Noud van Melis (10 February 1924 – 8 August 2001) 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 ...

, who played as a

centre forward 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 ...

Club career

Van Melis was born in

Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...

and started playing football at local third-level club RKVV Tongelre. In 1946, he moved to EVV Eindhoven. Over time, a team was built around the proficient goalscorer Van Melis. During the early 1950s, this team was among the best in the Netherlands, culminating in the 1953–54 season, in which they became national champions. After the 1953–54 season, professional football was introduced in the Netherlands, and Van Melis took the opportunity to get paid by moving to

Rapid JC Rapid(s) or RAPID may refer to: Hydrological features * Rapids, sections of a river with turbulent water flow * Rapid Creek (Iowa River tributary), Iowa, United States * Rapid Creek (South Dakota), United States, namesake of Rapid City Sports ...

. In the 1955–56 season, he was an important part of the Rapid JC squad which became Dutch champions. In 1958, he returned to EVV Eindhoven, who by then had descended to the

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (; ) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie due to sponsorship reasons, while ...

. After two seasons, he retired at the age of 36. A stand at the

Jan Louwers Stadion Jan Louwers Stadion () is a multi-use stadium in the Eindhoven borough of Stratum, Netherlands. Previously the stadium had a cinder track, with curved, earthen and walled standing grandstands on the north and south sides, so that attendances cou ...

, home stadium of

FC Eindhoven Football Club Eindhoven, commonly known as FC Eindhoven, is a professional association football, football club based in Eindhoven, Netherlands, that competes in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football ...

(as EVV Eindhoven is now known), is named after him.

International career

Van Melis earned 13 caps 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 ...

between 1950 and 1957. He scored in each of his first eight international appearances, netting twelve goals. In total, he scored 15 times. In 1952, he was selected for the Dutch squad at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

, but did not make an appearance.

Style of play

Van Melis was known as a very productive goalscorer who was adept at positioning. Despite being positioned on the pitch as a traditional

, he also possessed qualities associated with more modern forwards, due to his pace, technique, and insight.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list the Netherlands goal tally first, score column indicates score after each van Melis goal.''

Honours

EVV Eindhoven *

Netherlands Football League Championship 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 ...

: 1953–54 ;Rapid JC *

: 1955–56

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Melis, Noud van 1924 births 2001 deaths Footballers from Eindhoven Men's association football forwards Dutch men's footballers Netherlands men's international footballers Olympic footballers for the Netherlands Footballers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Roda JC Kerkrade players FC Eindhoven players 20th-century Dutch sportsmen