Jonathan Legear

Summary

Jonathan Fernand Jean Legear (born 13 April 1987) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for RCS Verlaine in the fourth-tier Belgian Division 2.

Jonathan Legear
Personal information
Full name Jonathan Fernand Jean Legear
Date of birth (1987-04-13) 13 April 1987 (age 36)
Place of birth Liège, Belgium
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Right winger
Team information
Current team
RCS Verlaine
Number 30
Youth career
1995–1998 JS Thier-à-Liège
1998–2003 Standard Liège
2003–2004 Anderlecht
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2011 Anderlecht 122 (19)
2011–2013 Terek Grozny 22 (1)
2014 KV Mechelen 3 (0)
2014–2015 Blackpool 0 (0)
2015–2017 Standard Liège 27 (4)
2017–2019 Sint-Truiden 37 (6)
2019 Adana Demirspor 7 (1)
2020–2023 URSL Visé 49 (9)
2023– RCS Verlaine 11 (4)
International career
2003 Belgium U16 10 (2)
2003–2004 Belgium U17 9 (2)
2004–2006 Belgium U19 20 (3)
2006–2008 Belgium U21 8 (3)
2010 Belgium 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 November 2023

Club career edit

Legear moved to Anderlecht from their rivals Standard Liège in 2003. He scored his first goal in the Jupiler League against Standard Liège in the 2004–05 season.[1]

He was initially registered to the football club of J.S Thier (Jeunesse sportive du Thier-à-Liège), a small club near Liège at the age of eight, a club where he showed a promising future in Belgian football. From there he was scouted by the Standard Liège Academy who recruited him in 1998. Despite the tacit agreement between the top three clubs in Belgium, which prevents transfers between those clubs academies, Legear moved from Standard to Anderlecht in 2003.

In the 2007–08 season, Legear made the breakthrough into the Anderlecht starting XI and featured regularly in the team's Jupiler League and European competition matches. This was a result of his increasing level of performances, as well as Anderlecht's lack of attacking options on the right wing. He was touted as the next Christian Wilhelmsson, with similar hair color and speed on the flank.

On 26 August 2011, Legear joined Terek Grozny of the Russian Premier League, signing a three-year contract for a fee of €1.8 million.[2][3] He made his league debut on 12 September 2011 against Kuban Krasnodar, a match which Terek lost 1–2.[4] Legear marked his first goal in the 2012–13 season, scoring the opener against Mordovia Saransk on 10 November 2012 to give his side a 2–1 victory.[5] On 17 January 2014, his contract was terminated by mutual consent after disagreements between him and the club.[6]

Legear returned to Belgium on 31 January 2014, penning a six-month deal with KV Mechelen.[7] He made his first league appearance on 28 February 2014 as a substitute for Boubacar Dialiba during the second half in their 1–0 win over Lokeren.[8]

He joined Blackpool on 4 November 2014, in a one-year deal.[9] His contract was terminated, by mutual consent, on 28 January 2015.

International career edit

Legear made his debut for the Belgium national team on 8 October 2010 in a 2–0 European Championship qualifier win against Kazakhstan.[10]

Personal life edit

On 7 October 2012, Legear was involved in a car accident in which he crashed his car, while being drunk, inside an Esso gas station located in Tongeren, having mistaken the accelerator pedal for the brake. Damage costs were revealed to be between €250,000 and €300,000 by an Esso spokesman, with Legear also receiving a two-week driving suspension.[11] He had earlier been involved in a similar incident in 2009, where he was sentenced to 50 hours of community service for having driven his car into a house after a night out.[12]

Honours edit

Anderlecht

Standard Liège

References edit

  1. ^ "Stats Centre: Jonathan Legear Facts". Guardian.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
  2. ^ "Jonathan Legear naar Terek Grozny". Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). 26 August 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  3. ^ "Legear: Je ne pouvais pas refuser Grozny". 7sur7 (in French). 26 August 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  4. ^ "Legear zorgt direct voor assist". Sport.be (in Dutch). 12 September 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  5. ^ "Terek beat Mordovia to end losing run". R Sport. 10 November 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  6. ^ "Legear verlaat Terek Grozny". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 17 January 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  7. ^ "Officiel: Jonathan Legear rejoint le FC Malines!". RTL (in French). 31 January 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  8. ^ "Mechelen verzekert zich bijna van behoud tegen Lokeren". Sporza (in Dutch). 28 February 2014. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  9. ^ "Legear Becomes A Seasider" - Blackpool F.C.'s official website, 4 November 2014
  10. ^ "Uefa.com profile of Jonathan Legear Uefa.com accessed 3 November 2010
  11. ^ Bailey, Ryan (8 October 2012). "Belgian midfielder Jonathan Legear crashes car into gas station, was only slightly drunk". Yahoo! Sports. Yahoo!. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  12. ^ Dicker, Ron (8 October 2012). "Jonathan Legear, Belgian soccer player, crashes Porsche into store". Huffington Post. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  13. ^ "Club Brugge v Standard Liège Starting XIs, Mar 20, 2016". goal.com. Retrieved 22 April 2022.

External links edit