Steven Defour

Steven Defour

Defour playing for Anderlecht in 2015
Personal information
Full name Steven Arnold Defour[1]
Date of birth (1988-04-15) 15 April 1988
Place of birth Mechelen, Belgium
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Burnley
Number 16
Youth career
1993–1997 Zennester Hombeek
1997–2004 Mechelen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2006 Genk 30 (1)
2006–2011 Standard Liège 127 (13)
2011–2014 Porto 65 (3)
2014–2016 Anderlecht 63 (9)
2016– Burnley 10 (1)
National team‡
2003 Belgium U15 5 (1)
2003–2004 Belgium U16 11 (1)
2004–2005 Belgium U17 11 (1)
2005 Belgium U18 1 (0)
2006– Belgium 51 (2)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:58, 28 November 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15:42, 15 November 2016 (UTC)

Steven Arnold Defour (born 15 April 1988) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Burnley and the Belgian national team.

In his senior career he played for Genk, Standard Liège, Porto and Anderlecht, winning nine major titles the second and third teams combined.

Defour gained his first cap for Belgium in 2006, and represented the nation in the 2014 World Cup.

Club career

Racing Genk

Born in Mechelen, Defour played youth football with local KV Mechelen, moving to K.R.C. Genk in 2004 due to the club's financial difficulties. He made his Pro League debut during the 2004–05 season and, at just 17, became first-choice, finishing the 2005–06 campaign with 26 games and one goal to help his team to the fifth position.

When Genk failed to qualify for European competition, Defour tried to move to AFC Ajax in the summer of 2006. Genk, enraged by earlier reports that the Dutch team had approached the player to broker a deal without their consent, did not accept the proposed transfer fee and after protracted negotiations Ajax pulled out of the deal. Defour tried to force a transfer by threatening to leave, using a Belgian law that allowed professional athletes on fixed-term contracts to leave their employers before the end of the stipulated term, but Ajax did not express a renewed interest in his services and he ended up signing for Standard Liège for a much-reduced transfer fee, effectively breaking a gentlemen's agreement between Belgian sides not to sign under-contract players using the aforementioned law.[2][3][4]

Standard Liège

Defour joined Standard on a five-year deal,[5] being appointed team captain at the start of his second year after taking over from Portugal's Sérgio Conceição – he was just 19 years old. He received the Belgian Golden Shoe at the end of the season in the process, leading the Reds to their first league title in 25 years.

In late 2009, shortly after scoring four goals in 31 games to help Standard renew its domestic supremacy, Defour broke his right foot. During his period of recovery he received a letter from Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United, wishing him all the best in his recovery,[6] and this led to persistent rumours of a switch to the English club, but he refuted these by saying "I do know that Manchester United are monitoring me – if everything goes well and I continue playing as I am, there is a better chance of me leaving than there was at the start of the season";[7] eventually, nothing came of it.

Porto

Defour lining-up for Belgium in 2011

On 15 August 2011, Portuguese club FC Porto agreed with Standard Liége[8] to buy the sporting rights of Defour for €6 million, and he signed a five-year contract.[9][10] He finished his first year with 37 appearances all competitions comprised and added two goals, helping his new team win the Primeira Liga championship.

On 18 September 2012, Defour netted Porto's second goal against GNK Dinamo Zagreb, in the season's Champions League group stage (2–0 away win).[11] On 13 March of the following year, for the same competition but in the round-of-16, he was booked twice and subsequently sent off in the 49th minute of the second leg of the tie with Málaga CF, as the northerners lost it 0–2 at La Rosaleda Stadium and 1–2 on aggregate.[12]

Anderlecht

On 13 August 2014, Defour signed a five-year deal with R.S.C. Anderlecht, for €6 million. On 25 January of the following year, when playing at Standard Liège, he was sent off for deliberately kicking the ball at home fans who had unfurled a banner depicting his severed head under the slogan "Red or Dead". His ejection caused the visiting supporters to rip out their seats and throw them onto the pitch,[13] and the banner received criticism from both the Royal Belgian Football Association and the league.[14]

Burnley

On 16 August 2016, Defour signed for Premier League club Burnley for a club-record transfer fee of £8 million.[15][16]

International career

Defour made his debut for the Belgian senior team in May 2006, aged just 18.[17] He scored his first goal on 6 September 2008, in a 3–2 win against Estonia for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Defour was also selected for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil by manager Marc Wilmots.[18] He made his debut in the competition on 26 June in the third group stage match against South Korea, after Belgium had already won their first two outings and sealed qualification, and was sent off in the last minute of the first half of the eventual 1–0 success after a rash tackle on Kim Shin-wook.[19]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 26 November 2016[20]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Genk 2004–05 Belgian First Division 4000—00—40
2005–06 Belgian First Division 26120—1[lower-alpha 1]0—291
Total 30120—10—331
Standard Liège 2006–07 Belgian First Division 29471—4[lower-alpha 2]0—405
2007–08 Belgian First Division 24131—3[lower-alpha 1]0—302
2008–09[21] Belgian Pro League 33410—10[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 4]0454
2009–10[21] Belgian Pro League 13100—3[lower-alpha 5]01[lower-alpha 4]0171
2010–11[21] Belgian Pro League 27350———323
2011–12[21] Belgian Pro League 10———0010
Total 12713162—2002016515
Porto 2011–12[21] Primeira Liga 24121308[lower-alpha 6]000372
2012–13[21] Primeira Liga 25220517[lower-alpha 7]11[lower-alpha 8]0404
2013–14[21] Primeira Liga 16061409[lower-alpha 9]01[lower-alpha 8]0361
Total 653102121241201137
Anderlecht 2014–15[21] Belgian Pro League 29641—6[lower-alpha 10]0—397
2015–16[21] Belgian Pro League 32211—9[lower-alpha 5]0—423
2016–17[21] Belgian First Division A 21——2[lower-alpha 7]0—41
Total 63952—170—8511
Burnley 2016–17[21] Premier League 1010000——101
Career total 295273361216214040635
  1. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Cup
  2. ↑ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two in UEFA Cup
  3. ↑ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight in UEFA Cup
  4. 1 2 Appearance in Belgian Super Cup
  5. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. ↑ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, two in UEFA Europa League
  7. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  8. 1 2 Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
  9. ↑ Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, four in UEFA Europa League
  10. ↑ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, two in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 9 November 2016.[22]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Belgium 200630
200790
200861
200950
201040
201150
201250
201351
201460
201630
Total512

International goals

As of 13 October 2014 (Belgium score listed first, score column indicates score after each Defour goal)[22]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 6 September 2008Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège, Belgium15 Estonia2–13–22010 World Cup qualification
2 6 September 2013Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland39 Scotland1–02–02014 World Cup qualification

Honours

Defour (left) with Belgian team-mates Kevin Mirallas (middle) and Marouane Fellaini before a friendly against the United States on 29 May 2013

Club

Standard Liège
Porto

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "England 1 Belgium 0 [1–0]". England Football Online. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  2. ↑ "Defour 'slachtoffer' van 33 jaar oude vete" [Defour 'victim' of 33-year-old feud]. Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 5 May 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "Transfer Defour naar Ajax van de baan" [Defour's transfer to Ajax not happening]. Voetbal International (in Dutch). 7 June 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  4. ↑ "Steven Defour verbreekt contract bij Genk" [Steven Defour breaks contract with Genk]. Het Belang van Limburg (in Dutch). 16 June 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  5. ↑ "Standard neemt Steven Defour over" [Standard signs Steven Defour] (in Dutch). Voetbal België. 11 July 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  6. ↑ Defour ready to make next step; ESPN Soccernet, 26 October 2010
  7. ↑ Defour ready to make Manchester United move; Talksport, 26 October 2010
  8. ↑ "Comunicado" [Announcement] (PDF) (in Portuguese). FC Porto. 15 August 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  9. ↑ "Comunicado" [Announcement] (PDF) (in Portuguese). FC Porto. 16 August 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  10. ↑ "FC Porto deal for Defour". ESPN Soccernet. 16 August 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  11. ↑ "Porto extend Dinamo losing streak". UEFA.com. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  12. ↑ "Santa Cruz sends Málaga into last eight". UEFA.com. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  13. ↑ "Anderlecht's Steven Defour sees red over Standard Liège fans' banner". The Guardian. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  14. ↑ "Standard Liege: Steven Defour sent off after fans' horror banner". BBC Sport. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  15. ↑ "Burnley: Defour joins the Clarets". Burnley F.C. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  16. ↑ "Steven Defour: Burnley sign Belgium midfielder from Anderlecht". BBC Sport. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  17. ↑ "René Vandereycken roept negen debutanten op" [René Vandereycken calls up nine first-timers]. Het Belang van Limburg (in Dutch). 6 May 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  18. ↑ "Belgium World Cup 2014 squad". The Daily Telegraph. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  19. ↑ "Koreans crash to ten-man Belgium". FIFA.com. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  20. ↑ Steven Defour at ESPN FC
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "S. Defour". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  22. 1 2 "Steven Defour". European Football. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
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