Stijn Vreven

Stijn Vreven (born 18 July 1973) is a Belgian professional football manager and a former player who is the manager of Oostende.
Career
Vreven's career began when he signed a professional contract with Y.R. K.V. Mechelen, making his first first-team appearance in 1993, at the age of 20. After four seasons in Mechelen he moved to K.A.A. Gent where he developed into a better player for another two seasons. Then he made the step abroad to play for Dutch side FC Utrecht. In four seasons Vreven developed from an unknown player into a hero among the FC Utrecht supporters. He's known for his determination and aggressiveness, which gave him the status of a real killer on the pitch. After his period in Utrecht he moved to Germany to play for Bundesliga side 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He was not able to become a first team regular and returned to The Netherlands the year after where he played for Vitesse Arnhem. At Vitesse he showed that he still had the same determination and became a regular from the start. When criticising his own team mates in December 2005 manager Edward Sturing placed Vreven in Vitesse's second team. A few weeks later he left the team to sign a new contract at AC Omonia in Cyprus. After playing just six matches he returned to The Netherlands once again, where he joined ADO Den Haag.
In March 2007, Vreven was diagnosed with diabetes (type 1). This did not stop him, however, from continuing to play football. In August 2007, Vreven played for Sint-Truiden and joined in January 2008 K.S.K. Tongeren on loan. He returned in summer 2008 to K. Sint-Truidense V.V. and moved to K.E.S.K. Leopoldsburg. In November 2010 he left K.E.S.K. Leopoldsburg and signed a contract as player-coach by KFC Esperanza Neerpelt.
From 2012 till June 2015 he was the coach of K.F.C. Dessel Sport. He was the coach of Waasland-Beveren from July 2015 to October 2016.
On 20 June 2023, Vreven was hired as manager of Oostende, recently relegated from the Belgian Pro League.
Honours
Utrecht
KNVB Cup: 2002–03
References
External links
1973 births
Living people
Belgian men's footballers
Belgium men's international footballers
Belgium men's youth international footballers
Belgium men's under-21 international footballers
Men's association football defenders
K.V. Mechelen players
K.A.A. Gent players
FC Utrecht players
1. FC Kaiserslautern players
SBV Vitesse players
AC Omonia players
ADO Den Haag players
Sint-Truidense V.V. players
Belgian Pro League players
Belgian football managers
Belgian expatriate football managers
NAC Breda managers
Eredivisie players
Bundesliga players
Cypriot First Division players
Belgian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands
Belgian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus
Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus
Footballers from Hasselt
K.S.K. Tongeren players
K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen managers
Lommel S.K. managers
AS Trenčín managers
K.V. Oostende managers
Expatriate football managers in Slovakia
Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Slovakia
Slovak First Football League managers