Van hege

Louis Van Hege was born on May 8, 1889 in Ukkel commune, located in the Brussels-Capital Region .

At the age of 11, Van Hege joined the Union Saint-Zhiyuaz club, where he played in the youth team for 6 years. In 1906, Van Hege debuted at the heart of the club and quickly became the indispensable player of the Union, and soon one of the most popular players in Belgium.

In 1910, Union takes a big European tour, playing with different teams, he also visits Italy , where, among others, he plays with the Milan club, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. The Belgian club won 2-0, but Van Hege himself did not take part in the match, despite this that year, along with his partners Max Tobias and Roger Pierard , Van Hage, whose fame reached Italy, goes to Milan, in which he debuts November 27, 1910 with the club " Genoa ". In the very first season, Van Hage became the team leader, scoring 19 goals in 16 matches, and Milan took second place in the second group, losing only to the future champion “ Pro Vercelli ”. In the very first season, the Van Hague club was nicknamed the Pale Gunman because of the pale color of his face and the actions on the field, which included excellent dripping and a powerful and accurate hit. Van Hage scored his best words: he scored 18 goals in 17 games in the 1911–1912 season, 17 goals in 18 games in the 1912–1913 season, and Wang Hage scored the home team in a friendly match dedicated to the opening of the Bologna Club stadium 7 goals (the match ended with a score of 7: 0). In the season of 1913–1914, Van Hage accepted the club’s captain’s armband, in return for Giuseppe Rizzi , who left in the Internationale . Despite the fact that in the early to mid-1910s, Milan did not shine, being content at the top of the tournament table, but not winning championships, Van Hege was one of the best strikers in the Italian championship, which he tirelessly argued by scoring 21 goals in 17 matches in the 1914–1915 season and 22 goals in 20 matches in the 1915–1916 season, in total in 91 matches he scored 98 goals (in the championship 97 - goals in 88 matches), more than one goal per match, the last time the Belgian played in the composition of "Milan" in the match for the Lombard region cup on December 10, 1916 with the club "Enotria". Van Hage was also famous for the fact that, leaving Milan’s office and going to the team’s training session, he, dressed in a jacket and tie, always reached the training field faster than the tram reaches it. During the First World War , in 1916, Van Hage returned to his homeland in Belgium, where he held friendly matches for his former Union Saint-Zhiyuaz club against Italy and Milan, and sent money from the fees for the needs of charity.

In the Belgian national team, Van Hege held 29 matches and scored 11 goals, he was part of the team that won the Olympics gold in 1920 (at this tournament, Van Hage scored one goal in the semifinals with the Netherlands team). He played his first match on March 9, 1919 with a team of France (2: 2), and the first official match Van Hage held as part of a national team on February 17, 1920 with the British , in which Belgium was stronger - 3: 1. The last official game of Van Hage was held on May 29, 1924 with the Swedish team at the 1924 Olympics in Paris , the Belgians were defeated by the Scandinavians 1: 8, a month later, on June 10, in a friendly rematch Belgium - Sweden, the Belgians won 5: 0 , this match was the last for Van Hage in the national team shirt.

In addition to football, Van Hage was a bobsledder, he participated in the 1932 Olympics , where he finished 9th.

After finishing his football career, Van Hage worked at the Pirelli Representative Office in Belgium, a tire company whose owner was the president of Milan. Van Hege died on June 24, 1975 in his native Ukkele.

• Olympics gold medalist : 1920

• Louis Van Hege - Olympic statistics on Sports-Reference.com (English)
• Stars "Milan"
• Article on magliarossonera.it