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Hugo Cuypers

Hugo Cuypers (born 7 February 1997) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer.

Hugo Cuypers
Personal information
Date of birth (1997-02-07) 7 February 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Liège, Belgium
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Chicago Fire
Number 9
Youth career
FC De Zwaluw Vechmaal
−2012 Excelsior Veldwezelt
2012−2014 Visé
2014−2016 Standard Liège
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2017 Standard Liège 1 (0)
2016–2017 → Seraing (loan) 19 (6)
2017–2018 Ergotelis 28 (22)
2019–2021 Olympiacos 10 (1)
2019–2020 → Ajaccio (loan) 22 (5)
2021–2022 Mechelen 34 (13)
2022–2024 Gent 57 (33)
2024– Chicago Fire 31 (10)
International career
2016 Belgium U19 3 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 October 2024

Club career

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Youth

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Cuypers began his career at Zwaluw Vechmaal, followed by fourth-tier Belgian side Excelsior Veldwezelt.[1] When the latter went bankrupt in 2012, Cuypers moved to Visé.[2] He played for Les Oies for three seasons, and was eventually picked up by Belgian top tier side Standard Liège in the summer of 2014, when Visé also went bankrupt.

Standard Liège

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After his move to Les Rouches, Cuypers' made an impression in his debut season for the club's U−19 outfit, scoring 31 times and dishing out 13 assists.[2] He added an additional 2 goals with Standard Liège U−21,[1] thus drawing the interest of several European top clubs.[2] In June 2015, Cuypers signed a new two-year contract with Standard Liège and made his professional debut on 3 April 2016, coming in as a late substitute for Renaud Emond during the play-off II home match vs. Waasland-Beveren.[2]

RFC Seraing (loan)

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On 31 October 2016, Cuypers was loaned out to Belgian First Amateur Division side Seraing.[3] He managed to score six goals in a total of nineteen caps during his loan spell.[4]

Ergotelis

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In the summer of 2017, Cuypers was acquired by Greek Football League side Ergotelis, owned by Egyptian businessman Maged Samy, who also owned Belgian second tier side Lierse at the time.[5] Despite rumors of a possible loan move to Lierse,[6] Cuypers signed a two-year contract with the Cretans and joined Ergotelis' pre-season build-up at Karpenisi.[7]

During his first season with the Cretans, Cuypers became a permanent starter and made an immediate impact for his new club, scoring three goals in the first four matches of the 2017–18 Greek Football League during a 1−1 draw vs. Chania − Kissamikos on 5 November 2017,[8] a 2−1 loss vs. Panachaiki on 12 November 2017,[9] and a 2−3 loss vs. Aris on 19 November 2017.[10] Despite Ergotelis' rough start and early struggle to avoid relegation, Cuypers became the club's most prolific player, strongly following up on his early performances by scoring goals on a regular basis and eventually "victimizing" 14 out of the total 16 opponents faced by Ergotelis during the season. He had his first two-goal performance vs. Veria on 21 January 2018,[11] a feat he repeated on 1 April against fellow relegation candidates Panegialios during a decisive 5−1 home win for the Cretans.[12] At the end of the first round, Cuypers had already scored 11 goals in 16 games and by match-day 27 he had tallied up 20 goals, almost single-handedly giving his club a chance of staying in the division. He became the first player to score over 20 goals for Ergotelis in one season in 12 years, a feat which earned Cuypers a spot in the club's list of all-time top-scorers in Greek professional division. On 20 May 2018 Cuypers scored his fourth brace during the season, in a 5−1 home win against Aiginiakos, which cemented his team's place above the relegation zone.[13] After scoring 22 goals in 28 caps, Cuypers became the most productive player in club history in the competition, surpassing Ergotelis' all-time scoring legend Patrick Ogunsoto's 21-goal season performance in 2006. His performances reportedly drew the attention of several Greek top-tier clubs as a result,[14] including newly-crowned Superleague champions AEK Athens,[15] who reportedly placed a €380,000 bid for the player, along with offering two of the club's players on loan to the Cretans.[16] However, despite reports of the two teams reaching a deal, the transfer fell through after both Cuypers and manager Jacques Lichtenstein gave statements to the Belgian press, which ruled out any transfer to AEK Athens, reportedly due to «lack of respect».[17] He subsequently failed to report for Ergotelis' 2018−19 pre-season preparation and effectively placed himself out of the team.[18]

Olympiacos

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On 18 June 2019, Cuypers joined Olympiacos signing a three years' contract for an undisclosed fee. During the 2018–19 season, the Belgian forward didn’t play in a single match for Ergotelis, as the Cretan club finished in fourth place of the Football League to miss out on promotion.[19]

On 17 August 2019, Cuypers joined Ajaccio on a season-long loan from Olympiacos.[20]

Mechelen

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On 4 June 2021, Mechelen has announced Cuypers and according to the publications, Olympiacos will receive €1 million for the transfer, and will keep a 50% in a possible resale.[21] On 14 June 2021, his transfer to Mechelen, in which he signed a four-year contract, was officially concluded, following an official announcement from Olympiacos.[22]

Gent

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On 14 June 2022, Cuypers signed a four-year contract with Gent.

In the year 2022 he scored 30 goals in 45 games, and in the year 2023 he scored 32 goals in 44 games. Entering the Top Ten of the top scorers of the year 2023 [23]

Chicago Fire FC

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On 6 February 2024, Cuypers signed a contract with Major League Soccer team Chicago Fire FC through 2026 with an option for 2027 for a Club record fee.[24]

International career

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Cuypers has represented Belgium with the U−19 national team during the 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification. He played in all three matches during the Elite round of the competition, scoring one goal vs. Bulgaria in his only match as a starter.[4]

Career statistics

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As of matches played 20 October 2024[4]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Standard Liège 2015–16 Belgian Pro League 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
RFC Seraing (loan) 2016–17 Belgian First Amateur Division 19 6 0 0 — — 19 6
Ergotelis 2017–18 Football League Greece 28 22 2 0 — — 30 22
Ajaccio (loan) 2019–20 Ligue 2 22 5 1 0 — — 23 5
Olympiacos 2020–21 Super League Greece 10 1 4 1 — — 14 2
Mechelen 2021–22 Belgian Pro League 34 13 2 0 — — 36 13
Gent 2022–23 Belgian Pro League 39 27 3 1 13[b] 6 1[c] 0 56 34
2023–24 20 6 3 1 11[d] 10 0 0 34 17
Total 59 33 6 2 24 16 1 0 90 51
Chicago Fire 2024 MLS 31 10 — — 0 0 31 10
Career total 204 90 15 3 24 16 1 0 244 109
  1. ^ Includes Greek Football Cup, Coupe de France, Belgian Cup
  2. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Europa League, eleven appearances and six goals in UEFA Europa Conference League
  3. ^ Appearance in Belgian Super Cup
  4. ^ appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

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Standard Liège

Olympiacos

Individual

References

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  1. ^ a b "Nieuw contract voor Hugo CUYPERS" (in Dutch). Academie Robert Louis-Dreyfus. 30 June 2015. Archived from the original on 16 April 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d "Van failliete vierdeklasser naar Standard: het indrukwekkende verhaal van Cuypers" (in Dutch). voetbalprimeur.be. 5 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Mercato : Hugo Cuypers arrive en prêt" (in French). voetbalprimeur.be. 31 October 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Hugo Cuypers at Soccerway
  5. ^ "Hugo Cuypers naar Ergotelis FC" (in Dutch). Standard Liege. 31 August 2017.
  6. ^ "VN EXCLUSIEF: Spits van Standard trekt naar Belgische club" (in Dutch). voetbalnieuws.be. 28 August 2017.
  7. ^ "Τριπλή ανακοίνωση για τον Εργοτέλη" (in Greek). gazetta.gr. 1 September 2017.
  8. ^ "Αναφορά αγώνα ΕΡΓΟΤΕΛΗΣ − ΑΟΧ ΚΙΣΣΑΜΙΚΟΣ" (in Greek). footballleaguenews.gr. 5 November 2017.
  9. ^ "Αναφορά αγώνα ΠΑΝΑΧΑΪΚΗ − ΕΡΓΟΤΕΛΗΣ" (in Greek). footballleaguenews.gr. 12 November 2017.
  10. ^ "Αναφορά αγώνα ΕΡΓΟΤΕΛΗΣ − ΑΡΗΣ" (in Greek). footballleaguenews.gr. 19 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Σεφτέ με Κάιπερς!" (in Greek). footballleaguenews.gr. 21 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Αναφορά αγώνα ΕΡΓΟΤΕΛΗΣ − ΠΑΝΑΙΓΙΑΛΕΙΟΣ" (in Greek). footballleaguenews.gr. 1 April 2018.
  13. ^ "Σώθηκε ο Εργοτέλης, όλα ανοιχτά για τρεις...!" (in Greek). Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  14. ^ ""Super League για Κάιπερς"" (in Greek). footballleaguenews.gr. 6 April 2018.
  15. ^ "Ο δεδομένος Αλμπάνης και η ερώτηση για Κάιπερς!!" (in Greek). Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  16. ^ "Επιβεβαιώνουν από τον Εργοτέλη την πώληση Κάιπερς στην ΑΕΚ" (in Greek). 18 May 2018.
  17. ^ "CUYPERS REFUSES TO PLAY FOR AEK AFTER FEE AGREED WITH ERGOTELIS" (in Greek). 28 May 2018.
  18. ^ "Άφαντος ο Καϊπερς…". athleticradio.gr (in Greek). 20 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  19. ^ "Κάιπερς: "Τεράστια υπερηφάνεια που θα παίξω στον Ολυμπιακό"" (in Greek). www.sport24.gr. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  20. ^ "Abdoulaye Keita et Hugo Cuypers prêtes par l'Olympiakos". ac-ajaccio.corsica (in French). 17 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  21. ^ "Ο Κάιπερς συμφώνησε με τη Μαλίν" (in Greek). www.to10.gr. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  22. ^ "Ολυμπιακός: Ολοκληρώθηκε η μεταγραφή του Κάιπερς στη Μαλίν" [Olympiacos: the transfer of Cuypers to Malinois is completed]. www.sport-fm.gr (in Greek). 14 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  23. ^ "HUGO CUYPERS IS NEN BUFFALO!" (in Dutch). Gent. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  24. ^ "Chicago Fire FC Acquires Belgian Forward Hugo Cuypers as Designated Player for Club-Record Fee". Chicago Fire FC. 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
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