Matthijs "Mick" Clavan (11 March 1929 – 11 July 1983) 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 ...

. He enjoyed a long career on both club and international level, currently having the third longest international career in the history of the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

with nearly seventeen years. He played on the left side of the pitch, mainly as a

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

and

inside left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

, but later in his career also as left

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and

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 ...

Club career

Born in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, Matthijs Clavan started his club career with RVC Rijswijk before moving to ADO. At the age of 15, he acquired the nickname Mick, as his speed and cunning playing style drew comparisons with

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

. Aside from his footballing skills, Clavan also showed a capricious character, such as when in 1951, while on military service, he insulted a sergeant and was convicted to two months in jail. In 1954, professionalism was introduced to Dutch football, which prompted Clavan to move to the newly formed "paid club" SHS. Here, he formed a successful partnership with fellow left-sided forward Bertus de Harder. In 1956, he returned to ADO, which also had begun to pay its players. During the 1956–57 season, he helped ADO to achieve promotion 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 ...

. He also helped them reach the final of the

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 ...

in 1959. In 1962, he returned to SHS (later renamed Holland Sport), which was by then playing in the second division. He retired at the age of 37.

International career

On 26 May 1948, aged 19, Clavan made his debut for the Dutch national side, scoring once in a 2–1 away win against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. He was subsequently selected for the Dutch squad at that year's Summer Olympics, but did not make an appearance. By the end of 1950, he had gained 12 caps, but due to his fickle character, Clavan's international appearances became more scattered after that. He was selected for the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

, where he played in the Netherlands' only match, a 1–5 defeat against

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. On 3 April 1957, Clavan gained his 24th cap in a 1–2 home defeat against

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. He would subsequently not be called up for more than five and a half years, until November 1962, when Elek Schwartz recalled Clavan, by now 33 years old and playing for a second tier club, for a European Championship qualifier against

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. He helped the team win the home match 3–1. Almost two years later, in October 1964, Clavan was recalled again, this time for a World Championship qualifier against

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. With him, the Netherlands won this away match 2–0. Clavan gained his final cap on 26 January 1965, aged 35, as a substitute for Klaas Nuninga in a 1–0 away win against

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. In total, he earned 27 caps, in which he scored 7 goals. Clavan's international career lasted 16 years and 245 days, which makes him currently the footballer with the third longest ''Oranje'' career, after

Abe Lenstra Abe Minderts Lenstra (; 27 November 19202 September 1985) was a Dutch footballer and national football icon in the 1950s who played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the greatest players ever to hail from the Netherlands. He was also a Fri ...

(19 years and 19 days) and Bertus de Harder (16 years and 363 days).

Later life and death

After retiring, Clavan managed amateur team Ooievaars. On 11 July 1983, he died as a result of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. He was 54 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clavan, Mick 1929 births 1983 deaths Dutch men's footballers Netherlands men's international footballers ADO Den Haag players SVV Scheveningen players Olympic footballers for the Netherlands Footballers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Footballers from The Hague 20th-century Dutch sportsmen