Henk Nienhuis (11 August 1941 – 18 February 2017) was a 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 ...

and manager. He spent the major part of his career at

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 ...

, hence his nickname ''Mister Veendam''.'Mister Veendam' Henk Nienhuis (75) overleden
- AD

Playing career

Nienhuis played in midfield for

from 1963 to 1973, after joining them from hometown amateur side Nieuw Buinen. He made his debut for Veendam on 25 August 1963 against

Excelsior Excelsior may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature and poetry * "Excelsior" (Longfellow), an 1841 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow * "Excelsior", an 1877 picture book in verse by Bret Harte, published as an advertisement for the Sa ...

.'Boertje Nienhuis' was Mister Veendam
- RTV Noord He attracted interest from

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 ...

and was called up for Netherlands U-21 in November 1964, only for a severe injury to spoil his chances.

Managerial career

Nienhuis managed Veendam during the second half of the eighties, clinching promotion with them to the

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 ...

twice. He later worked as a director at the club, as he did at

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 ...

Personal life

He was honoured as a Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau in 2000 for his services to football in the Netherlands. His son Evert-Jan also played for Veendam. Nienhuis died in February 2017 of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

. Stadium

De Langeleegte De Langeleegte () is a multi-use stadium in Veendam, Netherlands. It is currently in use for youth international football matches since the first match since the dissolving of SC Veendam in October of 2024. The stadium is able to hold 6,500 peopl ...

was renamed Henk Nienhuis stadium in his honour.

References

External links

Obituaries
- Mensenlinq
Profile
- Vliegende Keeper {{DEFAULTSORT:Nienhuis, Henk 1941 births 2017 deaths People from Borger-Odoorn Dutch men's footballers Footballers from Drenthe Men's association football midfielders Eerste Divisie players SC Veendam players Dutch football managers SC Veendam managers Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau Deaths from prostate cancer in the Netherlands 20th-century Dutch sportsmen