Frans Thijssen

Frans Thijssen

Thijssen in 1979
Personal information
Date of birth	(1952-01-23) 23 January 1952 (age 65)
Place of birth	Malden, Netherlands
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Brisbane Roar (caretaker manager)
Youth career
	SV Juliana '31
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1970–1973	NEC Nijmegen	83	(10)
1973–1979	FC Twente	167	(47)
1979–1983	Ipswich Town	125	(10)
1983	Nottingham Forest	17	(3)
1983–1984	Vancouver Whitecaps	45	(9)
1984–1987	Fortuna Sittard	79	(11)
1987–1988	FC Groningen	25	(0)
1988–1991	Vitesse Arnhem	87	(1)
Total		628	(91)
National team
1975–1981	Netherlands	14	(3)
Teams managed
1995–1996	Vitesse Arnhem
1997–1998	Malmö FF
1999	De Graafschap
2000–2001	Fortuna Sittard
2014–2015	Brisbane Roar (caretaker manager)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Frans Thijssen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈfrɑns ˈtɛi̯.sə(n)]) (born 23 January 1952 in Malden, Gelderland) is a former international Dutch footballer. He started his professional career in 1970 with NEC Nijmegen. In 1973 he moved to FC Twente, where the midfielder played for nearly six seasons.

Thijssen won fourteen caps for Holland between 1975 and 1981.

In 1979, he moved to England to sign for Ipswich Town, and in 1981 was voted English Footballer of the Year as he helped Ipswich Town win the UEFA Cup, scoring one goal in each of the two legs of the final. He played a big part in their run to the semi finals of the FA Cup, and they also finished second in the league that season. He helped them finished second again the following year, but a year later he departed from Portman Road after four years to sign for Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest, but he was not nearly as successful at the City Ground as he had been in East Anglia, and he had left the club within months.

He also had a stint in the NASL with the Vancouver Whitecaps. In 1984 he returned to his native country, to play for Fortuna Sittard (1984–1987), FC Groningen (1987–1988) and Vitesse Arnhem (1988–1991).