Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Willem van Hanegem
Willem "Wim" van Hanegem (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋɪləɱ ˈʋɪɱ vɑn ˈɦaːnəɣɛm]; born 20 February 1944) is a Dutch former football player and coach who played as a midfielder. In a playing career spanning over 20 years, he won several domestic honours in the Netherlands, as well as both the European Cup and UEFA Cup with Feyenoord. He was also part of the Dutch national team that were runners-up in the 1974 FIFA World Cup.
Widely considered one of the greatest Dutch footballers in history, he earned the nickname 'De Kromme' ('The Crooked One' or 'The Bent One'), initially due to his posture as a consequence of bow legs and later because of his trademark bent passes and contrarian commentary. Known for his aggressiveness, intelligence and technical playmaking abilities, Van Hanegem was often praised by contemporaries like Johan Cruyf. For his significant contributions to the club's rise to domestic and European success, Feyenoord honored Van Hanegem in 2014 by naming one of its stadium's stands after him.
As a manager, he won the league and cup with Feyenoord and spent a period as the Dutch national team's assistant coach. His most recent job as manager was for FC Utrecht, from 2007 to 2008. He writes a regular column about football for Algemeen Dagblad, one of the Netherlands' principal daily newspapers.
Van Hanegem was born on 20 February 1944 in Breskens, the son of Lo van Hanegem (1905-1944) and Anna van Grol. During an Allied bombing raid on Breskens on 11 September 1944, his father Lo, brother Isaac and his sister were killed. After the war, he moved to Utrecht with his mother.
During a training session of Velox, he stood on the sidelines and every ball that went wide of the goal, he shot back so accurately that coach Daan van Beek asked him to come and play for the club. Six months later, he played in the club's first team.
Van Hanegem spent six years at Velox, playing 109 games and scoring 39 goals. After six years with Velox, Van Hanegem moved from Utrecht to Rotterdam, where he played for Xerxes, which had just won promotion at the Eredivisie. In the 1967-68 season, Van Hanegem was the second best top scorer in the Eredivisie, scoring 26 goals.
Ajax was interested in Van Hanegem's services, but coach Rinus Michels refused to buy the player, believing that he was not suited for "modern football" due to his lack of pace and "one-dimensional" playing style. Van Hanegem would instead sign for Ajax's rivals Feyenoord, where he would enjoy his greatest successes, and play alongside players such as Wim Jansen, Franz Hasil, Coen Moulijn, Ove Kindvall, Ruud Geels, Theo Laseroms, Rinus Israël, Theo de Jong, Johan Boskamp and Wim Rijsbergen. He also established a father-son relationship with club coach Ernst Happel. With Van Hanegem's playmaking skills, Feyenoord won three Eredivisie titles, a KNVB Cup, a European Cup and an International Cup in 1970 and a UEFA Cup in 1974.
Van Hanegem left Feyenoord in 1976 to join AZ Alkmaar, where he played for three seasons alongside striker Kees Kist and midfielders Peter Arntz and Jan Peters, winning the KNVB Cup in 1978. He had a brief stint with Chicago Sting in 1979, until he returned to the Netherlands the same year to play for FC Utrecht (a merger of clubs VV DOS, USV Elinkwijk and Velox, the club that he played for in his younger years). He returned to Feyenoord in 1981, playing for two seasons.
Hub AI
Willem van Hanegem AI simulator
(@Willem van Hanegem_simulator)
Willem van Hanegem
Willem "Wim" van Hanegem (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋɪləɱ ˈʋɪɱ vɑn ˈɦaːnəɣɛm]; born 20 February 1944) is a Dutch former football player and coach who played as a midfielder. In a playing career spanning over 20 years, he won several domestic honours in the Netherlands, as well as both the European Cup and UEFA Cup with Feyenoord. He was also part of the Dutch national team that were runners-up in the 1974 FIFA World Cup.
Widely considered one of the greatest Dutch footballers in history, he earned the nickname 'De Kromme' ('The Crooked One' or 'The Bent One'), initially due to his posture as a consequence of bow legs and later because of his trademark bent passes and contrarian commentary. Known for his aggressiveness, intelligence and technical playmaking abilities, Van Hanegem was often praised by contemporaries like Johan Cruyf. For his significant contributions to the club's rise to domestic and European success, Feyenoord honored Van Hanegem in 2014 by naming one of its stadium's stands after him.
As a manager, he won the league and cup with Feyenoord and spent a period as the Dutch national team's assistant coach. His most recent job as manager was for FC Utrecht, from 2007 to 2008. He writes a regular column about football for Algemeen Dagblad, one of the Netherlands' principal daily newspapers.
Van Hanegem was born on 20 February 1944 in Breskens, the son of Lo van Hanegem (1905-1944) and Anna van Grol. During an Allied bombing raid on Breskens on 11 September 1944, his father Lo, brother Isaac and his sister were killed. After the war, he moved to Utrecht with his mother.
During a training session of Velox, he stood on the sidelines and every ball that went wide of the goal, he shot back so accurately that coach Daan van Beek asked him to come and play for the club. Six months later, he played in the club's first team.
Van Hanegem spent six years at Velox, playing 109 games and scoring 39 goals. After six years with Velox, Van Hanegem moved from Utrecht to Rotterdam, where he played for Xerxes, which had just won promotion at the Eredivisie. In the 1967-68 season, Van Hanegem was the second best top scorer in the Eredivisie, scoring 26 goals.
Ajax was interested in Van Hanegem's services, but coach Rinus Michels refused to buy the player, believing that he was not suited for "modern football" due to his lack of pace and "one-dimensional" playing style. Van Hanegem would instead sign for Ajax's rivals Feyenoord, where he would enjoy his greatest successes, and play alongside players such as Wim Jansen, Franz Hasil, Coen Moulijn, Ove Kindvall, Ruud Geels, Theo Laseroms, Rinus Israël, Theo de Jong, Johan Boskamp and Wim Rijsbergen. He also established a father-son relationship with club coach Ernst Happel. With Van Hanegem's playmaking skills, Feyenoord won three Eredivisie titles, a KNVB Cup, a European Cup and an International Cup in 1970 and a UEFA Cup in 1974.
Van Hanegem left Feyenoord in 1976 to join AZ Alkmaar, where he played for three seasons alongside striker Kees Kist and midfielders Peter Arntz and Jan Peters, winning the KNVB Cup in 1978. He had a brief stint with Chicago Sting in 1979, until he returned to the Netherlands the same year to play for FC Utrecht (a merger of clubs VV DOS, USV Elinkwijk and Velox, the club that he played for in his younger years). He returned to Feyenoord in 1981, playing for two seasons.