He is the father of Gert and often remembered for the incorrectly disallowed goal in the fall of 1973, which caused the White Devils to miss out on the 1974 World Cup in West Germany. Jan was a technical, industrious, but also meticulous football player. He was a decisive player for Beerschot, but played more of a servant role in the team of Raymond Goethals, in service of stars Lambert and Van Himst. It led to a transfer to Anderlecht. Even when he was playing at Union in the third division, he would still be called up for the national team.