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Gregory Mertens
Personal information
Full name Gregory Mertens
Date of birth (1991-02-02)2 February 1991
Place of birth Anderlecht, Belgium
Date of death 30 April 2015(2015-04-30) (aged 24)
Place of death Genk, Belgium
Playing position Defender
Youth career
2004–2005 Anderlecht
2005–2006 Dilbeek Sport
2006–2010 Gent
2010–2011 Cercle Brugge
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 Cercle Brugge 73 (5)
2014–2015 Lokeren 28 (0)
Total 101 (5)
National team
2006 Belgium U16 1 (0)
2009–2010 Belgium U19 5 (1)
2011 Belgium U21 7 (1)
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Gregory Mertens (born February 2, 1991 – died April 30, 2015) was a talented Belgian professional football player. He usually played as a central defender, which means he helped protect his team's goal. His last team was Lokeren.

Gregory Mertens' Football Journey

Starting Out in Football

Gregory Mertens began his football journey in youth teams. He played for well-known clubs like Anderlecht and Gent. In the winter of 2010–11, he moved to the first team of Cercle Brugge. His former coach, Bob Peeters, who knew him from Gent's reserve team, recommended him.

Playing for Cercle Brugge

Gregory made his first professional appearance for Cercle Brugge on February 12, 2011. He came into the game as a substitute in the 89th minute. This match was against his former team, Anderlecht. Cercle Brugge lost that game 1–0. Later, on May 23, 2013, he scored three goals in one game against WS Woluwe. Scoring three goals in a single match is called a hat-trick!

Moving to Lokeren

In 2014, Gregory moved to another Belgian club, Lokeren. He continued to play as a strong defender for them. He played 28 games for Lokeren.

A Sad Day

On April 27, 2015, something very sad happened during a reserve game. Gregory Mertens was playing for Lokeren against K.R.C. Genk. He had a sudden medical emergency on the field. He was quickly taken to the hospital. Doctors put him in a special sleep to help him.

Sadly, Gregory passed away on April 30, 2015. He was only 24 years old. His club, Lokeren, said that he had passed all his health checks. These checks are set by UEFA, which is a big football organization. The club wanted to find out why this sad event happened.

The day after Gregory's passing, his Lokeren teammates played a match. They wore special T-shirts to remember him. The shirts had his name and his squad number, 4.

Achievements

Lokeren

  • Belgian Cup: 2013–14

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Gregory Mertens para niños

  • List of association footballers who died while playing
  • List of association footballers who died during their careers
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