Matz Sels
.jpg) With Gent in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 26 February 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Lint, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Newcastle United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2014 | Lierse | 32 | (0) |
| 2014–2016 | Gent | 102 | (0) |
| 2016– | Newcastle United | 0 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2009 | Belgium U17 | 2 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Belgium U18 | 8 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Belgium U19 | 5 | (0) |
| 2012–2014 | Belgium U21 | 4 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 March 2016 | |||
Matz Sels (born 26 February 1992) is a Belgian footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Newcastle United.
Club career
Lierse SK
Sels started his youth career at Kontich, but made a transfer to Lierse at the age of seven. Over there, he started in 2010 in the first team. After Eiji Kawashima had left for Standard Liège in the summer of 2012, Sels was the first keeper. In his first game in First Division, on 29 July 2012 against Gent, he stopped a penalty. At the start of the 2013–2014 season, when he refused to sign a new contract, he was demoted to the Second Team.
KAA Gent
On 31 December 2013, it was announced that Sels would complete a transfer to KAA Gent once the transfer window opened. Sels would become the number one goal keeper as current number one, Frank Boeckx, contract was expiring at the end of the season. Sels made his debut for Gent on 14 January 2014 against KV Courtrai, in the quarter finals of the Belgian Cup. Sels was one of the star players of Gent, helping Gent qualify for the next round after penalties; with the game ending in 1-1 on aggregate
Sels played a key role in helping Gent become champions of the 2014–15 Belgian Pro League; the first national championship in their club history. This triumph allowed Gent to qualify for the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League.
On his Champions League debut Sels dramatically saved an Alexandre Lacazette penalty to help his side secure a 1-1 draw with Olympique Lyonnais.[1] On the 13th of January 2016 he was voted Best Goalkeeper of Belgium 2015. [2]
Newcastle United
On 29 June 2016, Sels finalised a transfer to Newcastle United on a five-year contract.[3]
International career
Sels was called up to the Belgium squad in October 2015 for Euro 2016 qualifiers against Andorra and Israel.[4]
Statistics
- As of 4 March 2016
| Season | Team | Country | Competition | Competition | Cup | International | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed. | Dlp. | Wed. | Dlp. | Wed. | Dlp. | Wed. | Dlp. | ||||
| 2010–11 | Lierse SK | Belgium | Jupiler Pro League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2011–12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2012– | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0 | |||
| 2013–14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| KAA Gent | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | 39 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16 | 30 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 43 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 115 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 138 | 0 | |||
Honours
Individual
- Professional Goalkeeper of the Year (2015–16)
References
- ^ "Nine-man Gent claim heroic 1-1 draw with Lyon in Group H". Guardian. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- ^ "Matz Sels weer trapje hoger: Beste doelman van 2015". HLN. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ^ "Magpies Complete Sels Signing" (Press release). Newcastle United F.C. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
- ^ "Belgium make sweeping changes for Euro 2016 double-header". Sky Sports. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
External links
- Matz Sels at Soccerway
- Belgium Stats at Belgian FA
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