Wim Suurbier

Wilhelmus Lourens Johannes Suurbier (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋɪm ˈsyːr.ˌbiːr]) (16 January 1945 – 12 July 2020) was a Dutch football player and among others assistant coach of the Albanian national team.

Wim Suurbier
Suurbier in 1978
Personal information
Full name Wilhelmus Lourens Johannes Suurbier
Date of birth (1945-01-16)16 January 1945
Place of birth Eindhoven, Netherlands
Date of death 12 July 2020(2020-07-12) (aged 75)
Place of death Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Right back
Youth career
Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1964–1977 Ajax 392 (16)
1977–1978 Schalke 04 12 (0)
1978–1979 Metz 24 (0)
1979–1981 Los Angeles Aztecs 73 (3)
1980–1981 → Sparta (loan) 11 (1)
1982 San Jose Earthquakes 23 (0)
1982 Tung Sing 4 (0)
1982–1983 Golden Bay Earthquakes (indoor) 28 (0)
1986–1987 Tampa Bay Rowdies (indoor) 10 (0)
Total 577 (20)
National team
1966–1978[1] Netherlands 60 (3)
Teams managed
1983 Golden Bay Earthquakes (assistant)
1984 Tulsa Roughnecks
1986 Los Angeles Heat
1986–1987 Tampa Bay Rowdies
1988 Fort Lauderdale Strikers
1989 Miami Sharks
1994 St. Petersburg Kickers
2017 Kerala Blasters (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He was a wingback who was part of the Dutch national team and AFC Ajax teams of the 1970s.

Playing career

Professional clubs

Suurbier was born in Eindhoven, North Brabant. He made his debut for Ajax Amsterdam when he was 19 and played with them for 13 years, all throughout the most successful era until 1977 when he was 32 years old. Usually a right back, Suurbier was renowned for his pace and stamina. Suurbier was a big part of the 70's total football team the 'Twelve Apostles' of Ajax Amsterdam led by Johan Cruijff, which lifted the UEFA European Cup three times in a row. In 1977, he moved to FC Schalke 04 for one season.[2]

In 1979, Suurbier transferred to the Los Angeles Aztecs of the North American Soccer League. He played three seasons in Los Angeles before moving to the San Jose Earthquakes for the 1982 season. In the fall of 1982, the team was renamed the Golden Bay Earthquakes and entered the Major Indoor Soccer League. He retired at the end of the season to become an assistant coach with the Earthquakes. He later resumed his playing career as a player-coach of the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the American Indoor Soccer Association.

International

Suurbier played 60 matches and scored 3 goals for the Netherlands national football team from 1966 to 1978. He played in both the 1974 and 1978 World Cups[3] where the Dutch finished second, and also the 1976 UEFA European Football Championship.

Management career

In 1983, Suurbier was an assistant coach with the Golden Bay Earthquakes.[4] In 1984, the Tulsa Roughnecks of the North American Soccer League hired Suurbier as head coach.[5] He took the team to a 10–14 record.[6] In 1986, he became the head coach of the Los Angeles Heat of the Western Soccer League.[7] In the fall of 1986, he was hired by the Tampa Bay Rowdies as the team entered the American Indoor Soccer Association. In November 1987, Suurbier became the head coach of the newly established Fort Lauderdale Strikers in preparation of the team's first season in 1988.[8] That season, the Strikers finished and went to the American Soccer League championship before falling to the Washington Diplomats. In January 1989, Suurbier resigned as coach of the Strikers.[9] In February 1989, he was named the new head coach of the Miami Sharks.[10] After starting the season at 2–3, the Sharks fired Suurbier.[11] In 1994, he became the head coach of the St. Petersburg Kickers.[12] In 1999 Suurbier joined Al Etehad (Qatar) as an assistant coach to Rene Meulensteen. Together they won the Arab Cup and H.H. Apparent Cup that season. The year after they joined Al Sadd (Qatar) and in season 2000–01 they won the Emir cup. From 2001–02 Suurbier worked for Heerenveen as an assistant for the U-20 squad.

Personal life

In May 2020, it was reported that Suurbier was in intensive care after having suffered a "major" intracerebral haemorrhage.[13] Suurbier died on 12 July 2020.[14]

Honours

Club

Ajax

International

Netherlands

References
  1. "Wim Suurbier – International Appearances". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
  2. Zwei Schalker kamen bisher zu WM-Finalehren Archived 14 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Schalke04.de. Retrieved on 5 June 2017.
  3. Wim Suurbier – FIFA competition record
  4. "Quakes Still Alive ... And Kicking". San Jose Mercury News (CA). 13 April 1986
  5. "Can NASL came to terms with stability?" Evening Tribune (San Diego). 8 May 1984
  6. The Year in American Soccer – 1984. Homepages.sover.net (31 January 2010). Retrieved on 5 June 2017.
  7. "QUAKES TO BATTLE HEAT, FORMER COACH SUURBIER" San Jose Mercury News (CA). 14 June 1986
  8. Lazzarino, Chris (5 November 1987) "Robbie To Own Asl Team As Strikers Try Once Again". Sun-Sentinel.
  9. "Suurbier Resigns As Strikers Coach". Miami Herald. 31 January 1989
  10. "Ex-striker Coach Suurbier Joins Sharks" Miami Herald. 2 February 1989
  11. "Sharks (2–3) Fire Suurbier" Miami Herald. 23 May 1989
  12. "Dutch Legend Coaches Amateurs" The Palm Beach Post. 3 April 1994
  13. "Ajax-icoon Wim Suurbier getroffen door hersenbloeding". Allgemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 11 May 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  14. "Dutch 70s legend Wim Suurbier dies, aged 75". sports.yahoo.com. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
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