Gert Bals

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Gert Bals, 1968

Gerrit "Gert" Bals (born October 18, 1936 in Utrecht , † May 20, 2016 in Veenendaal ) was a Dutch football goalkeeper . With PSV Eindhoven and Ajax Amsterdam he was a total of five Dutch champions .

Career and life

Gert Bals, whose first name was actually Gerrit, began his career in youth with the Utrecht clubs VV Raven USCL Combinatie and Velox . In 1955 he moved to SV Zeist in the Eerste class , at that time the second professional league. After a stopover at HVV 't Gooi from Hilversum , he went to Eindhoven in 1961 on the recommendation of PSV goalkeeper Pim Bekkering , who had previously also played for' t Gooi. In four seasons of the Eredivisie he came to PSV to 120 missions; The team reached second place twice, in 1963 it became champions. Bals also gained notoriety because he usually wore a flat cap in his games .

Bals was one of the few players to join AFC Ajax from PSV. For the 1965/66 season it was worth 71,750 guilders to the Amsterdamers . He made his debut in goal for Amsterdam on August 22, 1965, in his first of 216 competitive games for Ajax. In Bals' five years at Ajax, the team was four times champions and twice cup winners . On May 28, 1969, he was the first Dutch goalkeeper in the final of the European Cup , but the team of coach Rinus Michels lost the game at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu with 1: 4 against AC Milan . Bals was elected Dutch Footballer of the Year at the end of the season as the successor to Johan Cruijff . In total, he has played 28 times in the European Cup for PSV and Ajax and ten times in the UEFA Cup. Despite these successes - and although he played at Ajax with national players such as Cruijff, Sjaak Swart , Wim Suurbier , Piet Keizer , Bennie Muller , Henk Groot or Klaas Nuninga - he was never used in the national team .

In the 1969/70 season he lost his regular place as a keeper at Ajax to Heinz Stuy , who was ten years his junior , and then moved to SBV Vitesse in Arnhem in 1970 . With Vitesse he rose to the Eredivisie in 1971, but could not prevent the direct relegation. After another year in the Eerste divisie and a total of 89 competitive games for Vitesse, he ended his active career in 1973. But not without playing for FC Barcelona once in early August 1973 , as the first Dutchman, before Johan Cruijff. Bals' former Ajax coach Michels, who meanwhile coached the Spaniards, brought the almost 37-year-old into the team when all goalkeepers were canceled for a friendly match at Fortuna Düsseldorf . However, it stayed with the one-time guest appearance.

After his career as a player, Bals first had a sports shop in Velp , and later a tobacco and stationery store in Veenendaal.

Web links

Notes and evidence

  1. ↑ Gert Bals' profile at AFC-Ajax.Info , viewed on June 14, 2016
  2. ↑ a b Gert Bals doelman mét pet , PSV homepage of July 8, 2013, viewed on June 14, 2016
  3. ↑ Legendarische oud-doelman Gert Bals overleden , NOS online from May 24, 2016, viewed on June 14, 2016. The value of 71,750 guilders in 1965 corresponds to a purchasing power of around 180,000 euros in 2015; calculated with the purchasing power converter Waarde van de gulden / euro of the Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis
  4. ↑ Gert Bals' profile at voetbalstats.nl , viewed on June 14, 2016
  5. ↑ De invaller bij Barcelona hette Gert Bals in Leidse Courant dated August 6, 1973; Image online in the Historische Kranten archive , viewed on June 14, 2016
  6. ↑ Oud vitesse keeper Gert Bals (79) overleden , obituary at Omroep Gelderland from May 24, 2016, viewed on June 14, 2016
personal data
SURNAME Bals, Gert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bals, Gerrit (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch football goalkeeper
DATE OF BIRTH October 18, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Utrecht , Netherlands
DATE OF DEATH May 20, 2016
Place of death Veenendaal , Netherlands