Rob Van Dijk
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Robert van Dijk (born 15 January 1969) is a Dutch retired
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
goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
. Over the course of exactly 20 seasons as a professional, he appeared in 364
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 ...
games, mainly with RKC (nine years) and
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 ...
(seven). He retired at the age of 43.


Early life

Van Dijk was born in
Voorhout Voorhout () is a village and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The former municipality covered an area of of which is covered by water, and had a population of 14,792 in 2004. Together with Sas ...
,
South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...
. In his youth, he never thought he would make it to become a professional footballer. He only enjoyed playing football with his friends on amateur level, while his dream was to become a physical education teacher.


Club career


Youth

Van Dijk started his career at local team Foreholte, as a meritorious sweeper, who 'roamed' around the back line.
Goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
in his team was two-year younger
Edwin van der Sar Edwin van der Sar (; born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch association football, football executive and former professional player who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He was most recently the chief executive of AFC Ajax, A ...
: "I was the last man to kick all the balls away, while Edwin did the rest. It was a nice time. I still talk to him occasionally." At the age of 19, van Dijk started playing
futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...
with some friends in a recreational team. As someone had to be the goalkeeper, he made the sacrifice, which went well above expectation. When van der Sar left Foreholte for vv Noordwijk, van Dijk switched his position on the field and became the goalkeeper of the club's reserves, being promoted to the first team after one season. Quickly various professional sides were interested in the talented goalkeeper, and van Dijk had a short trial at
Ajax Amsterdam Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...
, who were in need of a third goalkeeper. However, Ajax decided to pick his former teammate van der Sar, while van Dijk went on to have a short spell at vv Noordwijk as van der Sar's successor, but soon grabbed the chance to become reserve goalkeeper at
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 ...
.


Professionals

Only three years after the playing position switch, van Dijk made his goalkeeping debut in Feyenoord's first team. On 5 December 1992, he replaced Dean Gorré in the 59th minute of the first division match against Vitesse Arnhem (2–2), after starting keeper Ed de Goey was sent off after a foul in the penalty area. Phillip Cocu scored the penalty kick and became the first player to score against van Dijk on professional level. Van Dijk had his highlight two years after his debut: on 30 November 1994, he replaced the injured de Goey in the
cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...
contest against Willem II (1–1 aet), performing well enough to earn ''
Man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...
'' accolades, after a
penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
. After four seasons playing only four league matches for Feyenoord, van Dijk decided to request a transfer: "De Goey wasn't going to leave. That was pretty much it. I've been a substitute behind Ed for four years. At the moment I had the chance, it didn't look like De Goey would leave any time soon. At RKC Waalwijk I could become the first goalkeeper." Van Dijk stayed at RKC Waalwijk for seven consecutive seasons, playing a total of 214 ''Eredivisie'' matches for the club. Just before the final fixture of 2002–03, it was announced the goalkeeper would strengthen
PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...
's squad during the next season. At PSV, van Dijk signed a two-year deal with the reigning champions of the Netherlands, backing up experienced Ronald Waterreus for the entire campaign, with only one appearance to his credit: on 16 May 2004, he was placed in goal when PSV traveled to AZ and recorded a 2–4 win. For 2004–05, he would become fourth-choice, behind Heurelho Gomes, Edwin Zoetebier and Nathan Coe. Van Dijk had one year left of his contract 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 ...
, but was able to leave the club on a free transfer by mutual agreement. On 9 July 2004, he left the club and signed with De Graafschap. Van Dijk signed for two years at De Graafschap, but missed the majority of his first year, due to a knee injury; the full recovery took months, as the doctors discovered severe cartilage wear. De Graafschap finished on the 17th place and relegated to the second level. Subsequently, van Dijk returned to RKC in the summer of 2005, becoming first choice and not missing one single match during his first season. However, he had a less successful season 2006–07 as, due to bad results, RKC Waalwijk coach
Adrie Koster Adrianus Cornelis "Adrie" Koster (; born 18 November 1954) is a Dutch football manager who was most recently the manager of Willem II. He is a former winger and former manager of Ajax, Club Brugge and the Netherlands U21 team. Career He p ...
was fired on 27 November 2006. The new coach, Mark Wotte, started experimenting with reserve goalkeeper Jurgen Wevers, who eventually became first-choice. On 30 January 2007,
SC Heerenveen Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian language, West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch professional association football, football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherla ...
announced the arrival of van Dijk as their new reserve, behind Brian Vandenbussche. He stayed at the club for two years, amassing a total of 15 first division games. On 1 September 2008, 39-year-old van Dijk returned to Feyenoord. He was promoted to starter in his second year, following the retirement of another veteran, Henk Timmer. On 24 October 2010, 41-year-old van Dijk was in goal as Feyenoord lost 0–10 at former team PSV, the club's heaviest defeat ever. He retired from football at the end of the season, having appeared 18 times in the league; on 9 August 2011, however, it was announced that the player had signed a one-year contract with
FC Utrecht Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional association football, football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion ...
, as Michel Vorm signed for Swansea City and Roberto Fernández was out for three months with an injury.


Honours

;Feyenoord *
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 ...
: 1992–93 *
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 ...
: 1993–94, 1994–95


Club statistics


References


External links


Feyenoord official profile




{{DEFAULTSORT:Dijk, Rob Van 1969 births Living people People from Teylingen Dutch men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers VV Noordwijk players Feyenoord players RKC Waalwijk players PSV Eindhoven players De Graafschap players SC Heerenveen players FC Utrecht players Eredivisie players Footballers from South Holland 20th-century Dutch sportsmen