Under manager
Pierre Sinibaldi, Paul Van Himst developed into a very refined player who would dominate Belgian football for 15 years with his exceptional technique, insight into the game and precise passing. About two months after his 16th birthday, Van Himst made his debut in the first team. In December 1959, the young striker was able to make his mark on the
Beringen pitch with a promising performance. Following the example of Brazil, which had become world champions in
1958, Sinibaldi had Anderlecht play in a 4-2-4 system. In that formation, Van Himst became one of the most important pawns on the field. With his excellent technique and nose for goals, he became a standout at Anderlecht as a teenager. In the
1961–62 season, Paul Van Himst won his first trophy with Anderlecht, the national championship. On his European debut against
Real Madrid in 1962 at the
Santiago Bernabéu stadium, he scored the opening goal in a 3–3 draw, immediately arousing the interest of Italian topclub
Modena. They made him an attractive offer, including his brother in the deal, but Anderlecht did not let its rising star leave. At the time, in addition to football, Van Himst also represented the fuel company of chairman Albert Roossens The club would later also reject proposals from teams like
Barcelona and Real Madrid, in their search for a successor of
Alfredo Di Stéfano. Despite Anderlecht making an early exit in the second round of the
1966–67 European Cup, Van Himst became top scorer of the tournament. His five goals in the match against Finnish side
FC Haka is still a (shared) record in a single European game. Anderlecht reached the final of the
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (considered as the predecessor to the
UEFA Cup) in
the 1969–70 season, but lost it to Arsenal F.C. Van Himst became top scorer of the tournament with 10 goals. The lost final was a disappointment sportively and marked the end of the Sinibaldi era. Most players retired or left Anderlecht, but Van Himst was one of the few to stay. In a new team that relied on young players such as
Hugo Broos,
Ludo Coeck,
Gilbert Van Binst and
François Van der Elst, he was still important with all his experience. Van Himst remained the leader on the field despite the generational change that had taken place. With Anderlecht, Paul Van Himst would win the
Belgian championship eight times. He scored 309 goals in 566 matches during 16 seasons. Van Himst became the Belgian First Division's top scorer three times in 1963–64, 1965–66 and 1967–68. Van Himst was nicknamed
Polle Gazon by Belgian football fans (
Polle is Paul in
Brussels dialect, and
Gazon means lawn in
Dutch and
French) as he frequently lay on the field due to the large number of fouls committed on him. Later, the nickname
Le Pelé blanc (the white Pelé) was introduced by French newspaper
L'Équipe after a convincing performance with Belgium in Paris against
France. After he left Anderlecht, he played for
RWDM, another Brussels club, in 1975–76 and for
Eendracht Aalst (then in the
Belgian third division) in the following season. Two surgeries took their toll: neither at RWDM nor at Aalst Van Himst reached the same level as before. After winning the championship with Aalst, he ended his professional career in 1977, aged 33. == International career ==