Johan Neeskens

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Johan Neeskens
Personal information
Full name Johannes Jacobus Neeskens
Date of birth September 15, 1951 (1951-09-15) (age 56)
Place of birth    Heemstede, Netherlands
Playing position Midfielder, Manager
Club information
Current club None
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1968-1970
1970-1974
1974-1979
1979-1984
1984-1985
1985
1986
1986-1987
1987-1990
1990-1991
RCH
Ajax
Barcelona
New York Cosmos
FC Groningen
Minnesota Strikers
Fort Lauderdale Sun
Löwenbrau (amateurs)
FC Baar
FC Zug
68 (1)
124 (33)
141 (35)
94 (17)
7 (0)
? (?)
? (?)
? (?)
23 (5)
1 (0)   
National team
1970-1981 Netherlands 049 (17)
Teams managed
1991-1993
1993-1995
1995-1996
1995-2000
2000-2004
2005-2006
2006-2008
FC Zug
FC Stäfa
FC Singen
Netherlands (assistant manager)
NEC Nijmegen
Australia (assistant manager)
FC Barcelona (assistant manager)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Johannes ("Johan") Jacobus Neeskens (born September 15, 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 runner-ups in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups. He was the assistant coach to Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona but was sacked along with Frank Rijkaard.

Contents

Neeskens, a native of Heemstede, Noord-Holland, 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 Cruijff, but was equally adept in central defence. 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 Barça was relatively unsuccessful (one cup title ('78) 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. Winding down his career, he also played for FC Groningen (1984-85), Fort Lauderdale Sun (1986-87), FC Baar (1988-90) and FC Zug in Switzerland, finally hanging up his boots in 1991.

Neeskens was capped 49 times for his country, scoring 17 goals. He made his debut against East Germany, and played a crucial role in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups, playing in central midfield. Neeskens scored the opening goal of the 1974 World Cup final against West Germany on a penalty kick after only 2 minutes of play.

Four years later, Neeskens was a crucial player for the Dutch (despite a rib injury suffered in the Scotland defeat), in the absence of Cruijff who had retired from international football in 1977. The Netherlands again reached the final, only to lose to the hosts, this time Argentina, going down 3-1 after extra time (the score at the end of regulation was 1-1). He played his final international game in 1981 in a 2-0 defeat against France in a qualifier for the 1982 World Cup.

Neeskens was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.

At the request of Guus Hiddink, Neeskens, along with Frank Rijkaard and Ronald Koeman, acted as assistant coach for the Dutch national team during the qualifiers and finals of the 1998 FIFA World Cup. When Hiddink stepped down as national coach after the 1998 FIFA World Cup, he performed the same role during the reign of Frank Rijkaard as national coach up until the end of Euro 2000. He was then appointed as coach of Dutch side NEC Nijmegen, leading them to their first European appearance in twenty years in 2003, but was fired in 2004 because of poor results.

In December 2005, Neeskens was appointed assistant coach of the Australian national team, once again at the request of Guus Hiddink, the Socceroos's manager at the time. He worked alongside Hiddink and Graham Arnold as part of their World Cup 2006 campaign, and even afterwards he remained involved with the Australian national team: on 7 October 2006, under contract with FC Barcelona, Neeskens was alongside the Australian national team's bench in a friendly match between Paraguay while visiting Australia for a short break.

After the 2006 World Cup, Neeskens returned to FC Barcelona to replace Henk ten Cate in the club's technical staff, reuniting with Frank Rijkaard. The three-year deal was signed when Neeskens flew in from Germany following Australia's opening win over Japan, but on May 8th 2008, after two disappointing seasons, Barcelona's president Joan Laporta announced that Neeskens (as well as Rijkaard) will leave FC Barcelona at the end of the current season.

Club Performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Netherlands League KNVB Cup League Cup Europe Total
1968-69 RCH Eerste Divisie 34 0
1969-70 34 1
1970-71 Ajax Eredivisie 33 1
1971-72 28 10
1972-73 32 7
1973-74 31 15
Spain League Copa del Rey Copa de la Liga Europe Total
1974-75 Barcelona La Liga 27 7
1975-76 32 12
1976-77 33 9
1977-78 18 2
1978-79 31 5
USA League Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup League Cup North America Total
1979 New York Cosmos North American Soccer League 13 4
1980 17 4
1981 6 2
1982 17 0
1983 23 2
1984 18 5
Netherlands League KNVB Cup League Cup Europe Total
1984-85 Groningen Eredivisie 7 0
USA League Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup League Cup North America Total
1985-86 Minnesota Strikers
1986-87 Fort Lauderdale Sun
1986-87 Löwenbrau
Switzerland League Schweizer Cup League Cup Europe Total
1987-88 Baar 9 1
1988-89 13 4
1989-90 1 0
1990-91 Zug 1 0
Total Netherlands 199 34
Spain 141 35
USA
Switzerland 24 5
Career Total

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