Klaas Nuninga (born 7 November 1940) is a former Dutch international

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 for GVAV-Rapiditas,

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), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

and DWS during his career.

Club career

Early career

Nuninga began his career in the youth ranks of WVV 1896 in his home town of

Winschoten Winschoten (; ) is a city with a population of 18,518 in the municipality of Oldambt (municipality), Oldambt in the northeast of the Netherlands. It is the largest city in the region of Oldambt (region), Oldambt in the province of Groningen (prov ...

. It was the same amateur club where Jan Mulder and

Arie Haan Arend "Arie" Haan (; born 16 November 1948) is a Dutch Association football, football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He scored 6 goals in 35 matches for the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands national team of ...

began their careers. After a move to

Be Quick 1887 Be Quick 1887 is a football club based in Groningen, Netherlands. Currently members of the Vierde Divisie, the fifth tier of the Dutch football league system, the club was established in 1887, and the first team play their home matches at the ...

, he was recruited by GVAV-Rapiditas in 1961.

GVAV-Rapidistas

Starting his professional career in

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

, with GVAV-Rapiditas, Nuninga played alongside Tonny van Leeuwen and

Martin Koeman Martinus Cornelis Koeman (26 July 1938 – 18 December 2013) was a Dutch footballer who played as a centre-back. Biography Koeman played professional football with KFC of Koog aan de Zaan from 1955 to 1960, Blauw-Wit Amsterdam from 1960 to 1963 ...

among others, to make up a pretty competitive side at the time. It was during his playing period in

that Nuninga was called up to play for the Netherlands national team, making a total of 19 appearances.

Ajax

His talent would not go unnoticed, and in 1964 Nuninga transferred over to

. He was an integral part of what is considered the great 'blooming' period of the

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

club. He participated in the 1968-69 European Cup, as the first choice striker for Ajax, and started in the

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, where Ajax would face, and eventually lose to

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

(4-1). After this loss, Nuninga was sidelined by then coach

Rinus Michels Marinus Jacobus Hendricus "Rinus" Michels (; 9 February 1928 – 3 March 2005) was a Dutch Association football, football player and coach. He list of one-club men in association football, played his entire career for AFC Ajax, Ajax, which he ...

DWS

Remaining in Amsterdam, Nuninga went on to sign with DWS, with whom he would play three more seasons, making 88 appearances, and scoring 7 times before retiring from professional football.

Post career

After his footballing career, Nuninga delved into Business, eventually becoming a member of the board at

, and afterwards the IPO commissioner of Ajax N.V. In 2005, he stepped down from his position, after a difference in opinion and dispute with then chairman of the board, John Jaakke.

International career

From 1963 to 1967, Nuninga made 19 appearances for the Netherlands national team, scoring a total of 4 goals.

Honours

Club

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 ...

: 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68 *

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

: 1966–67

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nuninga, Klaas 1940 births Living people Dutch men's footballers Netherlands men's international footballers FC Groningen players AFC Ajax players AFC DWS players Eredivisie players People from Winschoten Men's association football forwards Footballers from Groningen (province) 20th-century Dutch sportsmen