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Hans Kraay
Hans Kraay jr.png
Kraay in 1992
Personal information
Full name Hans Kraay Jr.
Date of birth (1959-12-22) 22 December 1959 (age 65)
Place of birth Utrecht, Netherlands
Playing position Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1977–1979 AZ 0 (0)
1979 Edmonton Drillers 30 (4)
1979–1981 Excelsior 36 (3)
1980 → San Jose Earthquakes (loan) 8 (1)
1981–1982 Haarlem 2 (0)
1982–1983 NAC Breda 31 (6)
1983 Edmonton Eagles ? (6)
1983–1985 Brighton & Hove Albion 23 (3)
1985–1986 RKC Waalwijk 17 (3)
1986–1988 Helmond Sport 44 (7)
1988–1991 Eindhoven 85 (5)
1991–1992 De Graafschap 45 (1)
1992–1993 Dordrecht 24 (1)
1993–1995 Telstar 34 (1)
1995–1996 Den Bosch 31 (2)
1996–1997 Sint-Niklase 6 (0)
Total 416+ (43)
Teams managed
1999–2004 SV Ophemert
2004–2011 FC Lienden
2011–2012 SVZW
2012–2014 JVC Cuijk
2014–2016 DOVO
2016–2018 FC Lienden
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Hans Kraay Jr. was born on December 22, 1959, in Utrecht, Netherlands. He is famous for being a professional footballer, a coach, and a popular television presenter. His father, Hans Kraay Sr., was also a well-known footballer.

Football Career

Hans Kraay Jr. played as a defender for many football clubs during his career. He played in different countries, showing his skills on various teams.

Playing in the Netherlands

Kraay Jr. spent most of his playing career in the Netherlands. He played for several Dutch clubs, including:

  • AZ
  • SBV Excelsior
  • HFC Haarlem
  • NAC Breda
  • RKC Waalwijk
  • Helmond Sport
  • FC Eindhoven
  • De Graafschap
  • FC Dordrecht
  • Telstar
  • FC Den Bosch

Playing Abroad

Hans Kraay Jr. also played football outside of the Netherlands.

  • In North America, he played for teams in the North American Soccer League. These teams included the Edmonton Drillers, Edmonton Eagles, and the San Jose Earthquakes.
  • He also played in England for Brighton & Hove Albion.
  • In Belgium, he played for Sint-Niklase.

Coaching Career

After his playing days, Hans Kraay Jr. became a football coach. He managed several amateur clubs in the Netherlands.

Leading FC Lienden

From 2004 to 2011, Kraay Jr. was the head coach of FC Lienden. He helped this club move up from a lower league (Tweede Klasse) to a higher one (Topklasse). This made FC Lienden much more well-known in Dutch football.

Other Coaching Roles

Kraay Jr. continued his coaching journey with other teams:

  • In November 2011, he became the head coach of SVZW.
  • A month later, it was announced he would coach JVC Cuijk starting in July 2012. He coached them for two seasons.
  • From July 2014, he became the new head coach for DOVO.
  • He returned to coach FC Lienden again from 2016 to 2018. He later left this role.

Television Career

Besides football, Hans Kraay Jr. is also famous for his work on Dutch television.

Popular TV Shows

He presented many TV shows, especially for the channel SBS 6, where he worked from 1997 to 2015.

  • From 2002 to 2015, he hosted Lachen om Home Video's. This show featured funny home videos, with some clips taken from America's Funniest Home Videos.

Music and Messages

In 2003, Hans Kraay Jr. had a hit song called Er zal d'r altijd eentje winnen. This song reached number 3 on the Dutch Top 40 music chart. He recorded it with fans of different Dutch football clubs. The song was a message about sportsmanship and unity, made after a difficult event involving football fans.

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