Erwin Vandenbergh

Goals followed Erwin Vandenbergh with almost bureaucratic regularity. He was a centre forward of timing, positioning and first time finishing, less interested in spectacular participation outside the box than in appearing exactly where the defensive line had lost track of him. Lierse, Anderlecht, Lille and Gent all saw the same essential striker: sharp in the area, calm in front of goal, strong enough to survive contact and intelligent enough to score without needing many touches. His European Golden Shoe in 1980 reflected an extraordinary domestic scoring peak, while his winning goal against Argentina in the opening match of the 1982 World Cup remains one of Belgium’s great tournament moments. He was not an all action modern number 9, and his creative game was limited compared with more rounded forwards. Vandenbergh was precision scoring: economical, cold and relentlessly effective.