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]
.jpg) Van Leeuwen in 1962 | |||
| 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 | |||
Club career
editEarly life and Sparta Rotterdam
editVan 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]
GVAV Groningen
editIn 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]
International career
editVan 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]
Style of play
editVan Leeuwen was known for his exceptional reflexes, his control of the penalty area and his charisma.[3]
Legacy
editVan 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]
Personal life and death
editVan 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]
Career statistics
edit| 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 | ||
References
edit- ^ "Tonny van Leeuwen". National Football Teams. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ "Tonny van Leeuwen". EU Football. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Darwinkel, Geert Jan (4 June 2022). "Tonny van Leeuwen, de beste clubkeeper ter wereld" [Tonny van Leeuwen, the best club goalkeeper in the world]. Reporters Online (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "Tonny van Leeuwen – The Violent Death Of A Groningen Hero". Beyond The Last Man. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ a b Darwinkel, Geert Jan. "Richard Vennema, zoon van de Leeuw van Groningen" [Richard Vennema, son of the Lion of Groningen]. darch media (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "Tonny van Leeuwen". GVAV Stats (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ^ "Tonny van Leeuwen » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
External links
edit- Tonny van Leeuwen at National-Football-Teams.com
- Tonny van Leeuwen at WorldFootball.net
- Netherlands national team profile
- Netherlands U19 national team profile
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