Raymond Van Gestel (20 January 1930 – 17 April 2020) was a Belgian footballer, athlete and pilot.[1] He spent most of his career with Lyra.[2]
 Van Gestel in 1953. | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 20 January 1930 | ||
| Place of birth | Mol, Belgium | ||
| Date of death | 17 April 2020 (aged 90) | ||
| Place of death | Mol, Belgium | ||
| Position(s) | Right winger | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1946–1948 | SV Mol | ||
| 1948–1958 | Lyra | 168 | (92) |
| 1958–1962 | Verbroedering Geel | ||
| Total | 168+ | (92+) | |
| International career | |||
| 1951–1953 | Belgium | 5 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
Born in Mol, Van Gestel played as a right winger for SV Mol, Lyra and Verbroedering Geel.[3] In total he played 57 games in the first division scoring a total of 32 goals.[4]
In 1954, when Lyra were promoted to the First Division, he suffered a severe knee injury, largely ending his career.[5] In total he played 168 league games for Lyra, scoring 92 goals.[3][6]
International career
During his career he also earned 5 caps for the Belgium national team between 1951 and 1953, scoring 2 goals.[3] Both goals came against Spain on 10 June 1951; the first goal was scored after only 17 seconds in the game, giving him the then-record of the fastest goal scored for the national team.[7][1] Following the game against Spain he was nicknamed Raimundo el rapido and he was close to a transfer to Spanish club Espanyol, but Lyra refused the deal.[8]
In 1954 he was selected for the Belgian squad for the World Cup in Zürich, but he could not join the team due to a military mission in Africa as a fighter pilot with the Belgian air force.[5]
Athletics career
He was also active as an athlete in the long jump and sprints. He was the Belgian long jump champion.[9] Due to his versatility he is one of the few Belgian athletes ever to compete in different sports at an international level in the same year.[10]
Later life and death
Van Gestel was a Fighter pilot for the Belgian air force and flight instructor.[11][12] As an instructor he trained around 2000 students.[13] Together with his brother he was also one of the founding members of the Belgian Flying club Keiheuvel.[10][14]