Johan Neeskens
Neeskens in 1974
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Johannes Jacobus Neeskens | ||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 15 September 1951 | ||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Heemstede, Netherlands | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Centre Midfielder | ||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||
| 1968–1970 | RCH | 68 | (1) | ||||||||||||
| 1970–1974 | Ajax | 124 | (33) | ||||||||||||
| 1974–1979 | Barcelona | 140 | (35) | ||||||||||||
| 1979–1984 | New York Cosmos | 94 | (17) | ||||||||||||
| 1984–1985 | Groningen | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||
| 1985 | South Florida Sun | 1 | (1) | ||||||||||||
| 1985–1986 | Kansas City Comets (indoor) | 23 | (1) | ||||||||||||
| 1986–1987 | Löwenbrau (amateurs) | ? | (?) | ||||||||||||
| 1987–1990 | Baar | 23 | (5) | ||||||||||||
| 1990–1991 | Zug | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||
| 1970–1981 | Netherlands | 49 | (17) | ||||||||||||
| Teams managed | |||||||||||||||
| 1991–1993 | Zug | ||||||||||||||
| 1993–1995 | Stäfa | ||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Singen | ||||||||||||||
| 1995–2000 | Netherlands (assistant manager) | ||||||||||||||
| 2000–2004 | NEC | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Australia (assistant manager) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | Barcelona (assistant manager) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Netherlands B | ||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Galatasaray (assistant manager) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Mamelodi Sundowns | ||||||||||||||
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Honours
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| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Johannes Jacobus "Johan" Neeskens (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈjoːɦɑn ˈneːskə(n)s]; born 15 September 1951) is a Dutch football manager and former midfielder. As a player, he was an important member of the Dutch national team that finished as runners-up in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups and is considered to be one of the greatest Dutch midfielders. Former England manager Alf Ramsey said Neeskens was "as good as any player" in the tournament. He was the assistant coach to Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona but was sacked along with Rijkaard as the end of the 2007–08 season. He was the head coach of the Dutch B national team until June 2009, at which date he has been appointed as the assistant coach to Frank Rijkaard at Galatasaray SK.
Neeskens, a native of Heemstede, started his career at RCH Heemstede in 1968, before being spotted by Rinus Michels and signed for Ajax in 1970. The youngster impressed at right-back, playing in that position for Ajax in the 1971 European Cup Final win against Panathinaikos. During the 1971–72 season, Neeskens took up more of a central midfield role, in support of Johan Cruyff. He adapted well to his new central midfield role because he was a tireless runner, had great technical skills and scored his fair share of goals. Ajax completed a hat-trick of European Cup wins between 1971 and 1973, and Neeskens moved on to FC Barcelona in 1974 to join Cruijff and Michels. There he was nicknamed Johan Segon (Johan the Second).
While his time at Barcelona was relatively unsuccessful for the club (one cup title in 1978, and the 1979 Cup Winners' Cup), he was hugely popular amongst the fans. In 1979, he accepted an offer from the New York Cosmos, spending 5 years at the club. The Cosmos released him October 1984. He also played for FC Groningen during the 1984–85 season. In June 1985, he signed with the South Florida Sun of the United Soccer League. The USL collapsed six games into the 1985 season. On 15 August 1989, he signed with the Kansas City Comets of the Major Indoor Soccer League.
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