Luciano van den Berg

Luciano Thomas van den Berg (22 June 1984 – 18 September 2005) was a Dutch professional footballer who played as a defender. He spent his short career with Stormvogels Telstar in the Eerste Divisie.

Luciano van den Berg

Personal information
Full name	Luciano Thomas van den Berg[1]
Date of birth	(1984-06-22)22 June 1984
Place of birth	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Date of death	18 September 2005(2005-09-18) (aged 21)
Place of death	Almere, Netherlands
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
	Abcoude
	Omnniworld
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005	Stormvogels Telstar	1	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Van den Berg played youth football for Abcoude and Omnniworld before joining Stormvogels Telstar.^[2] He made his professional debut for the club during the promotion playoffs of the 2004–05 season, coming on as a substitute against VVV-Venlo and scoring the winning goal.^[1] His first appearance in a regular league match came the following season, on 16 September 2005, in a match against FC Zwolle. It would be his final appearance.

Death

In the early hours of 18 September 2005, two days after his league debut, Van den Berg lost control of his car on the A6 motorway near his parental home in Almere Stad. He collided with a stationary vehicle and was killed instantly.^[3] A close friend of Dutch international Nigel de Jong, Van den Berg was 21 years old at the time of his death.^[4]

His funeral took place on 23 September 2005, the same day Telstar were scheduled to play De Graafschap. The match was postponed to the following Monday to allow for the ceremony, during which De Jong delivered a eulogy. Prior to kickoff in the rescheduled match, a minute of silence was held, followed by a tribute from De Graafschap's supporters group, the Spinnekop.^[1]

Van den Berg made two official appearances at professional level. In his memory, Telstar retired his shirt number 22.^[5]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			KNVB Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Stormvogels Telstar	2004–05	Eerste Divisie	0	0	0	0	1[a]	1	1	1
	2005–06	Eerste Divisie	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
Career total			1	0	0	0	1	1	2	1

1. Appearance in Eredivisie promotion/relegation playoffs