Faas Wilkes

Servaas "Faas" Wilkes (Dutch pronunciation: [faːs ˈʋɪlkəs]; 13 October 1923 – 15 August 2006) was a Dutch football forward, who earned a total of 38 caps for the Netherlands national team, in which he scored 35 goals (average 0.92 goals per game). However, for a prolonged period of his career, June 1949 through till March 1955, he was banned from the national team since the KNVB did not allow professional players to participate. He also played for the Netherlands at the 1948 Summer Olympics.^[2]

Faas Wilkes

Wilkes in 1960
Personal information
Full name	Servaas Wilkes
Date of birth	(1923-10-13)13 October 1923
Place of birth	Rotterdam, Netherlands
Date of death	15 August 2006(2006-08-15) (aged 82)
Place of death	Rotterdam, Netherlands
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
1933–1934	RSV HION
1934–1941	Xerxes Rotterdam
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1941–1949	Xerxes Rotterdam	71	(49)
1949–1952	Inter Milan	95	(47)
1952–1953	Torino	12	(1)
1953–1956	Valencia	62	(38)
1956–1958	VVV	64	(23)
1958–1959	Levante	34	(20)
1959–1962	Fortuna '54	88	(33)
1962–1964	Xerxes Rotterdam	28	(10)
Total		454	(221)
International career
1946–1961	Netherlands[1]	38	(35)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Wilkes played for Xerxes Rotterdam, before moving to Internazionale in the summer of 1949. There he played 95 matches, scoring 47 goals. After his stay in Milan ended in 1952, he had a one-season spell at Torino. At age 30 he moved to Valencia in Spain, scoring a total of 38 goals in 62 appearances between 1953–54 and 1955–56, making him the first foreign idol of the club. He also played for VVV, Levante, and Fortuna '54. He died of a cardiac arrest in 2006, aged 82.

He is considered one of the best footballers the Netherlands ever produced, being especially known for his creative style of play and brilliant dribbling. Wilkes was the 4th Dutch player (after Gerrit Keizer, Bep Bakhuys and Gerrit Vreken) who moved to play abroad. He held the record of most goals scored for the Netherlands national team from 1959 until 1998.

The Dutch cartoon character Kick Wilstra was named in part after Faas Wilkes (Wilstra was also named after two other Dutch men's footballers, Kick Smit and Abe Lenstra).

Career statistics

Player

^[3]

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Xerxes Rotterdam	1945–46		3	1			–				3	1
	1946–47		19	8			–				19	8
	1947–48		24	19			–				24	19
	1948–49		25	21			–				25	21
	Total		71	49							71	49
Internazionale	1949–50	Serie A	34	17							34	17
	1950–51	Serie A	38	23							38	23
	1951–52	Serie A	23	7							23	7
	Total		95	47							95	47
Torino	1952–53	Serie A	12	1							12	1
Valencia	1953–54	La Liga	28	18							28	18
	1954–55	La Liga	15	9							15	9
	1955–56	La Liga	19	11							19	11
	Total		62	38							62	38
Venlo	1956–57	Eredivisie	30	8							30	8
	1957–58	Eredivisie	34	15							34	15
	Total		64	23							64	23
Levante	1958–59	Segunda División	34	20							34	20
Fortuna '54	1959–60	Eredivisie	30	16							30	16
	1960–61	Eredivisie	27	5							27	5
	1961–62	Eredivisie	31	12							31	12
	Total		88	33							88	33
Xerxes Rotterdam	1962–63		20	8							20	8
	1963–64		8	2							8	2
	Total		28	10							28	10
Total			454	221							454	221

International

Scores and results list Netherlands's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Wilkes goal.

List of international goals scored by Faas Wilkes

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	10 March 1946	Stade Municipal, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	1-0	6-2	Friendly	[4]
2				2-1
3				3-1
4				6-1
5	12 May 1946	Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Belgium	1-1	6-3	Friendly	[5]
6				5-3
7				6-3
8	30 May 1946	Bosuilstadion, Antwerp, Belgium	Belgium	1-0	2-2	Friendly	[6]
9				2-0
10	21 September 1947	Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Switzerland	2-1	6-2	Friendly	[7]
11				6-2
12	9 June 1948	Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Sweden	1-0	1-0	Friendly	[8]
13	26 July 1948	Fratton Park, Portsmouth, United Kingdom	Republic of Ireland	1-0	3-1	1948 Summer Olympics	[9]
14				3-1
15	31 July 1948	Arsenal Stadium, London, United Kingdom	Great Britain	3-3	3-4	1948 Summer Olympics	[10]
16	23 April 1949	De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands	France	4-1	4-1	Friendly	[11]
17	12 June 1949	Københavns Idrætspark, Copenhagen, Denmark	Denmark	2-1	2-1	Friendly	[12]
18	19 May 1955	De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands	Switzerland	1-0	4-1	Friendly	[13]
19				4-0
20	6 June 1956	Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Saar	3-1	3-2	Friendly	[14]
21	3 April 1957	Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands	West Germany	1-1	1-2	Friendly	[15]
22	11 September 1957	De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands	Luxembourg	2-1	5-2	1958 FIFA World Cup qualification	[16]
23	17 November 1957	De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands	Belgium	3-0	5-2	Friendly	[17]
24				4-0
25	13 April 1958	Bosuilstadion, Antwerp, Belgium	Belgium	5-1	7-2	Friendly	[18]
26				6-1
27	23 April 1958	De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands	Netherlands Antilles	1-0	8-1	Friendly	[19]
28				2-0
29	4 May 1958	Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Turkey	1-0	1-2	Friendly	[20]
30	4 October 1959	De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands	Belgium	3-0	9-1	Friendly	[21]
31				4-0
32				6-0
33	4 November 1959	De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands	Norway	3-1	7-1	Friendly	[22]
34				7-1
35	19 April 1961	Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Mexico	1-1	1-2	Friendly	[23]

Honours

Internazionale

• Serie A runner-up: 1950–51
• Serie A third place: 1949–50, 1951–52

Valencia

• La Liga Third Place: 1953–54
• Copa del Generalísimo: 1954
• Concepción Arenal Trophy: 1954^[24]

Levante

• Segunda División Runner-up: 1958–59

Individual

• Netherlands All-Time Top Scorer: 1959–1998^[25]
• Spanish Player of the Year: 1954^[26]
• Valencia Top Scorer: 1953–54, 1955–56^[27][28]
• Levante Top Scorer: 1958–59^[29]

References

1. "Faas Wilkes – Goals in International Matches". Retrieved 13 November 2008.
2. "Faas Wilkes". Olympedia. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
3. Faas Wilkes at National-Football-Teams.com
4. "Luxembourg v Netherlands, 10 March 1946". 11v11. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
5. "Netherlands v Belgium, 12 May 1946". 11v11. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
6. "Belgium v Netherlands, 30 May 1946". 11v11. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
7. "Netherlands v Switzerland, 21 September 1947". 11v11. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
8. "Netherlands v Sweden, 09 June 1948". 11v11. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
9. "Netherlands vs Rep. of Ireland* international football match report". EU Football.info. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
10. "Great Britain v Netherlands, 31 July 1948". 11v11. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
11. "Netherlands v France, 23 April 1949". 11v11. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
12. "Denmark v Netherlands, 12 June 1949". 11v11. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
13. "Netherlands v Switzerland, 19 May 1955". 11v11. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
14. "Netherlands v Saar, 06 June 1956". 11v11. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
15. "Netherlands v Germany, 03 April 1957". 11v11. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
16. "Luxembourg v Netherlands, 11 September 1957". 11v11. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
17. "Netherlands v Belgium, 17 November 1957". 11v11. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
18. "Belgium v Netherlands, 13 April 1958". 11v11. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
19. "Netherlands v Netherlands Antilles, 23 April 1958". 11v11. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
20. "Netherlands v Turkey, 04 May 1958". 11v11. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
21. "Netherlands v Belgium, 04 October 1959". 11v11. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
22. "Netherlands v Norway, 04 November 1959". 11v11. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
23. "Netherlands v Mexico, 19 April 1961". 11v11. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
24. "Trofeo Concepción Arenal (Ferrol)".
25. "Faas Wilkes – Goals in International Matches".
26. "Faas Wilkes, futbolista holandés". El País. 30 August 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2014. En 1954 fue elegido jugador del año, por encima de Kubala y Di Stéfano, los grandes del momento, con los que coincidió.
27. "Plantilla del Valencia 1953–54".
28. "Plantilla del Valencia 1955–56".
29. "Plantilla del Levante 1958–59".

External links

• Faas Wilkes at Voetbal International (in Dutch)
• Faas Wilkes at BDFutbol
• Faas Wilkes at Wereld van Oranje (archived) (in Dutch)
• In memorial for Faas Wilkes Archived 16 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine (Dutch)