Carl Hoefkens

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carl Hoefkens
Personal information
Full name Carl Hoefkens
Date of birth October 6, 1978 (1978-10-06) (age 29)
Place of birth    Lier, Belgium
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current club West Bromwich Albion
Number 2
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1996–2001
2001–2003
2003
2003–2005
2005–2007
2007–		 Lierse
Lommel
Westerlo
Germinal Beerschot
Stoke City
West Bromwich Albion		 129 (1)
054 (4)
007 (0)
062 (2)
089 (5)
042 (0)   
National team2
1999– Belgium 018 (1)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 10:43, 30 May 2008 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 16:27, 6 August 2007 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Carl Hoefkens (born October 6, 1978 in Lier) is a Belgian international footballer. He is currently playing as a defender for West Bromwich Albion and for Belgium.

Contents

[edit] Club career

[edit] Career in Belgium

He started his career at K. Lierse S.K. and played there for six years before taking a move to Lommel but his move turned into a nightmare, when Lommel went broke in 2003. In the summer of 2003, he came to Germinal Beerschot, the first class team of the Belgian city of Antwerp. There, he became one of the pillars of the team. In his second season at Germinal Beerschot, he won the cup in the final against FC Bruges, then champions of Belgium. Hoefkens is still appreciated by Beerschot fans; a group of fans from the club have travelled to England on numerous occasions to watch him play.[1]

[edit] Stoke City

In the summer of 2005 Stoke City manager, Johan Boskamp snapped him up for an undisclosed fee.[2] He made his debut for the club in a 0-0 draw against Sheffield Wednesday on 6 August 2005. Hoefkens became an ever-present in the Stoke line-up and wore the number 2 shirt.

Hoefkens received acclaim for his performances in his first season in English football. He became a fans favourite at Stoke and was crowned 'Fans' Player of the year (2005–06). He then won his 9th cap for his country against Kazakhstan (0–0).

During the January 2007 transfer window he was linked with a return to Belgium, with Club Brugge reportedly interested in him. He was also penalty taker for Stoke before the arrival of Danny Higginbotham, however he still maintained a 100% record for the club. Hoefkens impressed both manager and fans alike with his technical ability during the 2006–07 season. He was also praised for his versatility, as he operated as a winger or a central midfielder on occasions in the latter stages of the season.

It was feared that Hoefkens had broken a bone in his foot in a Euro 2008 qualifier against Portugal however a scan revealed that there was no damage.[3]

[edit] West Bromwich Albion

Stoke accepted a bid which was originally believed to be in the region of £1 million for Hoefkens from West Bromwich Albion on August 4, 2007.[4] He joined Albion on August 7, 2007 in a £750,000 deal and was offered a two-year contract plus a further one-year as an option.[5] Hoefkens made his Albion debut in a 2-1 defeat away at Burnley on the opening day of the 2007-08 season.[6] One week later, Hoefkens was named in the Championship Team of the Week, following his performance in the 2-0 home win over Preston North End.[7] He is known by his West Brom team mates as "Wolverine", due to his resemblance to the comic book hero from the X-Men.[8]

[edit] International career

Hoefkens has played for his country eighteen times and has scored one goal. He also represented Belgium in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.[9] Hoefkens wears the number 13 shirt for his country.

[edit] Personal life

Hoefkens has a son named Milan.[10]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Stoke City: The story.
  2. ^ "Stoke complete deal for Hoefkens", BBC Sport, 2005-07-26. Retrieved on 2007-08-07. 
  3. ^ "Hoefkens injury boost for Stoke", BBC Sport, 2007-03-28. Retrieved on 2007-08-07. 
  4. ^ "West Brom close on Hoefkens deal", BBC Sport, 2007-08-05. Retrieved on 2007-08-06. 
  5. ^ "Hoefkens seals Baggies switch", West Bromwich Albion F.C., 2007-08-07. Retrieved on 2007-08-07. 
  6. ^ "Burnley vs WBA", West Bromwich Albion F.C., 2007-08-11. Retrieved on 2007-08-11. 
  7. ^ Coca-Cola Championship Team Of The Week (20/08/2007) (pdf). The Football League (2007-08-20). Retrieved on 2007-10-09.
  8. ^ "Saturday's gossip column", BBC Sport, 2008-04-05. Retrieved on 2008-04-30. 
  9. ^ Malaysia 1997 - Belgium squad. FIFA. Retrieved on 2007-05-25.
  10. ^ "Hoef: Brunty was perfect for the job", West Bromwich Albion F.C., 2008-04-29. Retrieved on 2008-04-30. 

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by
Clint Hill		 Stoke City F.C. Player of the Year
2005-06		 Succeeded by
Danny Higginbotham
v • d • e
West Bromwich Albion F.C. – current squad

1 Kiely • 2 Hoefkens • 3 Robinson • 4 Barnett • 5 Clement • 7 Koren • 8 Greening • 9 Bednář • 10 Beattie • 12 Kim • 14 Albrechtsen • 15 MacDonald • 16 Hodgkiss • 17 Miller • 18 Martis • 19 Daněk • 20 Teixeira • 21 Phillips • 22 Nicholson • 23 Tininho • 24 Moore • 26 Pelé • 27 Morrison • 29 Brunt • 30 Ślusarski • 31 Daniels • 32 Worrall • Manager: Mowbray
Languages