Full name Gregory Mertens Name Gregory Mertens Career end 2015 Playing position Weight 78 kg | Place of death Genk, Belgium Height 1.90 m Role Football player Position Defender | |
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Date of birth (1991-02-02)2 February 1991 Date of death 30 April 2015(2015-04-30) (aged 24) Died April 30, 2015, Genk, Belgium Number 4 (K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen / Defender) | ||
Place of birth Anderlecht, Belgium | ||
Belgian footballer gregory mertens diesafter collapsing on pitch breaking news
Gregory Mertens (2 February 1991 – 30 April 2015) was a Belgian professional football player. His usual position was central defender. He last played for Lokeren.
Contents
- Belgian footballer gregory mertens diesafter collapsing on pitch breaking news
- Gregory mertens ex belgium u21 player dies after collapse breaking news 01 05 2015
- Career
- Death
- References
Gregory mertens ex belgium u21 player dies after collapse breaking news 01 05 2015
Career
Mertens moved from the reserves of K.A.A. Gent to the first team of Cercle Brugge in the 2010–11 winter transfer window, at the recommendation of manager Bob Peeters, who had been his coach at the Gent reserves the previous season.
On 12 February 2011, Mertens made his senior debut for Cercle as an 89th-minute substitute for Hans Cornelis in a match against his former team R.S.C. Anderlecht. Cercle lost the match 1–0.
On 23 May 2013, he scored his first hat trick against WS Woluwe.
Death
Mertens suffered a cardiac arrest during a reserve game for Lokeren against K.R.C. Genk on 27 April 2015. He was immediately taken to hospital where he was put in an artificially induced coma. He died on 30 April 2015 at around 16:30. Lokeren declared that Mertens had passed all fitness tests set by UEFA, and therefore the cause of his cardiac arrest needed to be established.
On the day after his death, Lokeren lined up for their play-off match against Westerlo in T-shirts bearing Mertens' name and squad number 4.