Luc Nilis

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Luc Nilis bigraphy, stories - footballer

Luc Nilis : biography

25 May 1967 –

Luc Nilis (born 25 May 1967 in Hasselt, Belgium) is a former Belgian football striker. He ended his career early in the 2000–01 season after he broke his leg in a match with his club Aston Villa following a clash with Ipswich Town goalkeeper Richard Wright. Nilis’ Villa career had started well. He scored on his debut in the UEFA Intertoto Cup against Dukla Příbram on 22 July 2000 and then went on to score on his league debut against Chelsea on 27 August 2000.

Honours

Club honours

  • Jupiler League – 1987, 1991, 1993, 1994
  • Belgian Cup – 1988, 1989, 1994
  • Eredivisie – 1997, 2000
  • KNVB Cup – 1996

Individual honours

  • Eredivisie Player of the Year – 1995
  • Eredivisie topscorer – 1996, 1997

Career

His former clubs include K.F.C. Winterslag, R.S.C. Anderlecht, PSV Eindhoven. During his time with PSV, Nilis formed one of the deadliest partnerships in Europe with team-mate Ruud van Nistelrooy. In the 1998–1999 season, Nilis and van Nistelrooy scored 55 league goals between them. van Nistelrooy finished as top-scorer, Nilis came second. In the following season, Nilis’ last for PSV, they scored 48 league goals between them. Ronaldo occasionally names him as one of the best strike partners he had played with despite sharing only a brief time with him at PSV.http://esporte.uol.com.br/ultimas/multi/2009/05/15/04023762DC812346.jhtm?sabatina-da-folha-com-ronaldo–integra-da-entrevista-04023762DC812346 Ruud van Nistelrooy has also stated on several occasions that Nilis was one of the best players, if not the best, he had ever played with.

Nilis played 56 times for the Belgian national team, scoring 10 times. A prolific goalscorer with his clubs, he scored his first goal for Belgium only on his 24th cap (a 9–0 win against Zambia). Nilis played in the 1994 World Cup, the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, the latter was co-hosted by his birth-country Belgium and the Netherlands. After his career, he was assigned as a trainer with PSV. In this job he was responsible for training the attackers of the club. His son, Arne, played for the PSV reserve team but currently plays with Belgians fourth division team KSK Hasselt. In January 2011, Nilis became assistant manager at Kasımpaşa Spor Kulübü.