Hans Eijkenbroek

Hans Eijkenbroek (5 January 1940 – 17 August 2024) was a Dutch football player and manager.

Hans Eijkenbroek

Eijkenbroek in 1965
Personal information
Date of birth	(1940-01-05)5 January 1940
Place of birth	Schiedam, Netherlands
Date of death	17 August 2024(2024-08-17) (aged 84)
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1956–1963	Hermes DVS
1963–1973	Sparta	299	(13)
1973–1975	Willem II	40	(4)
Total		339	(17)
International career
1967–1970	Netherlands	18	(0)
Managerial career
1982–1983	AZ '67
1983–1984	Roda JC
1987–1989	AZ '67
1989–1990	Haarlem
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

Club

Born in Schiedam,^[1] he started his career at local side Hermes DVS and was scouted by Sparta Rotterdam legend Denis Neville in 1962. With Sparta he played in two KNVB Cup Finals, winning one.^[2] He was Sparta captain when goalkeeper Eddy Treijtel shot down a gull from a goal-kick during a derby match against Feyenoord in 1970. Eijkenbroek subsequently threw the bird off the pitch only for a Sparta employee to have it stuffed and put in either Sparta's or Feyenoord's club museum.^[3]

Nicknamed De Eijk, he also played for Willem II.^[4]

International

Eijkenbroek made his debut for the Netherlands in an April 1967 friendly match against Belgium and earned a total of 18 caps, scoring no goals. His final international was a January 1970 friendly against England.^[5]

Managerial career

Eijkenbroek played under manager Georg Keßler at Sparta and the national team, and later became his assistant at AZ '67, before taking the reins himself.^[6] He also managed Haarlem and Roda JC, where he was dismissed in November 1984.^[7] In 1995 he started working at FC Dordrecht.

Death

Eijkenbroek died on 17 August 2024, at the age of 84.^[8]