Romeo Zondervan

Romeo Eugene Zondervan (born 4 March 1959) is a former professional Dutch footballer who played as a midfielder. He was born in Paramaribo in Suriname, and played his early football with FC Den Haag and Twente Enschede before joining West Bromwich Albion, for whom he made 84 appearances.[1] He signed for Ipswich Town in 1984 for £70,000 and went on to make 274 appearances for the club. Then he moved to Dutch club NAC Breda in 1992 and played there until 1995, and then finished his playing career.

Romeo Zondervan
Personal information
Full name Romeo Eugene Zondervan
Date of birth (1959-03-04) 4 March 1959
Place of birth Paramaribo, Suriname
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1977–1978 FC Den Haag 36 (1)
1978–1982 FC Twente 102 (3)
1982–1984 West Bromwich Albion 84 (5)
1984–1992 Ipswich Town 274 (13)
1992–1995 NAC Breda 26 (0)
Total 522 (22)
National team
1981 Netherlands 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Dutch league clubs

Zondervan started his professional football career in The Netherlands with ADO Den Haag before moving to FC Twente.[2]

West Bromwich Albion

Zondervan moved to England and joined former FC Twente team mate Martin Jol at West Bromwich Albion in March 1982 making his debut as a substitute against Middlesbrough.[3] His biggest game was in his first season in the FA Cup semi-final against Queens Park Rangers which they lost 1-0.[4]

Ipswich Town

Zondervan was "discarded" by West Bromwich Albion's new manager, Johnny Giles, and signed for Ipswich for £70,000, making his debut against Watford in March 1984.[1] Ipswich were relegated to the Second Division in 1986 and Zondervan was named Ipswich Town F.C. Player of the Year the following year in 1987. During the 1988–89 and 1989–90 seasons, he captained the club.[5] His last season at Ipswich saw them win promotion to the newly formed Premier League in 1992. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Zondervan stated that "my football days at Ipswich were the best in my career".[6]

Return to the Netherlands

After winning promotion with Ipswich, Zondervan was offered a five-year contract with NAC Breda[7] where he later retired.

International career

Zondervan made 15 appearance for the Dutch Under-21s.[4] He was selected to play for his country as part of the Dutch qualification campaign for UEFA Euro 1980. His only appearance in the full team came in a 3–0 victory over Cyprus in February 1981.[2]

Later career

After retiring as a player, Zondervan went on to scout in Europe for Ipswich under George Burley.[6] He was also the agent for Collins John, whose sale from FC Twente to Fulham came under scrutiny from the Royal Dutch Football Association in 2004. It was believed that Zondervan was not correctly registered with FIFA,[8] but it was later determined that Zondervan was not involved in the transfer.[9]

Personal life

Zondervan is a fully qualified pilot.[1] He was arrested at British customs after they discovered a friend of his was carrying pornographic material from the Netherlands. British tabloid, The Sun, referred to him as the "Porno King".[6] He has three sons.[6]

Honours

Ipswich Town

Individual

References
  1. Hayes, Dean (2006). The Who's Who of Ipswich Town. Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-515-5.
  2. "FC Twente in Oranje" (in Dutch). FC Twente. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  3. "Romeo Zondervan". Sporting Heroes. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  4. "Focus Romeo Zondervan". Shoot!. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  5. Meston, Tim (6 July 2009). "The 50 greatest Ipswich Town players". The Times. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  6. Starmer-Smith, Charles (9 September 2002). "Total Football". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  7. "Coming and Goings". Ipswich Town F.C. programme v Aston Villa F.C. 15 August 1992. p. 6.
  8. "Dutch FA probes Fulham deal". BBC Sport. 2 March 2004. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  9. "Fulham in the clear over John move". ESPN. 2 March 2004. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  10. "Romeo Zondervan international profile". Pride of Anglia. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
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