Ludo Coeck

The left foot was the starting point, but not the whole story. Ludo Coeck had a powerful, elegant way of striking the ball, whether from distance, on set pieces or through longer passes that changed the direction of play. Anderlecht gave him the platform to become one of Belgium’s most gifted midfielders of the late 1970s and early 1980s, a player capable of operating centrally or from wider left sided zones with technique, size and attacking personality. His move to Inter in 1983 should have been the next step, but injuries and circumstance limited him to a very small Serie A chapter before Ascoli. With Belgium, he earned 46 caps and was part of the national team’s strong period around Euro 1980 and the 1982 World Cup. Coeck was not a pure runner or defensive controller. He was a cultured left footed midfielder with shooting range, vision and a career cut painfully short before its full weight could settle.