Piet Schrijvers missed the match of his life due to an injury | NOW

With Piet Schrijvers, Dutch football loses an icon from the seventies and eighties. The goalkeeper with the many nicknames caused a furore at FC Twente and Ajax as the undisputed ruler of his penalty area. A no-nonsense keeper, who was rarely caught on a mistake and did not make the profession more complicated than necessary.

‘De Beer van De Meer’ from the 1970s became the ‘Leak van PEC’ in the 1980s. From the nicknames of Piet Schrijvers you can immediately recognize in which stage of his career the goalkeeper was.

The 46-time Orange-international died on Thursday, after he had suffered from Alzheimer’s for years. In the impressive FOX Sports-documentary The Bear of the Lake from 2019 shows how the disease manifests itself. Writers can sometimes not think of the names of former teammates. “I don’t notice it, I feel good”, the former keeper tries to downplay his condition. His wife Cathy Schrijvers says: “We do notice.”

You can see how Schrijvers attends a match of his grandson Kjell Schrijvers. “Occasionally he calls to ask what time I have to play. And then I get an app the next day: ‘What time do you have to play again?’ “But that doesn’t matter to me. I support him. Even if he asks 37 times or twice, I keep answering. It’s not easy for him either.”

Injury cost Schrijvers World Cup final

The Eredivisie had countless top attackers in the seventies and eighties: from Johan Cruijff to Willy van der Kuijlen and from Ove Kindvall to Ruud Geels. They had in common that they pulled their legs in when they rushed towards Schrijvers, who made his already hefty body even bigger in such situations.

The sad thing about Schrijvers’ career is that a collision with teammate Ernie Brandts cost him the 1978 World Cup final. The closing post had finally had its chance on the global podium, after Jan Jongbloed had been preferred by Rinus Michels four years earlier in West Germany. Schrijvers seemed to be the top favorite for the number one position after Jan van Beveren dropped out, but Michels and Cruijff preferred Jongbloed, who could play better football.

Four years later, Schrijvers still got his chance during the World Cup. National coach Ernst Happel considered it necessary to make changes after a meager group stage and one of his victims was Jongbloed. After a 5-1 win over Austria and a 2-2 draw against West Germany, the Orange squad competed with Italy for a place in the final.

Thanks to fabulous long shots from Brandts and Arie Haan, the Netherlands qualified for the final battle, but at that time Schrijvers had already been replaced by Jongbloed. In an attempt to stop Roberto Bettega from scoring, Brandts collided hard with his out-going goalkeeper. The ball ended up in the net via the PSV defender and to make matters worse, Schrijvers had to stop the fight. With Jongbloed in the goal, the Orange again missed the main prize.

Piet Schrijvers missed the 1978 World Cup final due to a collision with Ernie Brandts.

Writers broke through at FC Twente

In a sense, Schrijvers owed his employment at Ajax to the same Jongbloed. After the era of Heinz Stuy (the goalkeeper who kept a clean sheet three times in three consecutive European Cup I finals), the team from Amsterdam actually wanted to attract the Orange goalie of the 1974 World Cup. Jongbloed, however, remained loyal to FC Amsterdam, after which Ajax ended up with Schrijvers. The goalkeeper, born in Jutphaas, had already proven himself for a long time at that time. First – from 1963 – at HVC in the Tweede Divisie and then at DWS, a national superpower at the time.

Between 1968 and 1974, Schrijvers definitely became a national football icon at FC Twente. The powerful keeper (1.86 meters and 85 kilos in his prime) was the lock on the door of the team that only got thirteen hits in the 1971/1972 season. Still an Eredivisie record. Together with players such as Willy and René van de Kerkhof, Epi Drost, Theo Pahlplatz and Kick van der Vall, Schrijvers put the club from Enschede on the map.

Yet he did not hesitate for a moment when Ajax reported. “You played with semi-pros at FC Twente, I worked in the concrete plant myself from 6.00 or 7.00 am. Only then could I train. What I missed at FC Twente were prizes,” said the legendary goalkeeper in a 2015 documentary by Ajax TV. .

Piet Schrijvers became national champion with Ajax five times.

Writers served Ajax in chaotic period

Schrijvers had the misfortune of serving Ajax at a time when the club was slowly but surely losing its grandeur. In the Eredivisie, the team from Amsterdam still often finished at the top, but in a European context, the team had lost its feathers. During a chaotic period on both a sporting and administrative level, Schrijvers was one of the few constant factors at Ajax.

“The Beer of De Meer. He will not come again. His cage is empty. Damn it. The Beer of De Meer. He will not come again”, sang Henk Spaan and Harry Vermeegen around the farewell of Schrijvers at Ajax in 1983.

Then Schrijvers went to PEC Zwolle, where multimillionaire Marten Eibrink held sway. The goalkeeper could not prevent ‘De Blauwvingers’ from being relegated in 1985, after which he ended a rich career.

Schrijvers had the dream to be active at the 1986 World Cup and to win world gold à la Dino Zoff at a very advanced football age, but national coach Kees Rijvers decided to rejuvenate after missing out on the 1984 European Championship. The closing post kept his last of 46 international matches on March 14, 1984 against Denmark (6-0 win).

Donderspeech put Orange on edge

If we forget the World Cup matches for a moment, the most important international match that Schrijvers completed was probably the European Championship preliminary round match against Ireland on October 12, 1983. Halfway through, the very talented Orange was 2-0 behind, after which the Netherlands after a thunderous speech from Schrijvers with 2 -3 triumphed. Goal scorers Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit were among the top talents who had been put on edge by the furious keeper. The first glimpses of the 1988 gold team were visible.

Schrijvers was never complicated or interesting about his profession. Work hard and do your best, were the mantras when the goalkeeper was asked about his secret.

As a trainer of TOP Oss in the early nineties.

Trainer career Writers was not a success

As a trainer, Schrijvers was not a resounding success. After his last job as a coach (FC Zwolle in 1995/1996), he was mainly active as a goalkeeper coach. He often rode his hobbyhorse that the current generation of keepers has too little guts for his taste. “They should come out more often. But after a single mistake they are scared. I just gave attackers a pounding.”

In recent years, after the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, Schrijvers stayed in the shelter. The iconic goalkeeper last appeared in publicity in 2019. His biography, written by Yoeri van den Busken, was then presented and it emerged in interviews that the disease was already at an advanced stage. Three years later Piet Schrijvers died at the age of 75.