Anderlecht signed Van Binst from Vilvoorde when he was a teenager. He was trained as a striker, but the Purple and White made him a feared right-back who regularly advanced to score himself. He won two titles and four cups with Anderlecht in the 1970s.
The European Cups shine the most in his record. In 1976, Anderlecht won the final of the European Cup II (the “Cup Winners’ Cup”) against West Ham. Van Binst wore the captain’s armband in a team that included Rensenbrink, Coeck, Haan, Dockx and Soit Van Der Elst. Two years later, Anderlecht again played the final of the European Cup II against Austria Wien and won 4-0. Just like Rensenbrink, Van Binst also scored twice.
The team that beat West Ham in 1976. Top left Gille Van Binst, next to him Jean Dockx, bottom 2nd from left. Arie Haan, bottom right Robbie Rensenbrink. — © Belgian
Van Binst was already known at Anderlecht for his humor and the pranks he played with his teammates. Even when they were coming out, he was one of the pioneers. “I had a lot of fun,” he said later. “It just wasn’t right that I was still going out. You will then no longer be part of the Anderlecht first team for eleven years. It was possible after the match and on Monday when we had off. Then all the Football teams went to dance The Lord.
During his time at Anderlecht, Van Binst played 15 times for the national team. Raymond Goethals took him to the European Championship in 1972, but due to a conflict with Guy Thys he played his last international match in 1977.
A bowl of cheese as a farewell gift
In 1980, Van Binst, then aged 29, left Anderlecht for an adventure in Toulouse, France. “Raoul Lambert received a lounge when leaving Club Brugge,” laughed Van Binst. “I received a container of geuze in Anderlecht and had to bring it back myself.” Although he played everything at Toulouse and narrowly missed out on promotion to Ligue 1 with the club, Van Binst returned to Belgium for love after just one year, but not to Anderlecht. Club Brugge managed to recruit him. “It’s a stupid thing,” he said later. “I should never have left Toulouse. In France, I earned double what I earned in Bruges and I had the opportunity to become a youth coach after my career. At the Club we played against relegation in the first year.
Van Binst finally retired in 1983 and began working as an assistant coach to Georg Kessler at the Club. After his departure, Van Binst tried himself as a coach, but after stints in Wallonia, Namur, Lauwe and Oostnieuwkerke, he gave up.
After his active playing career, Van Binst traveled for 22 years as a water softener representative. “Every cafe had to have this. I had the best customers in the evening. Then I got stuck. How I sometimes came home, it would no longer be possible,” he admitted. He also began working as a journalist and wrote a column for many years. The newspaper. In 2009 he published the book Cirque Football de, a collection of anecdotes about his career.
Parkinson
In 2016, it was announced that Van Binst suffered from Parkinson’s disease and was recovering from prostate cancer. “The medication allows me to lead a normal life, but I don’t know for how long,” he said in an interview. “My coordination is not very good anymore, but I can do my plan. I had a difficult life. Today, I pay for the excesses of the past. My body gave up on sports and all that kind of stuff. He rarely visited Lotto Park, but he occasionally appeared in the media to speak about Anderlecht in his pure style. From “Constant Vanden Stock would turn in his grave” to “This is no longer my Anderlecht”.
