First capped for the Belgium national team at the age of 19, he went on to play for his country 46 times, scoring four goals, over an international career which lasted a decade.

Coeck was a member of the Belgium World Cup squad at España 82, where he played in all five of his country's games and scored with a long-range free-kick against El Salvador, and at Euro 84, where he appeared as a substitute in the defeats by France and Denmark.

On 7 October 1985, while he was on his way back to Antwerp and taking part in a TV sports programme in Brussels, Coeck was badly injured when his BMW ploughed into crash barriers on a motorway near the town of Rumst.

Raymond Goethals, who discovered Coeck at 15, described him as a perfect player who proved his worth at a young age in a top class Anderlecht team.

In 1979, Coeck suffered a grave injury in the knee that pundits predicted would end his career, but he recovered and returned to the Anderlecht squad after nine months.

Forming a midfield with Spaniard Juan Lozano, Coeck would help Anderlecht win their first UEFA Cup title in 1983 against Benfica.

Considered one of Belgium's finest talents, Coeck was a complete and versatile midfielder with great technique and passing abilities, and also possessed a powerful shot with either foot.

In October 1985, on a rain-soaked evening, Coeck lost control of the steering wheel in a bend on the Antwerp-Brussels motorway, near the town of Rumst.