René van de Kerkhof

In this Dutch name, the surname is van de Kerkhof, not Kerkhof.

Reinier Lambertus "René" van de Kerkhof (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrɛiniːr lɑmˈbɛrtʏs rəˈneː vɑn də ˈkɛr(ə)kɦɔf]; born 16 September 1951) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right winger for FC Twente, PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands national team.

René van de Kerkhof

Van de Kerkhof in 1974
Personal information
Full name	Reinier Lambertus van de Kerkhof
Date of birth	(1951-09-16) 16 September 1951
Place of birth	Helmond, Netherlands
Position(s)	Right winger
Youth career
	Twente
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1970–1973	Twente	99	(34)
1973–1983	PSV Eindhoven	278	(85)
1983–1984	Apollon Smyrnis	23	(3)
1984–1985	Seiko	14	(8)
1985–1988	Helmond Sport	61	(8)
1988–1989	FC Eindhoven	30	(3)
Total		505	(141)
International career
1973–1982	Netherlands	47	(5)
Medal record Men's football Representing Netherlands FIFA World Cup Runner-up 1974 West Germany Runner-up 1978 Argentina European Championship 1976 Yugoslavia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Van de Kerkhof and his twin brother Willy were squad members of the Dutch national team that made the World Cup final in 1974 and became key players in the team that made the 1978 final, losing to hosts West Germany and Argentina, respectively. He also played for the Netherlands at the Euro 1976 and Euro 1980. Overall, van de Kerkhof appeared 47 times for his country, scoring five goals.

He is well remembered due to the incident before the 1978 World Cup final, when the opponent Argentina national team objected to the cast he wore on his injured forearm since it could have injured an Argentinian player. Despite the bandage having been passed by FIFA and worn in previous matches, the referee, Italian Sergio Gonella vacillated. The Dutch players threatened to walk off the field in protest, delaying the kickoff of the game. Finally an extra layer of padding was applied to the bandage as a solution, and the match could start.

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.

Van de Kerkhof was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Twente	1970–71	Eredivisie	33	12
	1971–72		32	10
	1972–73		34	12
	Total		99	34
PSV Eindhoven	1973–74	Eredivisie	31	20
	1974–75		30	9
	1975–76		34	8
	1976–77		28	9
	1977–78		29	10
	1978–79		27	8
	1979–80		29	3
	1980–81		18	1
	1981–82		29	9
	1982–83		23	8
	Total		278	85
Apollon Smyrnis	1983–84	Alpha Ethniki	23	3
Seiko	1984–85	First Division	14	8	6	1
Helmond Sport	1985–86		14	4
	1986–87		23	3
	1987–88		24	1
	Total		61	8
FC Eindhoven	1987–88		11	1
	1988–89		19	2
	Total		30	3
Career total			505	141

Honours

René van de Kerkhof in 1978

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
• Tournoi de Paris: 1978

Individual

• FIFA 100