Harris Huizingh (born 10 February 1963) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Career

Huizingh was born in

Ter Apel Ter Apel (; Gronings: ''Troapel'') is a village with a population of 8,866 residents in the municipality Westerwolde in the northern Netherlands, in the province Groningen in the region Westerwolde. The town lies on the stream Ruiten Aa, which ...

. On 29 April 1984, he made his debut in the first team for

FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, province of Groningen. Founded on 16 June 1971 as the successor of GVAV, the team compete in the Eredivisie, the highest tier of Dutch football. ...

, during a 4–0 victory against

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 compete in the Eredivisie, the top fligh ...

. However, it was not until the season after when he was 22 years old did he get a permanent starting place in the 1985–86 season from trainer

Han Berger Johan Antonius "Han" Berger (born 17 June 1950) is a Dutch association football coach and former player. Managerial career FC Utrecht Berger is the youngest head coach ever in the history of professional football in the Netherlands. After suffer ...

. Thanks to his good technique, he quickly received the nickname The Wizard of Ter Apel. He made an impression during his first season, but to the surprise of many, Huizingh left for

BV Veendam Sportclub Veendam () was a Dutch professional association football club based in Veendam, province of Groningen. Founded on 4 September 1894 as Look-Out, it became P.J. Veendam in 1909, Veendam in 1910, SC Veendam in 1974, BV Veendam in 1997 a ...

after that season. Berger's successor,

Rob Jacobs Rob Jacobs (born 15 October 1943) is a Dutch former association football player and manager. A right-back, played for Feijenoord, Xerxes DHC and SBV Excelsior. He coached SBV Excelsior, FC Groningen, Roda JC, Feyenoord, P.A.O.K., Sparta Rott ...

, did not think Huizingh was good enough. After four years in which the club was relegated twice and promoted once, Huizingh signed for FC Groningen again in 1990. That season, the club, with

Hans Westerhof Hans Westerhof (born 24 November 1948) is a Dutch football coach and currently supervisory board member at SC Heerenveen. Besides the Netherlands, he has coached in the United States and Mexico. As a player, Westerhof played for BV Veendam and ...

as trainer, finished third in the Eredivisie. After the 1990–91 season,

Leo Beenhakker Leo Beenhakker CM (; born 2 August 1942) is a Dutch international football coach. He has had an extensive and successful career both at club and international level. He led both Ajax and Feyenoord to Dutch championships and also had domestic ...

wanted to bring Huizingh to

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

, but Groningen did not want to let him go. They asked for a high transfer fee and Ajax dropped out of the transfer. In the years that followed Huizingh increasingly suffered from injuries. After the 1998–99 season, Huizingh left Groningen. He was already 36 years old, but was signed by

SC Heerenveen Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands. History Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 Jul ...

who went on to be runners-up until he league. Consequently, a year later, he became the second-oldest player to ever play in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

. After two seasons with Heerenveen, Huizingh quit playing football. He went on to coach many amateur teams in his local region.

References

External links

* 1963 births Living people People from Westerwolde (municipality) Dutch men's footballers Footballers from Groningen (province) Men's association football forwards Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players FC Groningen players SC Veendam players SC Heerenveen players 20th-century Dutch sportsmen {{Netherlands-footy-forward-stub