Hans Croon

Hans Croon (25 May 1936 – 5 February 1985) was a Dutch football manager who won the 1976 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final with Anderlecht.

Hans Croon

Personal information
Date of birth	(1936-05-25)25 May 1936
Place of birth	Malang, Dutch East Indies
Date of death	5 February 1985(1985-02-05) (aged 48)
Place of death	Rotterdam, Netherlands
Managerial career
Years	Team
1957–1959	DWS
1959–1963	SVV
1963–1969	HVC
1969–1972	FC Volendam
1972–1974	Waregem
1974–1975	Lierse S.K.
1975–1976	Anderlecht
1976–1978	NEC
1978–1979	FC VVV
1979–1981	Waregem
1981–1982	Beringen
1982–1983	Lierse S.K.

Managerial career

As well as Anderlecht, Croon coached in the Netherlands and Belgium with DWS, VER, HVC, FC Volendam, K.S.V. Waregem, Lierse S.K. and NEC.^[1]

His Anderlecht side won the 1976 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup with a 4–2 victory over West Ham United on 5 May 1976 at Heysel Stadium in Brussels.^[2] He also won the Belgian Cup in 1976 with Anderlecht.^[3] He left Belgium and moved to NEC, and coached the team until 1978. He later succeeded compatriot Kees Rijvers at Beringen, with whom he suffered relegation from the Eerste Klasse.^[4]

In 1995, it was reported that Croon was persuading players to take drugs during his short tenure at FC VVV. Then VVV player Mikan Jovanovic confirmed the report, stating he was one of three players to take performance-enhancing pills.^[5]

Personal life

After retiring from football, Croon joined the Bhagwan movement and named himself Shunyam Avyakul.^[6]

He died in February 1985 in a Rotterdam hospital at the age of 48 following a car crash near Arnemuiden a week earlier.^{[citation needed]}

Honours

Manager

SV Waregem

Source:^[7]

• Belgian Cup: 1973-74

RSC Anderlecht ^[8]

• Belgian Cup: 1975-76
• European Cup Winners' Cup: 1975–76 (winners)^[9]