Thibaut Nicolas Marc Courtois is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Chelsea and the Belgium national team.
Courtois graduated through the youth system of Genk, and aged 18, he played a key role in the team’s Belgian Pro League victory. In July 2011 he joined Chelsea for a reported £8 million and was immediately loaned to Atlético Madrid. In three seasons there, he won the Europa League in 2012, the Copa del Rey in 2013 and the La Liga title in 2014.
He also won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for best goalkeeper in La Liga, for his performances in his two latter seasons. Courtois returned to Chelsea in July 2014, and in his first season, he helped them win the League Cup and the Premier League title.
Courtois made his senior international debut in October 2011, becoming the youngest goalkeeper to represent Belgium. He has since earned over 50 caps and appeared at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2016.
Born in Bree, Courtois began his career with local side Bilzen V.V. as a left back. Soon after, in 1999, he joined Racing Genk at the age of seven, and it was there that he was converted into a goalkeeper.
After progressing through the Genk youth system, Courtois, aged 16 years and 341 days, made his first team début for Genk on 17 April 2009 against Gent. He was a key figure in Genk’s title victory in the 2010–11 season in the Belgian Pro League. He received the Goalkeeper of the Year and Genk’s Player of the Year award, only conceding 32 goals over the course of 40 league matches and keeping 14 clean sheets for Genk.
In February 2014, Courtois caused some stir in the national team, by saying of Simon Mignolet, his rival for the starting goalkeeper spot, “You have to know how to stay humble and respectful, and he should remember that.” This was despite the fact that in previous interviews, Mignolet had only said that it was his ambition to keep working and try to regain his spot in the national team.
In April 2018, Wilmots, by then out of a job, accused Courtois and his father Thierry of leaking Belgium’s line-ups before they should have been revealed to the public. He denied the allegations.
GAME STYLE
- Considered a highly promising prospect in his youth, Courtois subsequently established himself as one of the best players in the world in his position. Due to his wide range of skills, he has been described as a “complete goalkeeper”, with few weaknesses.
- A consistent keeper, he possesses an excellent positional sense, good mentality, composure, strength of character, and an ability to communicate well with his defenders; he also excels in one on one situations, due to his ability to time his runs effectively when rushing out of goal to face opponents.
- An excellent shot-stopper between the posts, he has also distinguished himself for his agility and quick reflexes, in spite of his size and imposing physique. Due to his height and reach, he excels in the air and is also known for his command of his area, as well as his excellent technique, anticipation, handling, and confidence when coming off his line to claim crosses.
Thibaut’s sister Valérie is a volleyball player, who plays as a libero for Budowlani Łódź and Belgium. His parents also were volleyball players, and he played the sport in his childhood but decided to focus on football when he was 12.
On 26 May 2015, his Spanish girlfriend Marta Domínguez gave birth to their daughter, Adriana The couple ended their relationship in April 2017 while Domínguez was pregnant with their son Nicolás, who was born a month later
Thibauting
Inspired by Courtois’ pose from a particular save in January 2013, a Colombian fan created a new widespread social media meme called ‘Thibauting’ to pay homage to the Belgian goalkeeper In November 2013, the word was included in a shortlist composed by leading Dutch dictionary Van Dale to be polled to determine the best new sports/amusement word of the year in Belgium and ended second. The term is based on and pronounced the same way as “Tebowing”, and is also similar to the worldwide ‘planking’ meme which was popular in 2011.