He was the starting right back for the Red Devils for a long time, successfully fending

off strong competition from players, such as Bertrand Crasson and Régis Genaux. Deflandre regularly came to the rescue. Clearing a ball off the line pretty much became his trademark. One time, he even became goalkeeper when Filip De Wilde was sent off with a red card and all substitutions had been used at the European Championship in 2000 against Turkey.

He played in three big tournaments: the European Championship in 2000 and the 1998 and 2002 World Cup.