FLASHBACK Wilfried Puis was one of the two outstanding players from Ostend who joined Anderlecht in the early 1960s. The other was Laurent Verbiest, who would eventually become his best friend. They moved into an apartment together in Brussels, although Verbiest soon wanted to return to the sea.
Puis was introverted due to his lonely childhood, although he laughed a lot. He was also nicknamed ‘Chang' because of the slanting eyes he made when laughing. Puis was known for regularly playing pranks on his teammates, especially when the team was in isolation.
As a left winger, Puis had a lot of speed. He consistently made a feint inside before quickly going around on the outside and delivering a precise cross in front of goal. Everyone knew this, yet he remained unstoppable. He himself said that by the age of twelve he was technically fully skilled and that his entire career was built on innate technique and speed.
He won six league titles with Anderlecht and one cup. In addition, he played 49 matches for the Red Devils, including a World Cup in 1970. He could have earned even more caps but refused to play for the national team several times due to a toxic atmosphere surrounding financial matters. Puis was also known for not being particularly interested in the national team.
He was among the best left wingers in Europe in his time but didn't enjoy training much. He was often compared to the great Francisco Gento. It was also against Gento that he scored his most beautiful goal: for Real Madrid in 1966, with a perfect free kick over Gento's head. Puis won the Golden Shoe and played eleven years for Anderlecht (267 matches and 52 goals).
After that, he moved on to Club Brugge (feeling, not without reason, disadvantaged by the large wage differences at Anderlecht), Lokeren, AS Oostende, and Koksijde.
The Puzze died far too young, at the age of 38, from stomach cancer. In his final year, he visibly deteriorated and even lost 30 kilos. By then, he had already shut himself off from the outside world. He passed away on October 21, 1981.
Source: © Internal source
In a flashback article, we look back in time at an important event for the club or a former player.
