Bio:
Willem “Wim” van Hanegem was born on 20 February 1944. He is a Dutch former football player and coach. He played as a midfielder. In a playing career spanning over 20 years, he won several domestic honours in the Netherlands. He also won both the European Cup and UEFA Cup with Feyenoord. He was also part of the Dutch national team that were runners-up in the 1974 FIFA World Cup.
Widely considered one of the greatest Dutch footballers in history, he earned the nickname ‘De Kromme’. This was due to his posture of bow legs and later because of his trademark bent passes and contrarian commentary. Known for his aggressiveness, intelligence and technical playmaking abilities,
Wim Van Hanegem was often praised by contemporaries like Johan Cruyff. Feyenoord honored Van Hanegem in 2014. They did this for his significant contributions to the club’s rise to domestic and European success. They named one of its stadium’s stands after him.
He won the league and cup with Feyenoord as a manager. He also spent a period as the Dutch national team’s assistant coach. His last job as manager was for FC Utrecht, from 2007 to 2008.
Wim was the son of Lo van Hanegem (1905-1944) and Anna van Grol. During an Allied bombing raid on Breskens on 11 September 1944, his father Lo, brother Isaac and his sister were killed. After the war, he moved to Utrecht with his mother. During a training session of Velox, he stood on the sidelines. Every ball that went wide of the goal, he shot back accurately. Coach Daan van Beek asked him to come and play for the club. Six months later, he played in the club’s first team.
He played for Feyenoord from 1968 to 1976. They won in Europe and also domestic league titles during his time there. He then played three seasons for AZ Alkmaar, before moving to NASL and Chicago Sting. After a year he returned to Holland to play for Utrecht. He rejoined Feyenoord for a final spell from 1981 to 1983. He played a total of 631 league games, scoring 180 goals.
He played for Holland from 1968 to 1979. 52 caps in all, scoring 6 goals. The brightest highilight must have been to be involved in reaching the World Cup final in 1974. Holland ended runners-up. He was also part of the Dutch team ending third in the 1976 Euro’s.
Factfile:
- Full Name: Willem van Hanegem
- Position: Midfield
- Date of Birth: 20.02.1944
- Birthplace: Breskens
- Nation: Holland
- Caps: 52
- Goals: 6
- Club Career: Feyenoord
- Period: 1968-76 / 1981-83
- League Games, 298
- League Goals, 90
- Previous Club: Xerxes / Utrecht
- Transfer Fee: –
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