Thomas Buffel (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtoːmɑzˈbʏfəl]; born 19 February 1981) is a Belgian professional football coach and a former player who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. He is the manager of Jong Genk in Challenger Pro League. He represented the Belgium national team at international level.

Club career

Thomas Buffel in Genk

Early career

Buffel began his career with Belgian sides Daring Ruddervoorde and Cercle Brugge before making a move to the Netherlands.

Buffel played for the Dutch team Feyenoord in the 1999–2000 season, before moving to their feeder team Excelsior Rotterdam from 2000 to 2002. He returned to Feyenoord for the 2002–03 Eredivisie season. He reportedly fell out with then-manager Ruud Gullit in the next season "after refusing to sign a new contract".

Rangers

Buffel moved to the Scottish side Rangers in January 2005 in a £2.3 million, four-and-a-half-year deal. He made his debut in the Scottish Cup coming on as a substitute against Old Firm rivals Celtic in what was to be a 2–1 defeat. However, the season did not end badly for him as he was to play a key role in the 2005 Scottish League Cup Final, where Rangers defeated Motherwell 5–1. He also featured in the Rangers team for the latter part of the season where he would help them to their 51st league title making it a double for his first season with the club. Buffel scored five goals in 18 appearances in all competitions.

Buffel featured in the Champions League and helped Rangers reach the last 16 of the tournament, where they lost to Villarreal 3–3 on aggregate and were knocked out on away goals rule. Across all competitions, he scored seven goals in 38 appearances during the 2005–2006 season mostly playing in the midfield.[citation needed]

In the 2007 January transfer window, German club Hannover 96 expressed an interest in him, with Rangers manager Walter Smith saying Buffel was free to leave. However, the deal fell through when Buffel was unable to agree personal terms with the Bundesliga side. It was announced on 9 February 2007 that Buffel would undergo surgery on a long-term knee injury and would not take any further part in the 2006–07 season. He returned to action on 26 September as a substitute in a Scottish League Cup tie against East Fife. He would go on to make just five appearances in all competitions in his final season at Rangers.

Cercle Brugge

Buffel's Rangers career came to an end when he joined former club Cercle Brugge on 1 July 2008.

Genk

In the 2009 summer transfer window Buffel made a last-minute transfer to KRC Genk as part of a deal between Genk and Cercle Brugge with Jelle Vossen (on loan) and Hans Cornelis moving the opposite way.

In the 2010–11 season he won the Belgian league title with Genk.

His contract was not renewed at the end of the 2017–18 season.

Zulte Waregem

In June 2018, it was announced Buffel would continue his career at Zulte Waregem.

Buffel retired at the end of the 2018–19 season.

International career

Buffel made his debut for Belgium against Andorra in October 2002 in what was to be a 1–0 victory. He has since then gained 35 caps and scored 7 goals.

Coaching career

Buffel began his coaching career in September 2019, when he was appointed assistant manager to Jacky Mathijssen at the Belgium national U-19 team. In March 2020, Buffel and Mathijssen was promoted to the U-21 national team.

On 3 February 2021, Buffel was also hired as an assistant manager for former club Cercle Brugge under newly appointed manager Yves Vanderhaeghe, next to his job at the national team. However, on 5 October 2021, Buffel decided to leave the position, as he was going to start his Pro License course and he therefore no longer could combine his two jobs.

On 18 June 2024, Buffel was hired as head coach of Jong Genk, the reserve team of Genk that plays in the second-tier Challenger Pro League.

Personal life

Buffel was married to Stephanie De Buysser, with whom he had twin sons born in November 2013. They married in June 2016, when De Buysser was already suffering from colon cancer. On 26 January 2017, De Buysser died.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalOtherTotalRef.
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Excelsior (loan)2000–01Eerste Divisie3112——3112
2001–023215——3215
Total63270000006327–
Feyenoord2002–03Eredivisie311870103918
2003–04341542—3817
2004–0515260—212
Total803500172109837–
Rangers2004–05Scottish Premier League1010053154
2005–062447150365
2006–071635100214
2007–081010200040
Total518101421037613–
Cercle Brugge2008–09Belgian First Division303——303
2009–10Belgian Pro League52–—25
Total355000000355–
Genk2009–10Belgian Pro League25420—93367
2010–11261202070371
2011–12268109180449
2012–1329451112100557
2013–142631091103467
2014–15283100063356
2015–1628641001234410
2016–17Belgian First Division A21220174102508
2017–18263610090414
Total23534243488811438859–
Cercle Brugge2018–19Belgian First Division A18420—10214
Career total48211327379129317681145–

International

Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Buffel goal.

List of international goals scored by Thomas Buffel
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
130 April 2003King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, BelgiumPoland2–03–1Friendly
211 October 2003Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège, BelgiumEstonia2–02–0Euro 2004 Qualification
318 August 2004Ullevaal, Oslo, NorwayNorway1–02–2Friendly
42–1
526 March 2005King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, BelgiumBosnia and Herzegovina4–14–12006 World Cup Qualification
67 September 2005Olympisch Stadion, Antwerp, BelgiumSan Marino3–08–02006 World Cup Qualification

Honours

Rangers

Genk

Individual

External links