François Van der Elst, Belgian national team footballer, Died at 62

  Sports

François “Swat” Van der Elst was born on December 1, 1954, and died on January 11, 2017.

He was a Belgian retired footballer.

Van der Elst played as a right winger.

Van der Elst’s younger brother, Leo, was also a professional footballer.

Together they were both Belgian internationals.

Francois gained 44 caps and netted 14 goals for Belgium, helping the nation to the second place in the UEFA Euro 1980 tournament.

Van der Elst suffered heart failure on January 1, 2016, and was placed in an induced coma in intensive care.

He later died from a cardiac arrest while still hospitalized.

François “Swat” Van der Elst passed away at 62 years old.