Steven Defour facts for kids
.jpg)
Defour playing for Anderlecht in 2015
|
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Steven Arnold Defour | ||
| Date of birth | 15 April 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Mechelen, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| 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) |
| 2016–2019 | Burnley | 51 | (2) |
| 2019–2020 | Antwerp | 11 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Mechelen | 16 | (0) |
| Total | 363 | (28) | |
| International career | |||
| 2003 | Belgium U15 | 5 | (1) |
| 2003–2004 | Belgium U16 | 11 | (1) |
| 2004–2005 | Belgium U17 | 11 | (1) |
| 2005 | Belgium U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 2006–2017 | Belgium | 52 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2021–2022 | Mechelen (assistant) | ||
| 2022–2023 | Mechelen | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Steven Arnold Defour, born on April 15, 1988, is a Belgian former professional football player. He used to play as a midfielder. After his playing career, he became a football manager.
Defour played 247 games and scored 23 goals in the Belgian Pro League for several clubs. These included Genk, Standard Liège, Anderlecht, Antwerp, and Mechelen. He won two league titles and a national cup with Standard Liège. He also played abroad, winning the Primeira Liga twice with Porto in Portugal. Later, he played in the Premier League for three years with Burnley.
Steven Defour played 52 games for the Belgium national team. His international career lasted 11 years, starting in 2006. He also represented Belgium in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Contents
Playing Career: Clubs
Starting at Genk
Steven Defour was born in Mechelen, Belgium. He started playing youth football with his local club, K.V. Mechelen. In 2004, he moved to K.R.C. Genk. He made his first professional appearance in the Belgian Pro League on October 30, 2004. He was a substitute in a 1–0 home win against Sint-Truidense V.V..
On November 5, 2005, he scored his first goal. He also helped set up another goal in a 4–1 victory. At just 17 years old, he became a regular player. In the 2005–06 season, he played 26 games and scored one goal. This helped his team finish in fifth place.
In 2006, Genk did not qualify for European competitions. Defour wanted to move to AFC Ajax. Genk was upset because they believed Ajax had talked to Defour without their permission. Genk did not accept the transfer fee Ajax offered. After long talks, Ajax decided not to go through with the deal. Defour tried to force a move by using a Belgian law. This law allowed professional athletes to leave their contracts early. However, Ajax did not show new interest. He ended up signing with Standard Liège for a much lower fee. This move broke an unwritten rule among Belgian clubs.
Time at Standard Liège
Defour joined Standard Liège on a five-year contract. At the start of his second year, he became the team captain. He was only 19 years old. At the end of that season, he won the Belgian Golden Shoe award. He led Standard Liège to their first league title in 25 years.
In late 2009, Defour broke his right foot. He had just helped Standard Liège win the league again. While he was recovering, he received a letter from Alex Ferguson. Ferguson was the manager of Manchester United. This led to many rumors that Defour would move to the English club. However, he said that Manchester United was watching him, but nothing came of the rumors.
Moving to Porto
On August 15, 2011, the Portuguese club FC Porto agreed to buy Defour. The transfer cost €6 million. He signed a five-year contract with them. In his first year, he played 37 official games and scored two goals. He helped his new team win the Primeira Liga championship.
On September 18, 2012, Defour scored Porto's second goal against GNK Dinamo Zagreb. This was in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. Porto won that game 2–0. On March 13, 2013, in the same competition, he received two yellow cards. This meant he was sent off in the second half of a game against Málaga CF. Porto lost that game 2–0 and was knocked out of the competition.
Playing for Anderlecht
On August 13, 2014, Defour moved to R.S.C. Anderlecht. He signed a five-year deal for €6 million. On January 25, 2015, he was playing against his former club, Standard Liège. During the game, he was sent off for kicking the ball towards some home fans. This happened after some fans displayed a disrespectful banner. His sending off caused visiting fans to throw seats onto the pitch. The banner was criticized by the Royal Belgian Football Association and the league.
Time at Burnley
On August 16, 2016, Defour signed with Premier League club Burnley. This was a club-record transfer fee of £8 million. He played his first game four days later in a 2–0 home win against Liverpool. He helped create the second goal for Andre Gray.
On September 10, he scored his first goal for Burnley. It was the opening goal in a 1–1 draw against Hull City. His manager, Sean Dyche, praised him after the match. On December 26, 2017, Defour scored a goal from a direct free kick from 25 yards. Burnley was leading 2–0 at half-time in a game that ended in a draw against Manchester United.
During his later time at Burnley, he had many injury problems. His contract was extended in September 2018 until June 2020. However, on August 31, 2019, his contract was ended. He said it was for personal reasons and that he needed to return to Belgium. In September 2022, Sean Dyche said Defour was the most talented player he coached in his ten years at Burnley.
Later Career and Retirement
In September 2019, at age 31, Defour joined Antwerp on a one-year deal. On October 16, 2020, he returned to Mechelen. This was 13 years after he left the club. He agreed to a contract based on his performance.
Steven Defour announced his retirement from playing football on May 11, 2021.
International Career
Steven Defour was first called up to the Belgian senior team in May 2006. He was only 18 years old. He made his debut on May 11 in a friendly game against Saudi Arabia. Belgium won 2–1.
He scored his first goal for Belgium on September 6, 2008. It was in a 3–2 victory over Estonia during the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Defour scored one goal in three games during the qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He scored the first goal in a 2–0 win against Scotland on September 6, 2013.
He was chosen for the World Cup finals in Brazil. He played his first World Cup game on June 26 against South Korea. Belgium had already won their first two games and qualified. Defour was sent off in the first half of that game after a tackle. Belgium still won 1–0.
Defour missed UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup due to injuries. On May 25, 2018, he announced his retirement from international football.
Coaching Career
On October 17, 2022, Steven Defour returned to Mechelen as the head coach. He had previously been an assistant coach there. He replaced the previous coach, Danny Buijs. In his first game as head coach, two days later, his team won 2–0 against Standard.
In his first season as head coach, he led Mechelen to the final of the Belgian Cup. However, they lost 2–0 to Mark van Bommel's Antwerp team. On November 2, 2023, Defour was removed from his coaching role. This happened after his team was knocked out of the domestic cup by Royal Knokke F.C. and was in the relegation zone in the league.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Genk | 2004–05 | Belgian First Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2005–06 | Belgian First Division | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 29 | 1 | |||
| Total | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 33 | 1 | ||||
| Standard Liège | 2006–07 | Belgian First Division | 29 | 4 | 7 | 1 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 40 | 5 | ||
| 2007–08 | Belgian First Division | 24 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 30 | 2 | |||
| 2008–09 | Belgian Pro League | 33 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 4 | ||
| 2009–10 | Belgian Pro League | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 1 | ||
| 2010–11 | Belgian Pro League | 27 | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 32 | 3 | ||||
| 2011–12 | Belgian Pro League | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 127 | 13 | 16 | 2 | — | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 165 | 15 | |||
| Porto | 2011–12 | Primeira Liga | 24 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 2 |
| 2012–13 | Primeira Liga | 25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 4 | |
| 2013–14 | Primeira Liga | 16 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 1 | |
| Total | 65 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 113 | 7 | ||
| Anderlecht | 2014–15 | Belgian Pro League | 29 | 6 | 4 | 1 | — | 6 | 0 | — | 39 | 7 | ||
| 2015–16 | Belgian Pro League | 32 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | 9 | 0 | — | 42 | 3 | |||
| 2016–17 | Belgian First Division A | 2 | 1 | — | — | 2 | 0 | — | 4 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 63 | 9 | 5 | 2 | — | 17 | 0 | — | 85 | 11 | ||||
| Burnley | 2016–17 | Premier League | 21 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | Premier League | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 1 | |||
| 2018–19 | Premier League | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Total | 51 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 58 | 3 | |||
| Royal Antwerp | 2019–20 | Belgian First Division A | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| Mechelen | 2020–21 | Belgian First Division A | 16 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 363 | 28 | 42 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 62 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 485 | 37 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 2006 | 3 | 0 |
| 2007 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 52 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Defour goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 September 2008 | Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège, Belgium | 15 |  Estonia |
2–1 | 3–2 | 2010 World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 6 September 2013 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland | 39 |  Scotland |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2014 World Cup qualification |
Managerial Statistics
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Mechelen |  |
17 October 2022 | 2 November 2023 | 41 | 15 | 9 | 17 | 50 | 62 | −12 | 36.59 |
| Career totals | 41 | 15 | 9 | 17 | 50 | 62 | −12 | 36.59 | |||
Honours and Awards
Standard Liège
- Belgian Pro League: 2007–08, 2008–09
- Belgian Cup: 2010–11
- Belgian Supercup: 2008, 2009
Porto
- Primeira Liga: 2011–12, 2012–13
- Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2012, 2013
Individual Awards
- Belgian Golden Shoe: 2007
- Belgian First Division Man of the Season: 2007–08
See also
In Spanish: Steven Defour para niños
