Stijn Vreven

Stijn Vreven (born 18 July 1973) is a Belgian professional football manager and a former player.

Playing career
Vreven's career began when he signed a professional contract with Y.R. K.V. Mechelen, making his first first-team appearance in 1993, at the age of 20. After four seasons in Mechelen he moved to K.A.A. Gent where he developed into a better player for another two seasons. Then he made the step abroad to play for Dutch side FC Utrecht. In four seasons Vreven developed from an unknown player into a hero among the FC Utrecht supporters. He's known for his determination and aggressiveness, which gave him the status of a real killer on the pitch. After his period in Utrecht he moved to Germany to play for Bundesliga side 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He was not able to become a first team regular and returned to The Netherlands the year after where he played for Vitesse Arnhem. At Vitesse he showed that he still had the same determination and became a regular from the start. When criticising his own team mates in December 2005 manager Edward Sturing placed Vreven in Vitesse's second team. A few weeks later he left the team to sign a new contract at AC Omonia in Cyprus. After playing just six matches he returned to The Netherlands once again, where he joined ADO Den Haag.

In March 2007, Vreven was diagnosed with diabetes (type 1). This did not stop him, however, from continuing to play football. In August 2007, Vreven played for Sint-Truiden and joined in January 2008 K.S.K. Tongeren on loan. He returned in summer 2008 to K. Sint-Truidense V.V. and moved to K.E.S.K. Leopoldsburg. In November 2010 he left K.E.S.K. Leopoldsburg and signed a contract as player-coach by KFC Esperanza Neerpelt.

Coaching career
From 2012 till June 2015 he was the coach of K.F.C. Dessel Sport. He was the coach of Waasland-Beveren from July 2015 to October 2016.

On 20 June 2023, Vreven was hired as manager of Oostende, recently relegated from the Belgian Pro League. Following a rough start to the season compounded by point deductions owing to missed repayment deadlines, Vreven was dismissed on 11 December 2023, with the club bottom of the Challenger Pro League.

On 28 May 2024, Vreven was appointed manager of FK Panevėžys.

Honours
Utrecht
 * KNVB Cup: 2002–03