Willem van Hanegem

Willem van Hanegem
Willem van Hanegem in 1978
Personal information
Full name	Willem van Hanegem
Date of birth	(1944-02-20) 20 February 1944 (age 70)
Place of birth	Breskens, Netherlands
Playing position	Central Midfielder
Youth career
	Velox SC
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1962–1966	Velox SC	?	(?)
1966–1968	Xerxes	67	(32)
1968–1976	Feyenoord	247	(88)
1976–1979	AZ'67	75	(10)
1979–1979	Chicago Sting	27	(6)
1979–1981	FC Utrecht	54	(3)
1981–1983	Feyenoord	51	(2)
National team‡
1968–1979[1]	Netherlands	52	(6)
Teams managed
1990–1992	USV Holland
1990–1991	FC Wageningen
1992–1995	Feyenoord Rotterdam
1995–1996	Al-Hilal
1997–1999	AZ
2001	Sparta Rotterdam
2007–2008	FC Utrecht
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 June 2007. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 June 2007

Willem "Wim" van Hanegem (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋɪ.ləm ˈʋɪm vɐn ˈɦaː.nə.ɣɛm]) (born 20 February 1944) is a Dutch football midfielder and coach born in Breskens, Zeeland. In a playing career spanning over 20 years he won several domestic honours in the Netherlands, as well as two UEFA trophies, all with Feyenoord. He was also a finalist in the FIFA World Cup 1974. As a manager he won the league and cup with Feyenoord and spent a period as the Dutch national team's assistant coach. He was appointed manager of FC Utrecht in July 2007.

Playing career

Van Hanegem played for Velox SC, Xerxes/DHC, Feyenoord, AZ'67, Chicago Sting, FC Utrecht and, finally, Feyenoord once again.

Style of Play

In the Netherlands he is widely considered as one of the best Dutch football players in history. He was renowned for his tactical insight and was well known for his fantastic passing range and his ability with the ball at his feet. Both his way of sprinting (he had bandy legs), and his skill to give the ball a curve (achieved by striking the ball with the outside of his left foot) gave him the nickname De Kromme (The Crooked). Whilst being primarily renowned for the technical part of his game, he was also highly capable in the defensive part of his game, being a good tackler and not afraid to go into physical challenges. His primary weakness was his lack of pace.^[2]

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Van Hanegem joined Feyenoord as assistant manager in 1983 and stayed in the post until 1986. He then joined FC Utrecht as assistant, before moving to FC Wageningen. He returned to Feyenoord as manager in 1992, winning the league in 1993 and the Dutch Cup in 1994 and 1995.

In 1995, he had a spell as manager with Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal, then took the post at AZ'67 in 1997. He joined Sparta Rotterdam in 2001. His stay was short-lived, and afterwards he became assistant manager of the Dutch national side. He was appointed manager of FC Utrecht in July 2007 and was fired on 23 December 2008.

Personal life

Van Hanegem was known for rough, passionate play against German sides (before the 1974 final, he exhorted the Dutch side to "stuff the Germans").^[3] "I don't like Germans. Everytime I played against German players, I had a problem because of the war."^[4]

In the summer of 1944 the German 15th army was fleeing northward from Calais to the Netherlands. On 11 September the Allies bombed the Wehrmacht near the ferry terminal at Breskens. Citizens had fled the town but Lo and Izaak van Hanegem, Willem's father and older brother, went back to get supplies. They hid in a shelter, which was hit. Both died. Van Hanegem later lost a brother and a sister to the war.^[4] His hatred was summed up after the 1974 final, "I didn't give a damn as long as we humiliated them. They murdered my father, sister and two brothers. I am full of angst. I hate them." After the game (with Germany winning 2–1) Van Hanegem left the field in tears.^[5]

In later years, however, Van Hanegem used a more conciliatory tone, when commenting on the war.

Willem's son, Willem van Hanegem jr., is an international electronic dance music artist where he produces under the name W&W.

Honours

Van Hanegem in 2008

As a player

With Feyenoord:

Eredivisie

• Winner – 1969, 1971, 1974

KNVB Cup

• Winner – 1969, 1978

European Cup

• Winner – 1970

UEFA Cup

• Winner – 1974

Intercontinental Cup

• Winner – 1970

With the Dutch national team:

FIFA World Cup

• Runner-up – 1974

European Football Championship

• Third place – 1976

As a manager

With Feyenoord:

Eredivisie

• Winner – 1993

KNVB Cup

• Winner – 1994, 1995

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Willem van Hanegem.

• Statistics
• Willem van Hanegem profile and stats at Wereld van Oranje (Dutch)