 De Bruyne playing for Chelsea in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kevin De Bruyne[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 28 June 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Drongen, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder / Winger | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Chelsea | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1997–1999 | KVV Drongen | ||
| 1999–2005 | Gent | ||
| 2005–2008 | Genk | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2008–2012 | Genk | 92 | (16) |
| 2012– | Chelsea | 3 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | → Werder Bremen (loan) | 32 | (10) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2008–2009 | Belgium U18 | 7 | (1) |
| 2009 | Belgium U19 | 10 | (1) |
| 2011 | Belgium U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2010– | Belgium | 18 | (4) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 August 2013.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 October 2013 | |||
Kevin De Bruyne (Dutch pronunciation: [də ˈbrœy̆nə]; born 28 June 1991) is a Belgian footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for English club Chelsea in the Premier League.
Club career
Early career
De Bruyne began his career with hometown club KVV Drongen in 2003. Two years later, he joinedGent and in 2005 moved to Genk. De Bruyne continued his development in their youth set-up and was rewarded for his progress by being promoted to the first team squad in 2008.
Genk
De Bruyne made his first team debut for Genk in a 3–0 defeat at Charleroi on 9 May 2009.[3] Having established himself in the team the following season,[4] On 7 February 2010, De Bruyne scored his first goal for the club, which secured all three points for Genk in a 1–0 win against Standard Liège.[5]He scored five goals and made 16 assists in 32 league matches during the 2010–11 season as Genk were crowned Belgian champions for the third time.[6] On 29 October 2011, De Bruyne scored his first hat-trick for Genk against Club Brugge, which ended in a 5–4 win for Genk.[7] On 28 January 2012, De Bruyne scored a brace against OH Leuven in a 5–0 win.[8] On 18 February 2012, De Bruyne scored his first goal back at Genk following his agreed transfer to Chelsea and also assisted the other goal in a 1–2 away win against Mons.[9] De Bruyne ended the season by wrapping up the scoring in a 3–1 victory over Gent. He finished the league campaign with eight goals from 28 appearances.[4]
Chelsea
On 31 January 2012, on the winter transfer deadline day, English Premier League club Chelsea and Genk announced the permanent signing of De Bruyne, with the fee rumoured to be in the region of £7 million.[10] He signed a five-and-a-half-year contract at Stamford Bridge, but would stay at Genk for the remainder of the 2011–12 season. De Bruyne told the club website, "To come to a team like Chelsea is a dream but now I have to work hard to achieve the level that's necessary."[11][12] On 18 July 2012, De Bruyne made his debut for Chelsea in a friendly match against Major League Soccer(MLS) side Seattle Sounders FC in a 4–2 win. De Bruyne also played the first half against FrenchLigue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain at Yankee Stadium, New York.
Loan to Werder Bremen
On 2 August 2012, Chelsea announced on their official website that De Bruyne was to join Werder Bremen in the German Bundesliga on a season-long loan deal after having successfully completed a medical.[13] De Bruyne scored his first goal for Bremen in a 3–2 defeat to Hannover 96 on 15 September, netting from 11 yards out after being played in by Eljero Elia.[14] De Bruyne continued his good form, scoring in Bremen's next game, a 2–2 draw with VfB Stuttgart, on 23 September.[15] De Bruyne got back on the score sheet on 18 November, scoring the winning goal — despite his team being down to 10 men — as Bremen came from a goal down to defeat Fortuna Düsseldorf 2–1.[16]
De Bruyne scored his first goal in over two months on 4 May 2013, since netting a consolation goal in Bayern Munich's 6–1 hammering of Bremen, putting his side up 2–0 at home to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim before a late brace from Sven Schipplock meant that the game finished 2–2.[17] He followed this up with a goal in Bremen's next match, securing a place in the Bundesliga for the next season with a 1–1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt on 11 May.[18]
Return to Chelsea
After a successful loan spell in the German Bundesliga with Werder Bremen, De Bruyne was linked with a move to stay in Germany with either Borussia Dortmund or Bayer Leverkusen. Incoming manager José Mourinho, however, assured De Bruyne he was a part of Chelsea's plan for the future, and the player officially was returned to Chelsea on 1 July 2013. De Bruyne's agent, Patrick De Koster, explained, "We didn't receive any guarantees, but that's normal in a club like Chelsea. It's up to him [De Bruyne] to prove, like he did in the last 18 months." [19]
On 21 July 2013, De Bruyne scored his first goal for Chelsea during a friendly game against Malaysia XI, but he injured himself in the process of scoring the goal.[20]
On 18 August 2013, De Bruyne made his competitive debut for Chelsea in the opening fixture of the 2013–14 Premier League season against Hull City, getting an assist for the first goal in the 2-0 win for Chelsea.[21]
International career
De Bruyne was capped by Belgium at under-18, under-19, and under-21 level. He made his debut for the Belgian senior team on 11 August 2010 in an international friendly against Finland in Turku; the game ended in a 1–0 loss for Belgium.[22]
De Bruyne became a regular member of Belgium's team during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, where he scored four goals as the Red Devils qualified for their first major tournament in 12 years.
