François Sterchele

François Sterchele

Sterchele in October 2004
Personal information
Date of birth	(1982-03-14)14 March 1982
Place of birth	Liège, Belgium
Date of death	8 May 2008(2008-05-08) (aged 26)
Place of death	Vrasene, Beveren, Belgium
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Striker
Number	23
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2004	Union La Calamine	29	(23)
2004–2005	Oud-Heverlee Leuven	31	(32)
2005–2006	Charleroi	31	(9)
2006–2007	Germinal Beerschot	32	(21)
2007–2008	Club Brugge	31	(11)
Total		154	(96)
National team
2007–2008	Belgium	4	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

François Sterchele (14 March 1982 – 8 May 2008) was a Belgian footballer who played for Germinal Beerschot and Club Brugge. The striker was the top scorer of the Jupiler League in 2006-07. Sterchele died in a single-person car accident on 8 May 2008.

Sterchele started his career at FC Loncin, a small team from the Belgian Provincial leagues in the province of Liège. At the age of ten, he moved to R.F.C. de Liège where he stayed for ten years before moving to R.F.C. Union La Calamine. After three seasons, he was signed by Oud-Heverlee Leuven, a team in the third division, where he scored 21 goals during the 2004-2005 season, finishing second in the topscorers list. In the subsequent playoffs, he scored another eight goals which would help earn the team to promotion to the second tier.

As a result, Sterchele was able to secure a transfer to the top division in Belgian football, the Jupiler League, when he joined Charleroi, where he was trained by Jacky Mathijssen, who would become a considerable influence in his development as a footballer. After just one year, he went to K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot and became the league's top scorer.

On 19 July 2007, Sterchele returned to the tutorship of Mathijssen when he moved to Club Brugge; he scored 2 goals on his league début against Mons.