Name: Odilon Polleunis
Nickname: "Lon" | "De dirigent met de arendsblik"



Country: Belgium
Club: Sint-Truiden | RWD Molenbeek
Position: *AMF, SS, WF, CF
Side: RF/LS
Age: 27-32 years (01/05/1943)

Height: 175 cm
Weight: 77 kg

Attack: 83
Defence: 42
Balance: 80
Stamina: 77
Top Speed: 81
Acceleration: 78
Response: 81
Agility: 78
Dribble Accuracy: 84
Dribble Speed: 82
Short Pass Accuracy: 85
Short Pass Speed: 78
Long Pass Accuracy: 81
Long Pass Speed: 78
Shot Accuracy: 82
Shot Power: 82
Shot Technique: 85
Free Kick Accuracy: 64
Swerve: 75
Header: 75
Jump: 74
Technique: 86
Aggression: 78
Mentality: 72
Keeper Skills 50
Team Work: 83

Injury Tolerance: B
Form/Condition/Fitness: 5
Weak Foot Accuracy: 5
Weak Foot Frequency: 6
Consistency: 5
Growth Type: Standard


CARDS:
S01 - Marauding
S02 - Passer

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Tactical Dribble - Playmaking - Passing

Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Attack Minded


INFO:
The conductor. The brains of the team that led RWDM to the title. Excellent player with fantastic stepping technique who knew the goal well and had an eagle's vision. He understood everything for everyone and was tactically educated. Knew exactly when a teammate was going deep and then he put the ball down. Didn't like when Maurice Martens to go deep, then he didn't have to walk too much. Underrated player close to Paul Van Himst's level. A little infant terrible though. He formed a famous trio (playing on the left attacking midfielder position) in the middle with Nielsen and Boskamp. One of the most beautiful shots in the championship.

Polleunis was an attacking midfieldeer with beautiful technique, a pure pass and a brilliant shot. His technique and his dribbling skills may not have been as eye-catching, but they were as effective as Eden Hazard's. At Sint-Truiden he won the Golden Shoe in 1968, but his real highlight was the title with RWDM in 1975. Huge player, Boskamp who was the driving force of the team, but the intelligence was Lon. He saw everything, understood everything before anyone else, was cunning, and the best shooter in the history of the club. He no longer did that with his dribbling, but with his passing, due to the knee surgery. His nickname in Molenbeek was 'the conductor with the eagle's gaze'. When he could no longer keep up physically midway through the 1975-76 season, the team began to stagnate.

He also made his Red Devils debut in 1968 a 1-2 victory in The Netherlands, where he scored after only ten minutes. He would go on to score ten goals for the national team in 22 caps. He played in both the 1970 World Cup and the European Championship in 1972. It was difficult for him to finish a whole match in a remotely concentrated way though. 'Polleunis is a player who can do everything and has everything', said Goethals in 1968 when he let the attacking midfielder make his debut with the Red Devils (then briefly called the White Devils). "He's got character, he's got a shot to cut an ox, he's in shape, especially now. His main quality, however, remains the variation he puts into his dribbling. Lon can pass any opponent in any way. He never dribbles in one direction, he goes out of them all."

No one doubted that his qualities suited the Red Devils. However, he didn't train enough to show his football skills for ninety minutes. Polleunis was too happy to live and was several kilos overweight. To reporters, he called himself the 'James Dean of Sint-Truiden'. It was difficult to finish a whole match in a remotely concentrated way.

'After Rob Rensenbrink and Simon Tahamata, Polleunis was probably the best footballer I ever managed in a Belgian club', Raymond Goethals later said about him in his biography. If Paul Van Himst hadn't been in his position, he would have played a lot more for the national team.'