Geert Meijer

Geert Meijer

Meijer playing for Ajax in 1975
Personal information
Date of birth	(1951-03-15) 15 March 1951 (age 73)
Place of birth	Sellingen, Netherlands
Position(s)	Left winger
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1972–1975	FC Amsterdam	41	(7)
1975–1979	Ajax	77	(18)
1976–1977	→ FC Amsterdam (loan)	18	(5)
1979–1980	Bristol City	15	(2)
1980–1983	Sparta Rotterdam	110	(12)
1983	DS '79	13	(0)
1983–1986	NAC Breda	22	(1)
Total		295	(45)
Managerial career
1983–1990	VV Strijen
1987–1988	DCV
1988–1989	Hermes DVS
1989–1990	DCV
1995	Feyenoord (caretaker)
1997	Feyenoord (caretaker)
2005	FC Hämeenlinna
2006–2013	VV Strijen
2013–2015	SV Bolnes
2015–2022	VV Strijen
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Geert Meijer (born 15 March 1951) is a Dutch football manager and former professional player.

Playing career

Born in Sellingen, Meijer played as a left winger, and began his professional career in 1972 with FC Amsterdam. After moving to city rivals Ajax three years later, where he spent four seasons, Meijer spent a year in England with Bristol City, making 15 appearances in the First Division.^[1] Upon his return to the Netherlands, Meijer played for Sparta Rotterdam, DS'79 and NAC Breda,^[2] before retiring in 1986.

Coaching career

While still a professional player, Meijer began his coaching career. He managed the amateur teams VV Strijen, DCV and Hermes DVS. After 3 consecutive league titles with VV Strijen, he became assistant coach at Feyenoord. Between 1990 and 1999 Meijer was the assistant of 7 different Feyenoord managers: Gunder Bengtsson, Pim Verbeek, Hans Dorjee, Wim Jansen, Willem van Hanegem, Arie Haan and Leo Beenhakker.^[3]

When Willem van Hanegem was sacked in 1995, Meijer was caretaker manager.^[4] In 1997, after Arie Haan was sacked, Meijer was also caretaker manager (together with John Metgod).^[5]

Meijer would then work as a youth coach, for 4 years at Feyenoord and for 2 years in Abu Dhabi. In 2005 he became Head Coach at FC Hämeenlinna, which played in the Ykkönen, the second level in Finland.^[6] As the Finnish football season takes place between April and October, the team avoided relegation in autumn and in December Meijer became assistant of Henk Wisman in Armenia, at both the National Team and FC Pyunik.^[7]

In 2007, Sparta Rotterdam's manager Gert Aandewie was sacked. Sparta's under−23 coach Adri van Tiggelen became caretaker manager in November and December 2007, while Meijer assisted him.^[8] This meant that Meijer took over Sparta's under−23 team from van Tiggelen for the next three-and-a-half years.^[9]

Meijer would stay a few more years at Sparta as a scout,^[10] and as assistant of Jos van Eck when he was Sparta's caretaker manager in the 2nd division.^[11] This was from February 2011 until the end of the season. Meijer always combined his work at Sparta with coaching amateur teams SV Bolnes and VV Strijen.^[12]).

Meijer's last season at VV Strijen was 2021–22, when he finalised his third spell (each spell lasting seven years) years as head coach at VV Strijen.^[13][14][15]

References

General

• (in Dutch) Voetbal International

Specific