Stan Willemse

Stan Willemse
Stan Willemse (1955)
Personnel
Surname	Stanley Bernard Willemse
birthday	August 23, 1924
place of birth	Brighton ,  England
date of death	August 5, 2011
Place of death	Brighton ,  England
position	Defense (left)
Juniors
Years	station
	Brighton & Hove Albion
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1946-1949	Brighton & Hove Albion	91 (3)
1949-1956	Chelsea FC	198 (2)
1956-1958	Leyton Orient	59 (2)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1954	England B	1 (0)
1 Only league games are given.

Stanley Bernard "Stan" Willemse (born August 23, 1924 in Brighton ; † August 5, 2011 ibid) was an English football player . The left- back won the English championship with Chelsea in 1955 .

Athletic career

As a schoolboy, Willemse was already playing football for his home club Brighton & Hove Albion , and as a 16-year-old he was part of the first team in a competition that was held on an unofficial basis during wartime. During World War II, Willemse served in the British Marines and although he got a shrapnel wound during combat operations in Dunkirk, France, he continued his sports career after the game was resumed. He completed his first four competitive games in the spring of 1946 in the FA Cup as a left half-forward. In the summer of 1946 Willemse then signed a professional contract in Brighton and Willemse was henceforth used as a left-back. He was a regular player and although his team was bottom of the Third Division South in the 1947/48 season, Willemse was able to convince with good performances and ultimately bring the club up to a good sixth place in the following year. His good reputation reached the top English league and he moved to Chelsea FC in July 1949 - Brighton used the transfer fee of £ 6,500 for Willemse to repair the Goldstone Ground home ground , which had been badly damaged by bombs from the war .

Willemse needed some time to get used to the "Blues" and he was initially in the shadow of the experienced Welsh international Billy Hughes . After he was injured, Willemse used the opportunity and in the team that was fighting for relegation under coach Bily Birrell , he had longer series of operations. However, he only got a regular place when Ted Drake Birrell succeeded him. Willemse did not fall victim to the numerous restructuring of the new head coach and as a tall and strong defensive player who had his strengths in headers, passing and (mostly fair) duels, he developed positively in sporting terms like Chelsea's team, which went from relegation candidate to English champions 1955 was. Center forward Roy Bentley was considered a “star” of the team, but the left side, which Willemse formed together with left half-forward Derek Saunders and winger Frank Blunstone , was considered a key to championship success. Willemse was one of the crowd's favorites and when Blunstone was injured against Sunderland AFC , he helped out twice as a left winger, scored a goal in the 2-1 win against Sunderland AFC and also impressed in the 4-2 win against Tottenham . During this time he was considered one of the best English left-backs, but after a use for England's B selection in 1953 against Switzerland, it should not be enough for a use in the senior national team. This was particularly true of Roger Byrne from Manchester United and after his untimely death in 1958 Willemse had already passed his zenith. On the other hand, he gained international experience in 1955 with two appearances for the London city selection for the first edition of the trade fair cup . In June 1956 Willemse then hired after 221 competitive games for Chelsea for £ 4,500 within London at Leyton Orient , which had recently been promoted to the second division. With his experience, Willemse helped his new club to stay out of the league twice in the following years before he announced his resignation in May 1958.

He then worked as an innkeeper in a pub in Brighton and ran a betting shop before he was employed as a security officer at the University of London . When Chelsea won the second English championship in 2005, 50 years later, Willemse and Bentley carried the trophy into Stamford Bridge Stadium to present to the new captain, John Terry . A good six years later he died 18 days before his 87th birthday.

Title / Awards

• English Championship (1): 1955
• Charity Shield (1): 1955

Web links

• Statistical data from the Post War English & Scottish Football League AZ Player's Database
• Stan Willemse in the barryhugmansfootballers.com database. Retrieved August 16, 2020.

Individual evidence

1. ^ "England - International Results B-Team - Details" (RSSSF)
2. ↑ Stan Willemse (stamford-bridge.com)
3. ↑ Stan Willemse: Formidable defender who helped Chelsea to their first League title in 1954/55 (The Independent)