Steven Defour facts for kids
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Defour playing for Anderlecht in 2015
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Steven Arnold Defour | ||
| Date of birth | 15 April 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Mechelen, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.73 m | ||
| Playing position | 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) | |
| National team | |||
| 2003 | Belgium U15 | 5 | (1) |
| 2003–2004 | Belgium U16 | 11 | (1) |
| 2004–2005 | Belgium U17 | 11 | (1) |
| 2005 | Belgium U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 2006–2017 | Belgium | 52 | (2) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2021–2022 | Mechelen (assistant) | ||
| 2022–2023 | Mechelen | ||
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Steven Arnold Defour (born 15 April 1988) is a Belgian football manager and former player. He recently managed the Belgian club Mechelen.
Steven played 247 games in the Belgian Pro League. He scored 23 goals for teams like Genk and Standard Liège. With Standard Liège, he won two league titles and a national cup.
He also played abroad for Porto in Portugal. There, he won the Primeira Liga twice. Later, he played in the Premier League in England for Burnley.
Defour played 52 games for the Belgian national team. His international career lasted 11 years, starting in 2006. He even played for Belgium in the 2014 World Cup.
Contents
Steven Defour's Club Career
Playing for Genk
Steven Defour was born in Mechelen, Belgium. He started playing youth football at 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 30 October 2004. He came into the game as a substitute for Paul Kpaka. Genk won that home game 1–0 against Sint-Truidense V.V..
Steven scored his first goal on 5 November 2005. He also helped set up another goal in a 4–1 win against K.S.V. Roeselare. 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 unhappy because they felt Ajax tried to get the player without their permission. Genk did not accept the transfer fee Ajax offered. After long talks, Ajax stopped trying to sign him.
Defour then tried to leave Genk 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.
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 time.
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, Steven broke his right foot. This happened shortly after he helped Standard Liège win the league again. During his recovery, he received a letter from Alex Ferguson. Ferguson was the manager of Manchester United. This led to rumors that Defour might move to the English club. However, he said that nothing came of it.
Playing for Porto
On 15 August 2011, the Portuguese club FC Porto bought Steven Defour. They paid €6 million for him. He signed a five-year contract with the team.
In his first year with Porto, he played 37 games. He scored two goals. His team won the Primeira Liga championship.
On 18 September 2012, Defour scored Porto's second goal against GNK Dinamo Zagreb. This was in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. Porto won the game 2–0.
On 13 March 2013, in the same competition, he was sent off. He received two yellow cards in a game against Málaga CF. Porto lost that game 2–0 and was knocked out of the tournament.
Moving to Anderlecht
On 13 August 2014, Defour moved to R.S.C. Anderlecht. He signed a five-year deal for €6 million.
In a game against his former club Standard Liège, he was sent off. This happened after he kicked the ball into the stands. Some fans had shown a banner that made fun of him.
Time at Burnley
On 16 August 2016, Defour joined Premier League club Burnley. This was a club-record transfer fee of £8 million. He signed a three-year contract.
He played his first game for Burnley four days later. It was a 2–0 home win against Liverpool. He helped create the second goal for Andre Gray.
On 10 September, he scored his first goal for Burnley. It was in a 1–1 draw against Hull City. His manager, Sean Dyche, praised him after the match.
On 26 December 2017, Defour scored a goal from a free kick. It was a 25-yard shot against Manchester United. Burnley led 2–0 at half-time, but the game ended in a draw.
Later in his time at Burnley, he had many injury problems. His contract was extended until June 2020 in September 2018. However, on 31 August 2019, he ended his contract early. He said he needed to return to Belgium for personal reasons.
In September 2022, Sean Dyche said Defour was the most talented player he had coached at Burnley.
Later Career and Retirement
In September 2019, at age 31, Defour joined Antwerp. He signed a one-year deal.
On 16 October 2020, he returned to Mechelen. This was 13 years after he left the club. He signed a contract based on his performance.
Steven Defour announced his retirement from playing football on 11 May 2021.
Steven Defour's 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 11 May in a friendly game against Saudi Arabia. Belgium won the game 2–1.
He scored his first goal for Belgium on 6 September 2008. It was in a 3–2 win against Estonia. This game was part of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Defour scored one goal in three games during the qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup. He scored the first goal in a 2–0 win against Scotland on 6 September 2013.
He was chosen to play in the World Cup finals in Brazil. He played his first World Cup game on 26 June against South Korea. Belgium had already won their first two games. He was sent off in that game after a tackle on Kim Shin-wook.
Steven Defour missed UEFA Euro 2016 because of an injury. He also missed the 2018 World Cup. On 25 May 2018, at age 30, he announced he was retiring from international football.
Steven Defour's Managerial Career
On 17 October 2022, Steven Defour returned to Mechelen as head coach. He had been an assistant coach before this. He replaced the previous coach, Danny Buijs.
In his first game as head coach, two days later, his team won 2–0 against Standard Liège. In his first season, he led Mechelen to the final of the Belgian Cup. However, they lost 2–0 to Mark van Bommel's Antwerp team.
On 2 November 2023, Defour was dismissed as manager. This happened after his team was knocked out of the domestic cup by a lower-league team. Also, his team was in the relegation zone in the league.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances and Goals
| 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 Appearances and Goals
| 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
