

, for 34 years the Belgium national team top scorer with 30 goals in 61 matches. He was joined by

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 ...

in 1972 who needed 81 matches to score the same number of goals. Both are now surpassed by

Romelu Lukaku Romelu Lukaku Bolingoli (; born 13 May 1993) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Inter Milan, on loan from club Chelsea, and the Belgium national team. Lukaku began his senior club career playing for Ander ...

and

Eden Hazard Eden Michael Walter Hazard (born 7 January 1991) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid. Known for his creativity, dribbling, passing and vision, Hazard is considered ...

Career

He started his career at

Lierse SK Koninklijke Lierse Sportkring (), often simply known as Lierse, was a Belgian professional football club from the city of Lier in the Antwerp province. Lierse have won four championship titles and two Belgian Cups. Lierse was one of the six ...

and stayed there for 21 years. With Lierse, he scored 350 goals in 529 matches and won 2 Belgian First Division Titles and a third unofficial title in the shortened 1940−41 season. He also played one season with R.R.F.C. Montegnée before retiring in 1949, age 39. He was part of Belgium's team at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated fro ...

, but he did not play in any matches. Voorhoof played in the

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...

and

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the authoritarian regime. ** State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France ...

World Cups, being one of six known people (5 players and 1 match official) to have appeared in all three of the pre-war World Cups. At the World Cup held in Italy, Voorhoof scored twice in Belgium's 2−5 defeat to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

on 27 May 1934. These were the first Belgian goals in a FIFA World Cup, as the Belgian national team failed to find the net in 1930. He held the Belgian caps record from 5 May 1938 (when he equalled the total of

Armand Swartenbroeks Armand J. Swartenbroeks (30 June 1892 – 3 October 1980) was a Belgian football (soccer) player who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics. He was a member of the Belgium team, which won the gold medal in the football tournament. Honours ...

) until 13 April 1958, when his total was surpassed by

Vic Mees Victor Mees (26 January 1927 – 11 November 2012), nicknamed Vic or Vicky, was a Belgian footballer who played all of his career at Royal Antwerp. Club career Mees was born in Antwerp. He made his first team debut at the age of 17, just ...

. He held the Belgian record of goals since 13 March 1938, when he equalled the total of Robert De Veen, until

equalled his tally of 30 international goals for Belgium on 17 June 1972.

Honours

Player

; Lierse S.K. *

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 te ...

: 1931–32, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1941–42 *

: runner-up: 1934–35, 1938–39

Individual

* Former Belgium's most capped player: 1938–1958 (61 caps) * Former Belgium's national record goalscorer: 1940–2017 (30 goals)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Voorhoof, Bernard 1910 births 1974 deaths Belgian footballers Belgium international footballers Association football forwards Olympic footballers of Belgium Footballers at the 1928 Summer Olympics 1930 FIFA World Cup players 1934 FIFA World Cup players 1938 FIFA World Cup players Lierse S.K. players R.R.F.C. Montegnée players People from Lier, Belgium Footballers from Antwerp Province