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Willy van de Kerkhof
Dutch association football player / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wilhelmus Antonius "Willy" van de Kerkhof ; born 16 September 1951) is a Dutch former professional footballer. He played as a midfielder. He played for FC Twente from 1970 to 1973 and then for PSV Eindhoven until 1988. With the Eindhoven club he was Dutch national champion six times.He won the UEFA Cup in 1977–78 and the European Cup in 1987–88. Van de Kerkhof and his twin brother René van de Kerkhof were squad members of the Netherlands national team that made the World Cup final in 1974. They became key players in the team that made the 1978 final. He also played for the Netherlands at the Euro 1980. Overall, van de Kerkhof appeared 63 times for his country, scoring five goals.[1] Van de Kerkhof was a fast, much running midfielder. In addition to constructive and attacking, also did co-defensive work. He was nicknamed 'The Vacuum Cleaner' as a football player because of his achievements as a ball conqueror and defensive work, where he went after every ball. He was considered as one of the best Dutch midfielders ever in his position.
![]() Van de Kerkhof in 1974 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Wilhelmus Antonius van de Kerkhof | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | (1951-09-16) 16 September 1951 (age 72) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Helmond, Netherlands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Midfielder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1959–1966 | RKSV MULO | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
1966–1970 | Twente | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1970–1973 | Twente | 93 | (14) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1973–1988 | PSV Eindhoven | 418 | (57) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Total | 511 | (71) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1974–1985 | Netherlands | 63 | (5) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Honours
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* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only |
He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.[2]