Thomas Buffel (born February 19, 1981 in Ruddervoorde, Belgium) is a Belgian footballer who plays for Rangers, he is a Midfielder and can play as a Striker, He also features regularly at international level for Belgium.
Early career
Buffel began his career with Belgian sides Ruddervoorde and Cercle Brugge before making a move to The Netherlands
Feyenoord
He played for the Dutch team Feyenoord in the 1999/2000 season, before moving to their feeder team Excelsior Rotterdam from 2000-2002. He returned to Feyenoord for the 2002/2003 Dutch season. He reportedly fell out with then-manager Ruud Gullit in the 2004/2005 season “after refusing to sign a new contract”
Buffel moved to the Scottish side Rangers in January 2005 in a £2.5 million, four-and-a-half year deal.
He made his debut in the Scottish Cup coming on as a substitute against Old Firm rivals Celtic in what was to be a 2-1 defeat. However the season did not end badly for him as he was to play a key role in the CIS Insurance Cup Final, where Rangers defeated Motherwell 5-1. He also featured in the Rangers team for the latter part of the season where he would help them to the 51st league title. Making it a double for his first season with the club, he also scored 5 goals is 18 appearances.
2005/06, was a disappointing season for Rangers domestically, finishing a distant third to champions Celtic and being knocked out of both cups, although Buffel featured in the Champions League and helped the side reach the last 16 of the tournament, where they lost to Villarreal (3-3 agg, knocked out on away goals rule).
He scored 7 goals in 38 appearances during the 2005/06 season mostly playing in the midfield.
Belgian international career
Buffel made his debut for Belgium against Andorra in October 2002 in what was to be a 1-0 victory. He has since then gained 28 caps and scored 6 goals. and has proved to be a key player in the midfield for the ‘red devils’.
Honours
Scottish Premier League: 2004-05
Scottish League Cup: 2004-05