Henny Meijer

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Henny Ingemar Meijer (left)

Henny Ingemar Meijer (born February 17, 1962 in Paramaribo , Suriname ) is a Surinamese - Dutch former football player who played in the Eredivisie for Ajax Amsterdam and FC Groningen , among others . In 1987 he was used once in the Dutch national team. As a striker for Verdy Kawasaki , he was the first goalscorer in the newly formed J. League in 1993 .

Club career

Meijer was a late starter when it came to football; his family had no connection to sports and it wasn't until he was 14 that he started playing football in earnest. His first club was ZPC from Amsterdam, then he switched to the higher class DJK - "They had nicer clothes and went on great trips," he later stated as the reason. When he played with the amateurs in the fourth grade (seventh division), scouts discovered him ; Telstar , FC Amsterdam and the honorary divisionaires Ajax and AZ'67 showed interest. Ultimately, he signed a contract with the second division Telstar. In 1983 he made his professional debut with the Velsen team in the Eerste Divisie . Despite his sturdy build, the striker scored 20 goals in 32 games, five of them in Telstar's 5-1 win at SC Heracles in Almelo .

For the 1984/85 season Meijer moved to the higher league for FC Volendam . Meijer himself expected to play in the second team; but his coach Leo Beenhakker saw in him a mature, "eager and eager to learn" player for the Eredivisie, who should soon be part of the team's regular formation. In his first appearance in the top division - on September 2, 1984, he was substituted on 3: 3 against FC Utrecht shortly before the break - he scored one goal. Beenhakker's system with two tips - in addition to Meijer, these were either Marcel van Buuren or Tonnie Blanker - suited his style of play. But after Beenhakker had also taken over the office as bond coach of the national team in February 1985 , Volendam slipped in the table lower and lower; at the end of the season the club had to relegate. Meijer changed clubs again, went to Kerkrade where he played for Roda JC for two years . It was here that he earned his nickname de Kont , "the butt" - "I have a strong rear end, and I knew how to make good use of it," he later explained in an interview. De Kont scored eight goals in his first season when he was only second choice under coach Frans Körver ; Only in the second season under Rob Baan did he make the breakthrough, scoring 19 goals this season for Limburg, who at the end of the season achieved fourth place, the best placement in the Eredivisie up to this point. This aroused the interest of Ajax coach Johan Cruijff , who brought him back to his hometown.

The Ajacieden were reigning KNVB and European Cup winners ; Marco van Basten had left the club, but expectations were high to win at least one title again, possibly to contest PSV for the championship again after two years. Meijer blended in well with the team, scoring eight goals by October (three in the 6-1 win against FC Twente ) and becoming a national player during this time . He also showed himself at his best in the European Cup : he scored his first international goal against Dundalk FC , then Ajax knocked out Hamburger SV 1-0 and 2-0, the away win and the second goal at home went to Meijer's account. But there was one who overtook him during this period: John Bosman , who had already scored 23 goals in the preseason (in addition to van Bastens 31 goals), was getting better and better and again proved his class with 25 goals this season. In addition, Rob Witschge , John van 't Schip and Dennis Bergkamp were competitors in the storm . Coach Cruijff left the club in January and turned to Barcelona ; Spitz Kohn from Luxembourg , Barry Hulshoff and Bobby Haarms took over responsibility. After the winter break, Meijer only had short appearances as a joker, sometimes ten, sometimes twelve minutes, he only managed one goal: when he was allowed to play in Rotterdam at Feyenoord from the start, he scored the second goal to make it 3: 1 win. The end of the season was disappointing for both Ajax and Meijer. Once again, only second place behind PSV remained in the championship; in the cup there was an early exit (whereas the second team from Ajax advanced to the quarter-finals). So at least the title in the European Cup should be defended. In the final in Strasbourg against KV Mechelen , the coaching trio changed after the 0-1 deficit Meijer and Bergkamp, ​​but the chase was unsuccessful; the third title was also lost.

Meijer's subsequent transfer to FC Groningen was investigated a year later as part of an affair involving Groningen chairman Renze de Vries ; apparently black money had flowed in various businesses . In any case, the change was the right decision for the players and the club. Meijer, René Eijkelkamp and later the Yugoslav Olympic champion from 1984, Milko Ðurovski , as strikers led the club to the KNVB Cup final in 1989 together with team captain Jan van Dijk . After knocking out Ajax 3-0 in the semi-finals, however, they lost 4-1 in the PSV final at De Kuip, with Meijer scoring the consolation goal. In the same season they failed in the UEFA Cup only in the third round due to the away goals rule at VfB Stuttgart . In the 1990/91 season, FC played for a long time for the championship, but in the end had to make do with third place, which meant the best position in the history of the northern Dutch, which has not been surpassed to this day. In the European Cup, the Groningen were eliminated in the second round against Partizan Belgrade . Henny Meijer was awarded the Gouden Schoen , the Golden Shoe, for the best player in the Eredivisie this season .

Meijer stayed in Groningen for four and a half years before joining the newly founded professional league of Japan in 1993 . He played for Verdy Kawasaki and scored the first goal of the J. League on May 15, 1993 in a match against the Yokohama Marinos . Yet he only stayed for eleven games; he was fired because the club had too many foreigners and returned to the Netherlands after a few months. He then played in Friesland , first one season with SC Cambuur in Leeuwarden , then he was under contract with sc Heerenveen for a little over a year . During the 1995 season he moved to Doetinchem to De Graafschap and after the season he went to the Eerste divisie at BV Veendam to play second class for two more years. In 1998 he ended his active career.

Stations

League missions (Eredivisie, unless otherwise noted)

National team

During his time at Ajax, Meijer was - like many other players from the Amsterdam squad - also part of the national team. His first appearance in Orange came three days after his "three-pack" against Twente, on September 9, 1987. The Dutch had a friendly against Belgium in de Kuip between the European Championship qualifiers . From the Ajax team, Sonny Silooy , Aron Winter , Frank Rijkaard , John van 't Schip and John Bosman were on the pitch, as well as Marco van Basten, who had just moved to Milan. Meijer was initially on the bench and came on for Winter in the 67th minute. "The game wasn't one of the best," Meijer recalled more than twenty years later. “I probably didn't play a big game myself, even if I can still remember moments of euphoria quite well.” He played for the Netherlands for 24 minutes. Although he was still part of the squad, was allowed to warm up twice against Poland and Cyprus , but he was not used again. When he showed good performance again in Groningen, “I actually deserved another chance in Oranje, but of course there was a lot of competition: there was van Basten, Gullit , Bosman, Kieft , Gillhaus - they weren't the worst either ... “It stayed with an international match.

In 1989, Henny Meijer was one of the players who should play a tournament in Suriname with the Kleurrijk Elftal , a selection of professionals from the Netherlands of Surinamese descent. He and goalkeeper Stanley Menzo did not fly with the team and the escort, but took an earlier flight; So they escaped the accident on Surinam Airways flight 764 , during the approach to Paramaribo , in which 14 of their teammates and their trainer Nick Stienstra , a total of 176 people, were killed.

After the active time

In the first years of the 21st century Meijer worked as a coach and youth coordinator for the amateurs of VSV from Velserbroek and in a football school in IJmuiden ; He earned his living three days a week working for a courier service. In the meantime, in the 2003/04 season, he was assistant coach at his old club Telstar. He is divorced; he has five children with his ex-wife.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ City Archives Amsterdam
  2. ↑ a b c d Margriet Hoogen, Hennie 'De Kont' Meijer bleef én blijft knokken , RodAction vol. 6 No. 4, February 2007; Online version ( memento of March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) at RodaJCspelers.nl viewed on December 3, 2009
  3. ↑ Pieter Steeman, Henny Meijer, de mensen hebben nog niet de helft gezien van wat ik kan , Voetbal International from the 1984/85 season, online copy at FCVD.nl viewed on December 3, 2009
  4. ↑ a b Profile Meijers at voetbalfocus.nl
  5. ↑ Game data ( memento from June 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) at voetbalstats.nl
personal data
SURNAME Meijer, Henny
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Meijer, Henny Ingemar (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Surinamese-Dutch soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH 17th February 1962
PLACE OF BIRTH Paramaribo