Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Teunis Pieter van Leeuwen | ||
Date of birth | 21 March 1943 | ||
Place of birth | Gouda, Netherlands | ||
Date of death | 15 June 1971 | (aged 28)||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Youth career | |||
Jodan Boys | |||
Vv ONA | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | ( Gls) |
1959–1963 | Sparta Rotterdam | 25 | (0) |
1963–1971 | GVAV Groningen | 232 | (2) |
International career | |||
1961 | Netherlands U19 | 1 | (0) |
1967 | Netherlands | 2 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Teunis Pieter van Leeuwen (21 March 1943 – 15 June 1971) was a Dutch footballer who played as a goalkeeper for GVAV Groningen and Sparta Rotterdam. [1] He made two appearances for the Netherlands national team in 1967. [2]
Van Leeuwen was born in Gouda, South Holland, the son of a furniture maker, and grew up in the working-class neighbourhood of Korte Akkeren . [3] He played for local clubs Jodan Boys and Vv ONA before signing for Sparta Rotterdam. [3]
At Sparta Rotterdam, van Leeuwen was brought in as an understudy to Andries van Dijk . [3] Due to van Dijk's injuries he got more playing time than planned and made his senior debut on 1 May 1960 against DWS at the age of 17, keeping a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw. [3] Following an injury, van Leeuwen lost his place as number 1 goalkeeper to Pim Doesburg and wanted to leave the club. [3]
In 1963 van Leeuwen joined GVAV Groningen as a replacement for Otto Roffel . [3] Groningen paid a transfer fee of 87,500 guilders to Sparta Rotterdam. [3] In the 1969–70 season, he suffered relegation from the Eredivisie with Groningen. [3] Despite offers from other clubs such as Belgian side Anderlecht, he remained at Groningen. [3] In the 1970–71 season he conceded just seven goals – record low number of goals conceded in a season of any major European division –, [4] keeping 23 clean sheets [3] while Groningen achieved promotion back to the Eredivisie. [4] His performances earned him the 1971 Goalkeeper of the Year award. [3]
Van Leeuwen was first called up to the Netherlands national team in 1964. [4] A long suspension he received for striking an opponent delayed his debut. [4] He made his debut on 5 April 1967, in a match against East Germany. [3] The Netherlands lost 4–3 after leading 2–0 with van Leeuwen being criticised for not dealing well with high balls played into the penalty area. [3] [4] He made his second appearance against Hungary, asking to be substituted at halftime with The Netherlands losing 2–0. [3] Van Leeuwen claimed he had sustained an injury to his shoulder but it later transpired that he was nervous. [3] [4]
Van Leeuwen was known for his exceptional reflexes, his control of the penalty area and his charisma. [3]
Van Leeuwen is considered a cultural icon of Groningen. [3] A grandstand, a train and a street were named after him and a statue of him stands in front of FC Groningen's Euroborg stadium. [3]
Van Leeuwen had two children, Harold and Irma, with his wife Gerie. [3] In the 1990s it was revealed that he had had a third child, Richard Vennema, with another woman called Karla Vennema. [5] Richard also played football as a goalkeeper. [5] A semi-professional footballer, van Leeuwen worked as a representative at sporting goods manufacturer Quick. [3]
He died at the age of 28 after crashing his car head-on into a truck loaded with concrete pipes on the wrong side of the road in the early morning of 15 June 1971. [3] He was on his way home from the ceremony where he received the 1971 Goalkeeper of the Year award. [3] His wife survived the crash. [3]
Club | Season | League | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | ||
Sparta Rotterdam | 1959–60 | Eredivisie | 2 | 0 |
1960–61 | Eredivisie | 3 | 0 | |
1961–62 | Eredivisie | 16 | 0 | |
1962–63 | Eredivisie | 4 | 0 | |
Total | 25 | 0 | ||
GVAV Groningen | 1963–64 | Eredivisie | 25 | 0 |
1964–65 | Eredivisie | 21 | 0 | |
1965–66 | Eredivisie | 30 | 0 | |
1966–67 | Eredivisie | 34 | 1 | |
1967–68 | Eredivisie | 34 | 0 | |
1968–69 | Eredivisie | 24 | 0 | |
1969–70 | Eredivisie | 34 | 1 | |
1970–71 | Eerste Divisie | 30 | 0 | |
Total | 232 | 2 | ||
Career total | 257 | 2 |