Former professional football player Gilbert “Gille” Van Binst has died at the age of 73. For eleven years he was one of Anderlecht’s stars and belonged to the European top as a defender. Van Binst collected 15 caps with the Red Devils between 1972 and 1977.
He himself had a love for basketball, but it was in football that Gilbert Van Binst achieved great heights. Anderlecht already saw his talent in the 1960s and stole the right back from Vilvoorde at the age of 15.
In 11 years in Anderlecht’s main squad, Van Binst became a strongman: in 262 matches he won two national titles (1972 and 1974) and the Belgian Cup four times (1972, 1973, 1975 and 1976).
Van Binst, a tough defender, also won the European Cup II twice. In the 1978 final, he scored twice against Austria Wien (4-0), just like Robbie Rensenbrink.
In 1980, Anderlecht let the then 29-year-old Van Binst leave for France, but after missing promotion with Toulouse, he returned to Belgium after one year. He ended his professional career with two seasons at Club Brugge.
Under Raymond Goethals, Van Binst also got his chance with the national team, then still the Witte Duivels. He played 15 international matches for Belgium, including at the 1972 European Championship, but disappeared from the selection under Guy Thys.
After his football career, Van Binst was still active as a coach at Wallonia Namur and KWSC Lauwe. As a juicy teller of anecdotes, the former defender was a welcome guest on talk shows. He also started working as an interviewer for Sport 80, the predecessor of Sport/Voetbalmagazine.
In the last years of his life he struggled with Parkinson’s disease and dementia. He died last night at the age of 73 in a residential care center in Zaventem.
Van Binst open about illness
In De Kleedkamer, Gille Van Binst was open about his battle against Parkinson’s disease a few years ago. “There are days when I’m tired, but there are also days when I feel great,” he said at the time. “I am already prepared for the fact that I will not live much longer.”
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