Eddy Pieters Graafland

Eddy Pieters Graafland OON (5 January 1934 – 28 April 2020) was a Dutch football goalkeeper and football manager. He played for Ajax and Feyenoord and was part of Feyenoord's European Cup victory in 1970. He was born in Amsterdam. He earned 47 caps for the Netherlands national football team. He was regarded to be one of the best Dutch goalkeepers ever. His nickname was, after his abbreviated surname, Eddy PG. He was a renowned penalty stopper, and kept a notebook with potential penalty takers' favorite side. In 1999, he was voted the third Dutch goalkeeper, after Hans van Breukelen and Edwin van der Sar, in the election of European goalkeeper of the twentieth century organized by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).

Club career

Eddy PG, his nickname, started playing football at the age of eleven at Ajax Amsterdam. He made his senior debut in 1951 at the age of seventeen. In the mid-1950s, Pieters Graafland did his military service in Arnhem. During this time he trained with the Vitesse Arnhem team. After completing his military service, he returned to Amsterdam and became Dutch champions with Ajax in 1957.

In 1958 he moved to Feyenoord Rotterdam for the then record amount of 134,000 guilders. He also won the championship title there in 1961 and 1962. In 1965 and 1969 he won the league and KNVB Cup double with Feyenoord.

For the 1969/70 season he lost his regular place to Eddy Treijtel. Feyenoord reached the European Cup final against Celtic Glasgow this season. When coach Ernst Happel wanted to field him for the final, Pieters Graafland initially refused. However, he reversed his decision and won the final with Feyenoord. It was his last official game in professional football.

International career

On April 28, 1957, Eddy made his debut for the Dutch in a game against Belgium at the Olympic Stadium, the match ended in a 1-1 draw. He made his international farewell in 1967, He would play for the Dutch national team 47 times.

Outside football
After his playing career he started a trade in promotional and business gifts. Pieters Graafland's hobby was making amateur film images. Parts of the films he made during his sporting career were regularly broadcast in various sports programs on television. He shot the images of Jan Janssen's Tour de France victory in 1968.

Pieters Graafland was a knight in the Order of Oranje-Nassau. In 2017, he and his wife Teddy celebrated their diamond wedding.

Death

Pieters Graafland died on 28 April 2020 in Amsterdam, aged 86.

Honours
Ajax
Eredivisie: 1956–57

Feyenoord
Eredivisie: 1960–61, 1961–62, 1964–65, 1968–69
KNVB Cup: 1964–65, 1968–69
European Cup: 1969–70

References

Category:1934 births
Category:2020 deaths
Category:Dutch football managers
Category:Dutch association football goalkeepers
Category:Footballers from Amsterdam