Hans van Breukelen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Hans van Breukelen

Van Breukelen in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Johannes Franciscus van Breukelen
Date of birth	(1956-10-04) 4 October 1956 (age 68)
Place of birth	Utrecht, Netherlands
Height	1.88 m
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Youth career
1964–1975	BVC
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1975–1982	FC Utrecht	142	(0)
1982–1984	Nottingham Forest	61	(0)
1984–1994	PSV Eindhoven	308	(0)
Total		511	(0)
National team
1980–1992	Netherlands	73	(0)
Honours Representing  Netherlands UEFA European Championship Winner 1988 West Germany Third 1992 Sweden
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Johannes Franciscus "Hans" van Breukelen (born 4 October 1956) is a famous Dutch former football player. He was a goalkeeper and is known for his amazing saves. From 2017 to 2018, he was the technical director for the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB).

Hans van Breukelen grew up in De Bilt, where he played football as a young boy. In 1976, he joined FC Utrecht and played 142 matches for them. After playing two years for Nottingham Forest in England, he moved to PSV Eindhoven in 1984.

With PSV, he won six league titles and three national cups. In 1988, Hans also helped PSV win the European Cup. This was part of a special achievement called a Treble, where a team wins three major trophies in one season. He saved a crucial penalty kick in the final match! In the Netherlands, he was named the best Goalkeeper of the Year four times.

Hans van Breukelen played 73 games for the Dutch national team. He was a key player when the Netherlands won the UEFA Euro 1988 tournament. He even stopped a penalty in that final game. He also played in the 1990 World Cup and UEFA Euro 1992. After his playing career, he became a businessman. He also worked as a football director for FC Utrecht and was on the PSV board.

Hans van Breukelen is one of only five European players to win a Treble with their club and a cup with their national team in the same year. His teammates Berry van Aerle, Ronald Koeman, Gerald Vanenburg, and Wim Kieft also achieved this rare feat.

Early Life and Football Start

Hans van Breukelen was born in Utrecht. He started playing club football at a local amateur team called BVC in De Bilt in 1964. He was just 8 years old.

By 1974, when he was 17, he played for the BVC first team. A few months later, he moved to FC Utrecht. Even after joining FC Utrecht, he continued his studies to become a teacher. He finished his degree in pedagogy (the study of teaching) and even taught at schools for a while.

Club Career Highlights

Playing for FC Utrecht and Nottingham Forest

Hans van Breukelen first joined the FC Utrecht reserve team. Soon, he became the third-choice goalkeeper. On 20 March 1977, Hans played his first official game for FC Utrecht. He replaced another goalkeeper in a match against Sparta. Later, he became the main goalkeeper for four years.

Hans van Breukelen trying to stop a shot in 1979

In the 1980–81 season, FC Utrecht finished in third place, which was their highest position ever. A year later, Hans and his team reached the KNVB Cup final. In 1982, FC Utrecht needed money, so they decided to sell Hans. In September, he was signed by Nottingham Forest in England. He played 142 games for FC Utrecht in total.

Van Breukelen and trainer Han Berger

Nottingham Forest paid £200,000 to get Hans. In his very first game for them, he didn't let in any goals. After playing thirteen league games, he got injured and couldn't play for four months. When he recovered, he returned to the team. Nottingham Forest then qualified for the UEFA Cup.

In the 1983–84 season, Hans played 36 league matches and kept 11 clean sheets (meaning he didn't let in any goals). The team finished third in the league. In the UEFA Cup, Nottingham Forest lost in the semi-finals. During this time, Hans and Nottingham Forest had disagreements about him playing too often for the Dutch national team. Hans wanted to keep playing for his country, so he decided to leave England after the 1983–84 season.

Amazing Years at PSV Eindhoven

Hans van Breukelen returned to the Netherlands to play for PSV Eindhoven. In his first year, PSV didn't win the league title. They also lost to his old team, FC Utrecht, in the semi-finals of the Dutch cup. But in the next two years, PSV won the league championship. These were Hans's first big trophies.

In a match between Feyenoord and PSV in 1987, Hans made a mistake that became famous. When he bounced the ball from his hands, it hit a clump of grass and went in an unexpected direction. Hans quickly tried to pick up the ball again. However, the referee said this was against the rules because goalkeepers cannot pick up the ball repeatedly. Feyenoord was given a free kick, and they scored, making the game 1–1.

Van Breukelen celebrating with the European Cup after the match in Stuttgart

People and the media made fun of Hans for this mistake. But he recovered and had the best season of his career in 1987–88. That year, PSV won the league title for the third time in a row. They also won the KNVB Cup and the European Cup. In the European Cup final against Benfica, the score was 0–0, so the winner was decided by penalty kicks. After PSV scored their sixth penalty, Benfica's Antonio Veloso took his shot. Hans van Breukelen saved the low kick, winning the European Cup for PSV! For his great play, he won the Dutch Goalkeeper of the Year award in 1988. He would win this award four times in total.

In the 1988–89 season, PSV won the double again (meaning they won two major trophies). Hans and PSV also won the Dutch cup in 1990 and two more league titles in 1991 and 1992.

Van Breukelen and Guus Hiddink holding the European Cup at Eindhoven Airport

During the 1993–94 season, Hans van Breukelen had a disagreement with his teammate Romário. Hans was fined by PSV. Also, he received three yellow cards, which meant he couldn't play in an important match against Ajax. In early 1994, Hans was thinking about retiring. He hoped PSV would offer him a job as a manager, but they chose someone else. He then asked to be the second goalkeeper for the next season, but the club said no. Ajax offered him the second goalkeeper role, but Hans didn't want to play for them. So, he decided to retire from playing football.

On 6 October 1994, PSV held a special match to honor Hans van Breukelen. The PSV team that won the European Cup in 1988 played against two teams. In the first half, they played against the 1988 European Championship winning Netherlands team. In the second half, they played against a team of the best PSV players in history. In total, Hans played 308 league matches, 37 cup matches, and 46 European matches for PSV.

Playing for the National Team

Hans van Breukelen in 1987

Hans van Breukelen played his first international game for the Netherlands on 11 October 1980 against West Germany. He played in qualifying matches for the 1982 World Cup, Euro 1984, and the 1986 World Cup. However, the Dutch team did not qualify for any of these big tournaments.

In the Euro 1988 qualifiers, Hans was not playing his best. Before a match against Hungary in 1987, the coach decided to use a different goalkeeper. But Hans returned as the main goalkeeper in the next game. During the qualifying rounds, he only let in one goal in seven matches. This helped the Netherlands reach their first major tournament since 1980.

At Euro 1988, the Netherlands just barely made it out of the group stage. But they managed to beat their rivals West Germany in the semi-finals (2–1). Hans said that beating the Germans "meant more to us than reaching the European Championship Final." The Netherlands became European champions after winning the final against the Soviet Union (2–0). Hans caused a penalty in that match, but he saved the shot! Later, he was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament.

Hans and the national team qualified for the 1990 World Cup. But they were knocked out by West Germany in the second round. The Dutch team had a difficult tournament because the players didn't get along well. Hans called this World Cup "the lowest point of his career." In the West Germany match, Rudi Völler ran into Hans. Hans spoke angrily to Völler, and a small fight started. Both Völler and Frank Rijkaard were sent off the field.

During the group stage match against England, Hans played his 54th game for the national team. This meant he had played more games than any other Dutch goalkeeper before him. He retired with 73 caps (international appearances). This record stood until Edwin van der Sar played his 74th game in 2003. Hans's third and last major tournament was Euro 1992. The Netherlands reached the semi-finals, where they faced Denmark. They lost 5–4 on penalties after a 2–2 draw. Hans couldn't stop a penalty in that shootout. This was his last international match.

After His Playing Career

After Hans van Breukelen retired from playing, he focused on business. From 1994 to 1997, he was a vice-president at a retail company. He still wanted to be involved in football. In 1997, he became the director of football at FC Utrecht. He created a plan for the club's playing style and goals. Even though he signed a new contract in 2000, he left later that year because he felt the club's board didn't fully trust him.

Hans then returned to being an entrepreneur. In 2000, he started his own company, HvB Management. This company gives talks and training to other businesses. He also helped start two other companies. In 2001, Hans earned his coaching diploma. This allowed him to become an assistant manager at a professional club or a manager at an amateur club.

Since 2005, he has been the director of Sports and Technology. This is a Dutch group that works on new ideas in sports and technology. In July 2010, Hans van Breukelen joined the board of directors at PSV Eindhoven. In 2013, he was unhappy with PSV's performance. He wanted to change how the club was run. He contacted Guus Hiddink, other former PSV players, and sponsors to help him.

In June 2016, Hans van Breukelen was chosen as the technical director of the Dutch FA. He left this job in 2018.

In 2023, he appeared on the TV show The Masked Singer.

Career Statistics

Club

International

Honours

PSV Eindhoven

• Eredivisie (6): 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1991–92
• KNVB Cup: 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90
• Johan Cruijff Shield: 1992
• European Cup: 1987–88

Netherlands

• UEFA European Championship: 1988.

Individual

• Dutch Goalkeeper of the Year: 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992.
• UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1988
• IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper: Silver ball 1988
• IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper: Bronze ball 1992

See also

In Spanish: Hans van Breukelen para niños