André Van Herpe (26 October 1933 – 26 March 2024) 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 lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, notably for ARA La Gantoise. He made seven appearances for the Belgium national team from 1956 to 1958. He was also named in Belgium's squad for the qualification tournament for the

1958 FIFA World Cup The 1958 FIFA World Cup was the 6th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. It was the first and only FIFA World Cup to be played in a Nordic country. Br ...

Career

Van Herpe was born in

Eine Eine may refer to: * EINE, a text editor * Eine (river), in Germany * Eine, Belgium Eine is a village located in the province of East Flanders, Belgium. Since 1965, it has been a ''deelgemeente'' (subdivision) of the municipality of Oudenaarde. ...

, Belgium. He started playing football aged 12 at Merksplas SK. From 1952 to 1962 he played for ARA La Gantoise in

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

, finishing second in the league in 1954–55 and third three times in 1953–54, 1956–57 and 1957–58. He moved to

Racing Club de Bruxelles Koninklijke Football Club Rhodienne-De Hoek is a Belgian association football club based in Sint-Genesius-Rode, Flemish Brabant. The club was created in 1894 as Racing Football Club. It became a member of the Royal Belgian Football Associatio ...

at the age of 28 and later to Stade Kortrijk.

Style of play

Van Herpe's outstanding attributes were his technique, passing and work ethic. His teammate

Léon Mokuna Léon Mokuna Mutombo (1 November 1928 – 28 January 2020), nicknamed ''Le Trouet'' or ''Trouet'', was a Belgian- Congolese professional footballer who played for Sporting CP, Gent and SV Waregem between 1954 and 1966. He was among the first A ...

called him ARA La Gantoise's best player.

Death

Van Herpe died on 26 March 2024, at the age of 90. His death was announced by his former club

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

on 28 March 2024.

References

External links

* 1933 births 2024 deaths Sportspeople from Oudenaarde Belgian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Belgium men's international footballers Belgium men's youth international footballers Belgian Pro League players KAA Gent players K.F.C. Rhodienne-De Hoek players K.V. Kortrijk players 20th-century Belgian sportsmen {{Belgium-footy-midfielder-stub