Rik De Saedeleer

Foto: Filip Naudts
Personal information
Full name	Rik De Saedeleer
Date of birth	(1924-01-17)17 January 1924
Place of birth	Mechelen, Belgium
Date of death	3 March 2013(2013-03-03) (aged 89)
Place of death	Knokke, Belgium
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1939–1954	Racing Mechelen	285	(160)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Rik De Saedeleer (17 January 1924 – 3 March 2013) was a Belgian footballer, columnist and television sports commentator.

De Saedeleer played the majority of his career at hometown club Racing Mechelen with whom he was runner-up in the 1951–52 Belgian First Division and was once called up for the Belgium national team for a 1949 friendly match against a squad made up of London-based professionals.

After retiring as a player, De Saedeleer wanted to be a football coach^[1] but instead became columnist at Het Laatste Nieuws and Belgium's best known football commentator, reporting from several World Cups. He was known for his emotional and humorous reports.^[2] He retired after the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.

He died on 3 March 2013 after spending most of his final years in hospital. He was survived by his wife and two daughters.^[3]

• Rik De Saedeleer (1990). Goooooal! Goal! Goal! (in Dutch). ISBN 9789050960632.
• Carl Huybrechts; Benno Wauters; Rik De Saedeleer (2011). Rik De Saedeleer: de stem van ons voetbal: memoires [Rik De Saedeleer: the voice of our football: memoirs] (in Dutch). ISBN 9789089312501.

• Kort portret Rik De Saedeleer (bio) - Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch)