WILLEM VAN HANEGEM Born: 20 February 1944. Nick name: Wim, de Kromme. Position: Midfielder. Caps: 52 (1968-1979) / 6 goals League Games: 521 (1966-1983) / 134 goals European Footballer of the Year: 1970 (14th) Trophies & Tournaments: World Cup beaten finalist: 1974 World Cup participant: 1974 European Championship participant: 1976 European Champions’ Cup winner: 1970 UEFA Cup winner: 1974 Intercontinental Cup winner: 1970 Dutch Champion: 1969, 1971, 1974 Dutch Cup winner: 1969, 1978 Dutch runner-up: 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1983 Dutch Super Cup winner: - Willem “Wim” van Hanegem was one of the best midfielders of his era, renowned for his delicate left foot, very strong heading, his great passing but also for his toughness when not on the ball. He joined the workers club Velox of Utrecht in 1960 at the age of 16 and made his debut in the first team in 1962 at the age of 18. His coach at Velox was Daan van Beek, who became a fatherlike figure for young Willem during the six years he played for the club. Velox was a second division side that played third fiddle in Utrecht to DOS and Elinkwijk, but van Hanegem later commented that he never played at a better club in his life. During his time at Velox, van Hanegem was usually playing as an outside left or sometimes even as a left back. It wasn’t before 1966 that van Hanegem decided to leave the small club to join a (slightly) bigger club in Xerxes Rotterdam, a first division side. At Xerxes, van Hanegem was coached by the German Kurt Linder, who was focusing on iron discipline and hard training methods. Although van Hanegem collided with his new coach more than once, he managed to trim down van Hanegem’s weight from 94 kilos to 81 kilos. Also, at Xerxes, a 4-2-4 was played in which van Hanegem was moved from outside left to inside left. In his second season at Xerxes, van Hanegem scored his all-time high record of 26 league goals, only two goals short of winning the top goal scorer’s crown. Xerxes finished third in the Dutch league that season and after making his debut for the Dutch national team in May 1968, it became clear that he would have to move to a bigger club than Xerxes. In the summer of 1968, van Hanegem joined Feijenoord Rotterdam, he was going to play six seasons for this club which was to become the most successful phase in the history of the club and van Hanegem was on his way to becoming a Feijenoord legend. Already in his first season at Feijenoord, van Hanegem won the Eredivisie and the Dutch Cup and a year later even triumphed in the European Champions’ Cup final in Milan vs. Glasgow Celtic. A tense game that was decided in extra-time, Feijenoord became the first Dutch club to win top honors in European football. Later that year, they also beat South American champions Estudiantes de la Plata to win the Intercontinental Cup. A year later, van Hanegem went on to win his second Dutch championship with Feijenoord, a third would follow in 1974, that same year Feijenoord also beat Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Cup finals. By that time, the golden age for Feijenoord was about to end, finishing Dutch runners-up twice in 1975 and 1976. In 1976, Olympique Marseille offered van Hanegem and his Feijenoord colleague Wim Jansen a fortune, but van Hanegem declined and instead moved to aspiring new side AZ ’67 Alkmaar, where he won the Dutch Cup in 1978. After a season spent in the NASL with Chicago Stings, van Hanegem moved back to his hometown Utrecht, joining FC and then spent two final seasons at Feijenoord, with whom he almost won the Dutch championship in 1983, but Ajax proved too strong once more. Playing for Holland, van Hanegem was an integral part of the 1974 Dutch side that shook the football world in the World Cup held in West Germany. In previous years, the Dutch team weakened itself due to the two camps in Dutch football – Ajax and Feijenoord – almost never being willing to work together as a team. This had changed in 1974 and the result was a breathtaking new take on how football could be played (still known today as “Total Football”). Being Feijenoord’s main man, Wim van Hanegem’s acceptance of Johan Cruijff’s unquestioned leadership was one, if not the main component of making this experiment work. At the age of thirty, Wim van Hanegem had reached the pinnacle of his career, being Dutch champion, UEFA Cup winner as well as highly respected World Cup participant. He remained a fixture of the Dutch team during the next two years, but by the beginning of the 1976-77 season, Dutch coaches began to look for younger players. However he had a brief comeback in time for the 1978 World Cup, but then didn’t make the squad, as Austrian coach Ernst Happel was not willing to guarantee him a place in the team, he decided to walk out of the training camp, officially reasoning that the season which had just ended had taken too much out of him, claiming that he really needed a rest. However van Hanegem later claimed the real reason was a dispute on money (not uncommong for Dutch players of his generation). Some people argue that van Hanegem’s absence was more crucial to Holland than that of Johan Cruijff, as van Hanegem was considered to be the best passer available to Holland at the time. A year later, van Hanegem made another brief comeback for Holland versus Belgiun, now aged 35, but then finally retired from international play. League Statistics per Season Season - Club - Games – Goals 1962/63 Velox.................II. Division 1963/64 Velox.................II. Division 1964/65 Velox.................II. Division 1965/66 Velox.................II. Division 1966/67 Xerxes/DHC.........34 / 06 1967/68 Xerxes/DHC.........33 / 26 1968/69 Feijenoord...........32 / 13 1969/70 Feijenoord...........32 / 06 1970/71 Feijenoord...........34 / 13 1971/72 Feijenoord...........29 / 06 1972/73 Feijenoord...........31 / 12 1973/74 Feijenoord...........34 / 12 1974/75 Feijenoord...........28 / 11 1975/76 Feijenoord...........27 / 15 1976/77 AZ ‘67 Alkmaar.....30 / 6 1977/78 AZ ‘67 Alkmaar.....30 / 1 1978/79 AZ ‘67 Alkmaar.....15 / 03 1979/80 Chicago Stings.....27 / 06 1979/80 FC Utrecht..........27 / 01 1980/81 FC Utrecht..........27 / 02 1981/82 Feijenoord...........24 / 01 1982/83 Feijenoord...........27 / 01
Here's the link to the master thread. Thanks to Bertje for shedding some light on why van Hanegem did not make the 1978 World Cup squad.