Born in
Lauwe, Staelens started his professional career with
K.V. Kortrijk at already 23, and his two solid seasons there attracted the attention of
top division giants
Club Brugge KV. There, he proceeded to form a legendary midfield partnership with
Franky Van der Elst, that would last nearly a decade. Staelens played 369 games in all competitions for the club, scoring 105 goals. At already 34, and more often than not playing in
the backline, he moved to
R.S.C. Anderlecht, still being instrumental in the club's back-to-back championships (
2000 and
2001), and winning the
Belgian Golden Shoe in 1999; however, he did not finish his last year, moving to Japan's
Ōita Trinita in early 2001 and retiring shortly after. Staelens took up coaching subsequently, first with
R.E. Mouscron. After only two months at
V.C. Eendracht Aalst, he returned to first club Kortrijk as its
general manager, only returning to the benches in 2007, as assistant coach at
K.S.V. Roeselare. Staelens kept that role in the subsequent years, with the other team from
Bruges,
Cercle KSV. ==International career==