Jef Mermans


Josephus Antoon Louisa "Jef" Mermans, nicknamed "The Bomber", was a football striker from Belgium, who played much of his career at Anderlecht, with whom he won seven Belgian Championship titles and finished top scorer of this competition three times. He played 405 games and scored 369 goals for Anderlecht, making him the club's all time topscorer.
Mermans played 56 matches with the football team">Association football">football team, 2 of which were in the 1954 [FIFA World Cup]. He is also the 6th top scorer ever for the Belgium national team with 27 goals.
Mermans was born in Merksem and died in Wildert.

Early career

In the early 1930s, the young Mermans, along with a couple of friends, could not afford to become members of FC Antwerp. Eventually, the boys tried their luck at K. [Tubantia Borgerhout V.K.|Tubantia F.A.C.], a small club in the Antwerp suburb, and forced themselves into the youth team.
Five years later, Mermans entered the first team. His progress caught the attention of the federal coach and Jef was selected for a Belgium B squad match against Luxembourg in January 1939. At this point, he received a proposal to play in the Beerschot V.A.C.|Beerschot] team twice in two years, but Tubantia Borgerhout refused.
A member of the Anderlecht staff arrived at Borgerhout in 1942 with a blank check that was filled in with the record sum of 125,000 Belgian francs in a quarter of an hour.

Anderlecht career

On his arrival at Anderlecht, the Championship was quite erratic due to the World War II, but he helped Anderlecht in becoming a regular team. In 1947, Mermans was the key player in the conquest of the first Anderlecht title in first division as he scored 38 goals. He was top European goalscorer of the season 1949-1950 netting 37 goals.
At the peak of his career, Anderlecht received offers from A.S. Roma, Torino Calcio, Atalanta Bergamo, Real Madrid, S.S. Lazio and Atlético Madrid but refused them all.

Late career

In 1957, the Bomber, as he was called for his powerful strikes, left Anderlecht for the small K. Olse Merksem club in his native town. With him, the club promoted from 3rd to 2nd division and even finished 4th in 1960 for its first season at this level. Later on, the club was renamed Olse Mermans to celebrate the player.

Career statistics

Club

Source:
Note: The goals that Mermans scored in the games of the uncompleted 1944-45 season are not taken into account.

International

CapDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.521 September 1947Heysel Stadium, Brussels1–3Friendly
2.818 April 1948De Kuip, Rotterdam1–1Friendly
3.106 June 1948Heysel Stadium, Brussels3–2Friendly
4.1117 October 1948Stade Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes1–2Friendly
5.1413 March 1949Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam2–0rowspan="2"Friendly
6.1413 March 1949Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam3–3-Friendly
7.1524 April 1949Dalymount Park, Dublin2–0Friendly
8.172 October 1949Heysel Stadium, Brussels3–0Friendly
9.2116 April 1950Bosuilstadion, Antwerp1–0Friendly
10.2210 May 1950Heysel Stadium, Brussels1–0rowspan="3"Friendly
11.2210 May 1950Heysel Stadium, Brussels3–0-Friendly
12.2210 May 1950Heysel Stadium, Brussels5–1-Friendly
13.2318 May 1950Heysel Stadium, Brussels1–0Friendly
14.244 June 1950Heysel Stadium, Brussels1–0rowspan="3"Friendly
15.244 June 1950Heysel Stadium, Brussels3–1-Friendly
16.244 June 1950Heysel Stadium, Brussels4–1-Friendly
17.251 November 1950Stade Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes2–0rowspan="2"Friendly
18.251 November 1950Stade Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes3–2-Friendly
19.2612 November 1950Bosuilstadion, Antwerp2–0rowspan="2"Friendly
20.2612 November 1950Bosuilstadion, Antwerp5–1-Friendly
21.2715 April 1951Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam2–1Friendly
22.3422 May 1952Heysel Stadium, Brussels1–2Friendly
23.3519 October 1952Bosuilstadion, Antwerp2–1Friendly
24.4122 November 1953Hardturm, Zurich1–0Friendly
25.434 April 1954Bosuilstadion, Antwerp1–0Friendly
26.444 April 1954Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb2–0Friendly
27.4530 May 1954Heysel Stadium, Brussels1–0Friendly
28.5411 March 1956Heysel Stadium, Brussels1–1Friendly

Honours

RSC Anderlecht
Olse Merksem
Individual

Books

Mijn voetbal en ik by Jef Mermans in 1952, Uitgeverij STADION 126 p. Joseph Mermans - L Anderlechtois aux... 50 capes! by Marcel Grosjean in 1954, 36 p. Eeuwige 25: Anderlecht: van Jef Mermans tot Vincent Kompany by Raf Willems in 2019, Willems Uitgevers, 107 p. Jef Mermans. Bombardier: de voetballer die Anderlecht naar de top loodste by Stefan van Loock in 2022, Willems Uitgevers, 276 p.