René van de Kerkhof

Reinier Lambertus van de Kerkhof (;Van in isolation: . born 16 September 1951) is a Dutch former professional footballer. He played as a right winger for FC Twente, PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands. He was part of the teams that reached the finals of the 1974 FIFA World Cup and the 1978 FIFA World Cup. Van de Kerkhof is the twin brother of Willy van de Kerkhof. Van de Kerkhof was a fast footballer with a great urge to move forward. His nickname was 'The Blind'. He was widely regarded as one of the best Dutch players of all time. Van de Kerkhof was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.

Club career
Van de Kerkhof and his twin brother played as amateurs for RKSV MULO. They both made their professional debuts with FC Twente in 1970. Three years later they also went to PSV together. Their brother Gerard also played as a professional football player. Their father Renier van de Kerkhof (1910-1956), was an amateur football player for Deurania, which was merged into SV Deurne in 1942. Van de Kerkhof played thirteen seasons at PSV, in ten of them together with Willy in the first team. He played his last three years with the PSV amateurs (1989-1992). 1978 was his most successful year. Besides becoming runners-up at the World Cup, he also won the UEFA Cup, the Dutch championship and the KNVB Beker with PSV that year: "we had won everything possible – the title, the Dutch Cup and the UEFA Cup, and we had five or six players who had been runners-up at the FIFA World Cup in Argentina with the Netherlands. It was a beautiful period under coach Kees Rijvers", van de Kerkhof later would tell to Berend Scholten.PSV smell danger as Rangers visit stirs memories by Berend Scholten

International career
Van de Kerkhof made his debut for the Netherlands national team on 28 March 1973, during a friendly match against Austria. He played at the 1974 FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Euro 1976, the 1978 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Euro 1980. He played a total of 47 games for the Orange squad.  He – like his brother – scored five times. He scored those goals in the qualifying series for the 1974 World Cup, 1976 European Championship and 1978 World Cup, at the 1978 World Cup and in the qualifying series for the 1980 European Championship.

Van de Kerkhof was a substitute in the lost World Cup final against West Germany in 1974. According to measurements of the images in 2006, he was the best Dutch player in this match based on effectiveness, according to researchers from the University of Groningen and the Groningen company Team Support. systems. 

Just before the kick-off of the World Cup final in 1978, Van de Kerkhof was the center of a riot. Because he had broken his hand, he played with a plaster cuff. Argentina captain Daniel Passarella demanded Italian referee Sergio Gonella be replaced. When national coach Ernst Happel sent the Dutch players to the dressing room, Gonella decided to allow Van de Kerkhof's 'hard hand' with some extra foam rubber and tape. The kick-off was fifteen minutes late. In 1978, the Van de Kerkhof brothers were the only twins to ever play in the final of a World Cup.

 Career statistics 
 Club 
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsTwente1970–71Eredivisie33121971–7232101972–733412Total9934PSV Eindhoven1973–74Eredivisie31201974–753091975–763481976–772891977–7829101978–792781979–802931980–811811981–822991982–83238Total27885Apollon Smyrnis1983–84Alpha Ethniki233Seiko1984–85First Division14861Helmond Sport1985–861441986–872331987–88241Total618FC Eindhoven1987–881111988–89192Total303Career total505141

 Honours 
PSV Eindhoven
Eredivisie: 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78
KNVB Cup: 1973–74, 1975–76
UEFA Cup 1977-78
Seiko
Hong Kong First Division: 1984–85
Hong Kong Senior Shield: 1984–85

Netherlands
FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1974, 1978
UEFA European Championship third place: 1976

Individual
FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1978
FIFA 100ː 2004
Ballon d'Or nominee: 1978

 References 

Category:1951 births
Category:Living people
Category:Footballers from North Brabant
Category:Association football forwards
Category:1974 FIFA World Cup players
Category:1978 FIFA World Cup players
Category:People from Helmond
Category:Netherlands at the 1974 FIFA World Cup
Category:Netherlands at the 1978 FIFA World Cup