Anderlecht plucked Van Binst from Vilvoorde as a teenager. He was trained as a striker, but the Purple & White turned him into 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 on 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 in 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 defeated West Ham in 1976. Top left Gille Van Binst, next to him Jean Dockx, bottom 2nd from l. Arie Haan, bottom right Robbie Rensenbrink. — © Belgian
Van Binst was already known at Anderlecht for his humor and the practical jokes he played with teammates. Even when they went out, he was one of the pacesetters. “I had a lot of fun,” he said later. “It just wasn’t right that I always went out. Then you won’t be in Anderlecht’s first team for eleven years. That was possible after the match and on Monday when we had congé. Then all the Football teams went to dancing 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 gueuze as a farewell gift
In 1980, the then 29-year-old Van Binst left Anderlecht for an adventure with Toulouse, France. “Raoul Lambert received a salon when he left Club Brugge,” Van Binst laughed. “I received a container of Geuze at Anderlecht and I had to return the empties myself.” Although he played everything at Toulouse and narrowly missed 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 sign him. “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 Club we played against relegation in the first year.”
Van Binst finally retired in 1983 and started working as assistant coach to Georg Kessler at Club. When he left, Van Binst tried it himself as a coach, but after stints at Wallonia Namur, Lauwe and Oostnieuwkerke he gave up.
After his active playing career, Van Binst went on the road as a representative of water softeners for 22 years. “Every café had to have that. I had the best customers in the evening. Then I stuck. How I sometimes got home, that would no longer be possible,” he admitted. He also started working as a journalist and wrote a column for many years The Newspaper. In 2009 he released the book Circus Football from, a collection of anecdotes from his career.
Parkinson
In 2016 it was announced that Van Binst had been affected by Parkinson’s disease and was recovering from prostate cancer. “Medication allows me to lead a normal life, but I don’t know for how long,” he said in an interview. “My coordination is no longer very good, but I can make my plan. I’ve had a hard life. Today I pay for the excesses of the past. My body has given up on sports and all those kinds of things.” He rarely went to Lotto Park, but occasionally he appeared in the media to have his say about Anderlecht in his unadulterated style. From “Constant Vanden Stock would turn in his grave” to “This is no longer my Anderlecht”.
