Wim Suurbier
![]() Suurbier in 1978 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Wilhelmus Lourens Johannes Suurbier | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | 16 January 1945 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Eindhoven, Netherlands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of death | 12 July 2020 | (aged 75)|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of death | Amsterdam, Netherlands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Right back | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ajax | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1964–1977 | Ajax | 392 | (16) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1977–1978 | Schalke 04 | 12 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1978–1979 | Metz | 24 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1979–1981 | Los Angeles Aztecs | 73 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1980–1981 | → Sparta Rotterdam (loan) | 11 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1982 | San Jose Earthquakes | 23 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1982 | Tung Sing | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1982–1983 | Golden Bay Earthquakes (indoor) | 28 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1986–1987 | Tampa Bay Rowdies (indoor) | 10 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Total | 577 | (20) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1966–1978[1] | Netherlands | 60 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1983 | Golden Bay Earthquakes (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
1984 | Tulsa Roughnecks | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
1986 | Los Angeles Heat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
1986–1987 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
1988 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
1989 | Miami Sharks | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
1994 | St. Petersburg Kickers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
2017 | Kerala Blasters (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Wilhelmus Lourens Johannes Suurbier (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋɪm ˈsyːr.ˌbiːr]) (16 January 1945 – 12 July 2020) was a Dutch professional footballer and among others assistant coach of the Albania national team. He played as a right back and was part of the Netherlands national team and AFC Ajax teams of the 1970s.
Club career
[edit]Suurbier was born in Eindhoven. He made his debut for Ajax Amsterdam when he was 19 and played with them for 13 years, all throughout the most successful era until 1977 when he was 32 years old. Usually a right back, Suurbier was renowned for his pace and stamina. Suurbier was a big part of the 70's "total football" team the "Twelve Apostles" of Ajax Amsterdam led by Johan Cruijff, which lifted the UEFA European Cup three times in a row. In 1977, he moved to FC Schalke 04 for one season.[2]
In 1979, Suurbier transferred to the Los Angeles Aztecs of the North American Soccer League. He played three seasons in Los Angeles before moving to the San Jose Earthquakes for the 1982 season. In the fall of 1982, the team was renamed the Golden Bay Earthquakes and entered the Major Indoor Soccer League. He retired at the end of the season to become an assistant coach with the Earthquakes. He later resumed his playing career as a player-coach of the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the American Indoor Soccer Association.
International career
[edit]Suurbier played 60 matches and scored three goals for the Netherlands national team from 1966 to 1978. He played in both the 1974 and 1978 World Cups[3] where the Dutch finished second, and also the 1976 UEFA European Football Championship.
Managerial career
[edit]In 1983, Suurbier was an assistant coach with the Golden Bay Earthquakes.[4] In 1984, the Tulsa Roughnecks of the North American Soccer League hired Suurbier as head coach.[5] He took the team to a 10–14 record.[6] In 1986, he became the head coach of the Los Angeles Heat of the Western Soccer League.[7] In the fall of 1986, he was hired by the Tampa Bay Rowdies as the team entered the American Indoor Soccer Association. In November 1987, Suurbier became the head coach of the newly established Fort Lauderdale Strikers in preparation of the team's first season in 1988.[8] That season, the Strikers finished and went to the American Soccer League championship before falling to the Washington Diplomats. In January 1989, Suurbier resigned as coach of the Strikers.[9] In February 1989, he was named the new head coach of the Miami Sharks.[10] After starting the season at 2–3, the Sharks fired Suurbier.[11] In 1994, he became the head coach of the St. Petersburg Kickers.[12] In 1999 Suurbier joined Al Etehad (Qatar) as an assistant coach to Rene Meulensteen. Together they won the Arab Cup and H.H. Apparent Cup that season. The year after they joined Al Sadd (Qatar) and in season 2000–01 they won the Emir cup. From 2001 to 2002 Suurbier worked for Heerenveen as an assistant for the U-20 squad. In 2017, he was a part of the coaching staff for the pre-season preparations of the Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters in Spain, where he served as a mentor to the Blasters' head coach René Meulensteen during the preseason.[13]
Personal life
[edit]In May 2020, it was reported that Suurbier was in intensive care after having suffered a "major" intracerebral haemorrhage.[14] He died on 12 July 2020.[15]
Honours
[edit]Ajax
- Eredivisie: 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1976–77
- KNVB Cup: 1966–67, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72
- European Cup: 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73
- European Super Cup: 1972, 1973
- Intercontinental Cup: 1972
Netherlands
- FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1974, 1978
- UEFA European Championship third place: 1976
- Tournoi de Paris: 1978[16]
References
[edit]- ^ "Wim Suurbier – International Appearances". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
- ^ Zwei Schalker kamen bisher zu WM-Finalehren Archived 14 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Schalke04.de. Retrieved on 5 June 2017.
- ^ Wim Suurbier – FIFA competition record (archived)
- ^ "Quakes Still Alive ... And Kicking". San Jose Mercury News (CA). 13 April 1986
- ^ "Can NASL came to terms with stability?" Evening Tribune (San Diego). 8 May 1984
- ^ The Year in American Soccer – 1984. Homepages.sover.net (31 January 2010). Retrieved on 5 June 2017.
- ^ "QUAKES TO BATTLE HEAT, FORMER COACH SUURBIER" San Jose Mercury News (CA). 14 June 1986
- ^ Lazzarino, Chris (5 November 1987) "Robbie To Own Asl Team As Strikers Try Once Again" Archived 18 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Sun-Sentinel.
- ^ "Suurbier Resigns As Strikers Coach". Miami Herald. 31 January 1989
- ^ "Ex-striker Coach Suurbier Joins Sharks" Miami Herald. 2 February 1989
- ^ "Sharks (2–3) Fire Suurbier" Miami Herald. 23 May 1989
- ^ "Dutch Legend Coaches Amateurs" The Palm Beach Post. 3 April 1994
- ^ "ISL 2017: Rinus Michel's student Wim Suurbier oversaw Kerala Blasters' pre-season | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ "Ajax-icoon Wim Suurbier getroffen door hersenbloeding". Allgemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 11 May 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "Dutch 70s legend Wim Suurbier dies, aged 75". sports.yahoo.com. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ^ "1978 Tournoi de Paris". RSSSF. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Wim Suurbier at National-Football-Teams.com
- `Suurbier Appreciated`
- 1974 FIFA World Cup final appearance
- 1978 FIFA World Cup final appearance
- 1976 Euro 3rd Place winners
- NASL/MISL stats
- Profile – FC Metz
- 1945 births
- 2020 deaths
- Footballers from Eindhoven
- Dutch men's footballers
- Men's association football fullbacks
- Netherlands men's international footballers
- UEFA Champions League winning players
- 1974 FIFA World Cup players
- UEFA Euro 1976 players
- 1978 FIFA World Cup players
- Eredivisie players
- Bundesliga players
- Ligue 1 players
- Hong Kong First Division League players
- Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players
- North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players
- National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players
- AFC Ajax players
- FC Schalke 04 players
- FC Metz players
- Los Angeles Aztecs players
- Sparta Rotterdam players
- San Jose Earthquakes (1974–1988) players
- Golden Bay Earthquakes (MISL) players
- Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players
- Dutch football managers
- American Soccer League (1988–89) coaches
- National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) coaches
- North American Soccer League (1968–1984) head coaches
- Tampa Bay Rowdies coaches
- Western Soccer Alliance coaches
- Kerala Blasters FC non-playing staff
- Dutch expatriate men's footballers
- Dutch expatriate football managers
- Dutch expatriate sportspeople in West Germany
- Expatriate men's footballers in West Germany
- Dutch expatriate sportspeople in France
- Expatriate men's footballers in France
- Dutch expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
- Expatriate men's footballers in Hong Kong
- Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong
- Expatriate soccer coaches in the United States