Jelle Van Damme facts for kids
Van Damme playing for Standard Liège in 2014
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jelle François Maria Van Damme | ||
| Date of birth | 10 October 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Lokeren, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.94 m | ||
| Playing position | Defender, left midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Beveren | |||
| Lokeren | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1998 | Lokeren | 1 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Germinal Beerschot | 7 | (0) |
| 2002–2004 | Ajax | 18 | (0) |
| 2004–2006 | Southampton | 6 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | → Werder Bremen (loan) | 8 | (1) |
| 2006–2010 | Anderlecht | 100 | (12) |
| 2010–2011 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 6 | (1) |
| 2011–2016 | Standard Liège | 120 | (17) |
| 2016–2017 | LA Galaxy | 46 | (1) |
| 2017–2019 | Royal Antwerp | 44 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | Lokeren | 23 | (1) |
| Total | 379 | (34) | |
| National team | |||
| 2001–2002 | Belgium U19 | 18 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | Belgium U21 | 4 | (0) |
| 2003–2014 | Belgium | 31 | (0) |
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Jelle François Maria Van Damme (born October 10, 1983) is a Belgian former professional footballer. He played as a centre-back, left-back, or left midfielder. Jelle played for many clubs in Belgium, England, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States. He also played over 30 games for the Belgium national team.
Contents
Football Journey: Club Career
Starting Out: Early Clubs
Jelle Van Damme began his football journey at Beveren. After a short time, he moved to the youth teams of Lokeren. In 2001, he joined Germinal Beerschot. There, he made his first professional appearance in the Jupiler League.
Germinal Beerschot had a connection with Ajax, a famous club in the Netherlands. Ajax soon invited Jelle for a trial in February 2002.
Playing in the Netherlands and England
In the summer of 2002, Van Damme officially moved to Ajax. He showed great potential in the Dutch Cup. During the 2002–03 season, he played in the Champions League. He was a regular player until he broke his toe in November 2002.
The next season, he helped Ajax get into the Champions League again. However, he did not get to play much in the first team. Ajax preferred another player, Maxwell, at full-back. Because he wanted more playing time, Jelle signed with Southampton in the Premier League in June 2004. The transfer cost was about £2.5 million.
Jelle did not play much for Southampton. He only appeared in six games during the 2004–05 season. That year, Southampton was moved down to a lower league, the Championship. For the 2005–06 season, he went on loan to Werder Bremen in Germany. Again, he found it hard to play regularly, making only eight appearances. Werder Bremen finished second in their league that season.
Success in Belgium: Anderlecht
To get more chances to play, Van Damme returned to Belgium. He joined Anderlecht in June 2006 for €500,000. His four years at Anderlecht were much more successful. He helped the team win two Jupiler League championships. They also finished second twice. He won the Belgian Cup in 2008. Jelle also played in the Champions League group stages several times with Anderlecht. In 2010, he scored a goal in a 2–1 win against rivals Club Brugge. This win helped Anderlecht secure their second league title.
Return to England and Back to Belgium
In June 2010, Van Damme went back to the Premier League. He joined Wolverhampton Wanderers. He signed a three-year contract for about £2.5 million. He scored his first and only goal for Wolves against Fulham on September 11, 2010.
However, Jelle found it hard to settle in at the club. On November 29, 2010, he decided to return to Belgium. He signed a deal to join Standard Liège for three and a half years. He had only played six games for Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Captain at Standard Liège
Jelle's move back to Belgium was completed in January 2011. He made his debut for Standard Liège as captain. This first game was a 2–0 loss against his former club, Anderlecht, on January 23.
Playing in the United States: LA Galaxy
On January 26, 2016, it was announced that Van Damme had joined LA Galaxy in the United States. He played his first game on February 24, 2016. It was a CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal match against Santos Laguna.
Back to Belgium Again: Royal Antwerp and Lokeren
In August 2017, Van Damme returned to Belgium once more. He signed with Royal Antwerp for $235,000. Jelle said he left LA Galaxy mainly because he wanted to be closer to his children.
On July 3, 2019, he signed a one-year contract with Lokeren, one of his former youth clubs.
Retirement from Football
Jelle Van Damme officially retired from professional football in February 2021.
International Career: Playing for Belgium
Van Damme played his first game for the Belgium national team on March 29, 2003. It was a friendly match against Croatia, which Belgium lost 4–0. He also played for the national team during their qualifying games for the 2006 and 2010 World Cups. He also played in the qualifying rounds for UEFA Euro 2008.
Personal Life
Jelle Van Damme was married to former tennis player Elke Clijsters. Elke is the sister of famous tennis player Kim Clijsters. They got married in May 2008 in Bree, Belgium. Their marriage ended in 2016. They have two children together.
Honours and Achievements
Jelle Van Damme won several titles and awards during his career:
Ajax
- Eredivisie (Dutch League): 2003–04
Werder Bremen
- Bundesliga (German League) runner-up: 2005–06
Anderlecht
- Belgian First Division: 2006–07, 2009–10
- Belgian Cup: 2007–08
- Belgian Super Cup: 2006, 2007
Standard Liège
- Belgian Cup: 2010–11
Individual Awards
- MLS All Star: 2016
- MLS Best XI: 2016
Images for kids
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Van Damme playing for Standard Liège in 2014
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Van Damme playing in 2009
See also
In Spanish: Jelle Van Damme para niños
