Carl Hoefkens
Personal information
Date of birth	October 6, 1978 (1978-10-06) (age 31)
Place of birth	Lier, Belgium
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Club Brugge
Number	4
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1996–2001 2001–2003 2003 2003–2005 2005–2007 2007–2009 2009–	Lierse Lommel Westerlo Germinal Beerschot Stoke City West Bromwich Albion Club Brugge	129 (1) 054 (4) 007 (0) 062 (2) 089 (5) 052 (0)
National team2
1999–	Belgium	022 (1)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:40, 16 July 2009 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 16:27, 14 September 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Carl Hoefkens (born 6 October 1978) is a Belgian footballer who is playing in Club Brugge and for the Belgian national team.

[edit] Club career

[edit] Early career

Born in in Lier, Belgium, Hoefkens started his career at K. Lierse S.K. and played there for six years. He made his breakthrough with Lierse in first class and won the Belgian Cup in 1999, beating Standard Liège in the final with 3-1. Afterwards, he made a move to Lommel but his move turned into a nightmare, when Lommel went broke in 2003. In the summer of 2003, he came to Germinal Beerschot, the first class team of the Belgian city of Antwerp. There, he became one of the pillars of the team. In his second season at Germinal Beerschot, he won the cup in the final against FC Bruges, then champions of Belgium. Hoefkens is still appreciated by Beerschot fans; a group of fans from the club have travelled to England on numerous occasions to watch him play.^[1]

[edit] Stoke City

In the summer of 2005 Stoke City manager, Johan Boskamp snapped him up for an undisclosed fee.^[2] He made his debut for the club in a 0-0 draw against Sheffield Wednesday on 6 August 2005. Hoefkens became an ever-present in the Stoke line-up and wore the number 2 shirt.

Hoefkens received acclaim for his performances in his first season in English football. He became a fans favourite at Stoke and was crowned 'Fans' Player of the year (2005–06). He then won his 9th cap for his country against Kazakhstan (0–0).

During the January 2007 transfer window he was linked with a return to Belgium, with Club Brugge reportedly interested in him. He was also penalty taker for Stoke before the arrival of Danny Higginbotham, however he still maintained a 100% record for the club. Hoefkens impressed both manager and fans alike with his technical ability during the 2006–07 season. He was also praised for his versatility, as he operated as a winger or a central midfielder on occasions in the latter stages of the season.

It was feared that Hoefkens had broken a bone in his foot in a Euro 2008 qualifier against Portugal however a scan revealed that there was no damage.^[3]

[edit] West Bromwich Albion

Stoke accepted a bid for Hoefkens from West Bromwich Albion on 4 August 2007.^[4] He joined Albion on 7 August 2007 in a £750,000 deal and was offered a two-year contract plus a further one-year as an option.^[5] Hoefkens made his Albion debut in a 2-1 defeat away at Burnley on the opening day of the 2007–08 season.^[6] One week later, Hoefkens was named in the Championship Team of the Week, following his performance in the 2-0 home win over Preston North End.^[7] He is known by his West Brom team mates as "Wolverine", due to his resemblance to the comic book hero from the X-Men.^[8]

Hoefkens was released in the summer of 2009.^[9]

[edit] Brugge

On 25 August 2009 Club Brugge have signed the former West Bromwich Albion's Belgian right-back on a two-year deal^[10].

[edit] Position

He can play as either a centre back or a right back.

[edit] International career

Hoefkens has played for his country twenty two times and has scored one goal. He also represented Belgium in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.^[11] Hoefkens wears the number 13 shirt for his country.

[edit] Personal life

Hoefkens is married and has two sons: Milan was born in 2002 or 2003 and Valentino was born in 2005 or 2006. Hoefkens can speak Dutch, English, French, German and Italian.^[12]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Carl Hoefkens career stats at Soccerbase