Adrianus Andreas "Adri" van Tiggelen (born 16 June 1957) is a retired Dutch

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. His career in football was intimately connected to

Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top flig ...

, in which he began as a professional footballer, going on to manage the side in several categories and capacities, but he also played with great success in Belgium for

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

. Van Tiggelen appeared nearly 60 times for the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, representing the nation at the

1990 World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

and two

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

, being a starter in the team that won Euro 1988.

Club career

Born in

Oud-Beijerland Oud-Beijerland () is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, now a part of the Hoeksche Waard municipality. With a population of 24,575 in 2020, it is the most populous town of the Hoeksche Waard ...

South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...

, van Tiggelen – nicknamed "De Spijker" (

nail Nail or Nails may refer to: In biology * Nail (anatomy), toughened protective protein-keratin (known as alpha-keratin, also found in hair) at the end of an animal or human digit, such as fingernail * Nail (beak), a plate of hard horny tissue a ...

) – started his professional career with

, making his

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

debut on 30 August 1978, in a 1–0 home in against neighbours

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

. During his five-year spell at the club, he was an undisputed starter, also finding the net every season (for a total of 13 league goals). In 1983, van Tiggelen signed with fellow league side

FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, Groningen (province), Groningen province. Founded in 1971 as the successor of GVAV-Rapiditas, GVAV, Groningen compete in the Eredivisie, the first t ...

and remained there for three years, managing to again maintain top level status in every season. Afterwards, he had his first abroad experience, as he joined

R.S.C. Anderlecht Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht, commonly abbreviated to RSC Anderlecht (, , ) or RSCA (, , ), is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht, Brussels Capital-Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian First Division A and is the mos ...

in neighbouring Belgium, where he also appeared regularly (as first-choice). Aged 34, van Tiggelen returned to his own country, moving to

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

. The veteran marker still managed to collect nearly 100 official appearances, playing 26 games as the side won the 1991–92 national championship. He saw out his career at 38, after one season – and again in the top division – with

Dordrecht'90 Football Club Dordrecht, or simply FC Dordrecht () is a professional Dutch association football club based in Dordrecht, a city in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. They currently compete in the Eerste Divisie, ...

; his last game ended 5–1, at home against

FC Volendam Football Club Volendam () is a professional association football, football club based in Volendam, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of the Dutch football league system, following promotion from the Eerste Divisie in the 2024 ...

. Van Tiggelen then returned to his first club, mainly serving as assistant manager and youth trainer. In 2005, he had his first head coach experience, and finished the season in the second position, helping Sparta return to the first division. The second spell as head manager – still with Sparta – occurred in late 2007, following the dismissal of

Gert Aandewiel Gert Aandewiel (born 9 September 1969 in Leiden) is a Dutch football manager and former football player. Club career He played professional football for FC Volendam (1996–1997), Sparta Rotterdam (1997–1999) and FC Dordrecht (1999). Manager ...

. Subsequently, van Tiggelen was part of

Foeke Booy Foeke Booy (born 25 April 1962) is a Dutch football manager, executive, and former player. He serves as the technical manager of Cambuur. Club career Booy played for eight clubs in sixteen seasons. After hometown club Cambuur Leeuwarden, De G ...

's coaching staff.

International career

Van Tiggelen earned 56 caps for the

Netherlands national football team The Netherlands national football team ( or simply ''Het Nederlands elftal'') has represented the Netherlands in international men's football matches since 1905. The men's national team is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNV ...

, going scoreless in the process. His debut came at age 26, as he appeared in a friendly with

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

on 21 September 1983 (1–1). From 1986 onwards, van Tiggelen was an automatic first-choice in the national team's setup: he played in every match and minute at

UEFA Euro 1988 The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany from 10 to 25 June 1988. It was the eighth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. France national football team, Fr ...

, which the Netherlands won, and also represented the nation at the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

and

Euro 1992 The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. Denmark won the 1992 championship, having been inv ...

, retiring from international play following the side's elimination against eventual winners

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

in the latter competition; he was aged 35, and formed in previous years an efficient fullback partnership with

Berry van Aerle Hubertus Aegidius Hermanus "Berry" van Aerle (; born 8 December 1962) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played mainly as a right-back but also as a midfielder. A tough tackler, he was best known for his spell with PSV, which he hel ...

(also his club mate from 1991 to 1994).

Honours

Club

;PSV * Dutch League: 1991–92 * Dutch Supercup: 1992; Runner-up 1991 ;Anderlecht *

Belgian League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

: 1986–87, 1990–91 *

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

: 1987–88, 1988–89 *

Belgian Supercup The Belgian Super Cup ( ; ; ), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian Pro League champions (also received the Super Cup host) and the Belgian Cup winners. If both teams are the same, t ...

: 1986, 1987; Runner-up 1988, 1989

International

;Netherlands *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

: 1988

References

External links

Beijen profile

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tiggelen, Adri Van 1957 births Living people People from Oud-Beijerland Dutch men's footballers Men's association football defenders Eredivisie players FC Groningen players Sparta Rotterdam players PSV Eindhoven players FC Dordrecht players Belgian Pro League players R.S.C. Anderlecht players Netherlands men's international footballers UEFA Euro 1988 players 1990 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1992 players UEFA European Championship–winning players Dutch expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Dutch football managers Footballers from South Holland 20th-century Dutch sportsmen