|
British players of the 70's were known mostly as heroes of their own
leagues or moving over the pond to the NASL, but a number of players
also flourished in Dutch football
Kevin Keegan and Dave Watson both had short spells in West Germany
with HSV and Werder Bremen. Keegan was a great success at HSV and his
career is well known for everyone. Defender Dave Watson was also a star
when he moved away from English football.
But the stories of the players that joined Dutch clubs and also had
spells in Belgian football might not be that well documented. Nick
Deacy (pic) and Ray Clarke are probably not that famous in
England, but for fans of Ajax and PSV Eindhoven they are both well
remembered.
Deacy played 17 league games for Hereford before he joined PSV Eindhoven
in 1975. He won the Dutch League and the UEFA Cup with PSV in 1975. He
scored a total of 8 goals in 52 games for PSV from 1975 to 1978.
He returned to England in 1980 and joined Hull, after short spells at
Beringen and Vitesse Arnhem. Deacy is probably one of very few British
players to win a European title with a foreign club. Deacy played at
international level for Wales, he scored four goals in twelve games.
Ray Clarke joined Ajax Amsterdam from Sparta Rotterdam in 1978. Clarke
who had previously played in England for Mansfield, Swindon and
Tottenham, took the Dutch league with storm and scored 35 goals in 65
games for Sparta before Ajax signed him.
Clarke continued to score at Ajax and managed 26 goals in 31 games
during the 78/79 season, before Belgian Club Brugge signed him up after
just one season at Ajax.
Clarke later returned to England and played for Brighton and Newcastle,
but his fantastic time in Dutch football was never repeated back home.
Dutch football was fantastic in the 70's and their national team reached
the World Cup final both in 1974 and 1978. This was a time when Dutch
football was at it's best and two unknown players from the lower leagues
in England managed to flourish there without getting much notice in
England.
Clarke played at the highest level back home with Brighton, but Deacy
never reached the highest level in English football and was left out on
many occations from international service.
Deacy and Clarke with PSV and Ajax were probably the most known faces to
shine, but you had others also that played with and against top Dutch
stars.
Terry Lees, who was a defender with a past at Stoke City. Lees
played for Sparta and Roda from 1976 to 1979. He later returned to
England and played for Birmingham, Newport and Scunthorpe.
|
.jpg)