Erwin Vandenbergh

Erwin Vandenbergh
Vandenbergh in 1980
Personal information
Date of birth (1959-01-26) 26 January 1959
Place of birth Ramsel, Herselt, Belgium
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1976–1982 Lierse 178 (117)
1982–1986 Anderlecht 121 (87)
1986–1990 Lille 114 (38)
1990–1994 Gent 110 (47)
1994–1995 Molenbeek 21 (4)
Total 544 (293)
International career
1979–1991 Belgium 48 (20)
Managerial career
1995 Westerlo
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Erwin Vandenbergh (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɛrʋɪɱ vɑndə(m)ˈbɛr(ə)x]; born 26 January 1959) is a Belgian retired professional footballer who played as a forward. Between 1979 and 1991, he finished six times as topscorer of the Belgian First Division (a still standing record), with three clubs (the first three with Lierse, the following two with Anderlecht, and the last one with Gent). In 1980, he was European topscorer with 39 goals out of 34 games. As a Belgium national team regular, Vandenbergh scored a memorable victory goal against Argentina in the opening game of the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

Vandenbergh also played for the French club Lille with his Belgium national team partner Filip Desmet under the management of another fellow Belgian Georges Heylens. His son, Kevin Vandenbergh, also became a professional football striker, mainly at Genk and also for the Belgian national team.