Louis Biesbrouck

Louis "Loek" Biesbrouck (20 February 1921 – 20 December 2005) was a Dutch footballer, who played as a midfielder.[1]

Louis Biesbrouck
Louis Biesbrouck (right) in 1960
Personal information
Full name Louis Biesbrouck
Date of birth (1921-02-20)20 February 1921
Place of birth Haarlem, Netherlands
Date of death 20 December 2005(2005-12-20) (aged 84)
Place of death Heemstede, Netherlands
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1938–1960 RCH
National team
1950–1954 Netherlands 19 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Biesbrouck joined RCH at the age of ten, and made his debut for the first team in 1938, at the age of seventeen.[2] A one-club man, he spent his whole career at RCH, which spanned 21 years.[2][3] During his first years, he helped bring the team back to the Dutch first division.[2] In the 1952–53 season, he achieved the high point of his club career by winning the Netherlands Football League Championship, which was the first for RCH since the 1922–23 season.

Despite offers from both national and foreign clubs, Biesbrouck always remained an amateur player, even after professionalism was introduced to Dutch football in 1954.[2] He said that someone playing professional football is no longer a sportsman, but rather a slave.[3][4]

After his career, he was appointed honorary member of RCH.[4]

International career

Biesbrouck was selected for the Dutch squad at the 1948 Summer Olympics, but did not make an appearance.[5] He eventually made his debut for the Netherlands on 10 December 1950, against France.[6] He was also selected for the 1952 Summer Olympics, where he captained the team during their only match, a 1–5 defeat against Brazil.[2][6] In total, he gained 19 caps, of which 12 were as captain.[6]

Honours
1952–53

References
  1. "Loek Biesbrouck". National Football Teams. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  2. "Loek Biesbrouck Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  3. "Loek Biesbrouck" (in Dutch). Voetballegends. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  4. "Oud-international Biesbrouck (84) overleden" (in Dutch). NU.nl. 22 December 2005. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  5. "Olympic Football Tournament 1948 - Netherlands - Overview". FIFA.com. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  6. "Interlands en doelpunten van Louis Biesbrouck voor het Nederlandse elftal" (in Dutch). Voetbalstats.nl. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
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