Tonny van Leeuwen

Dutch footballer (1943–1971)

Tonny van Leeuwen

Van Leeuwen in 1962

Personal information
Full name|  Teunis Pieter van Leeuwen
Date of birth|  (1943-03-21)21 March 1943
Place of birth|  Gouda, Netherlands
Date of death|  15 June 1971(1971-06-15) (aged 28)
Position(s)|  Goalkeeper
Youth career
|  Jodan Boys
|  Vv ONA [nl]
Senior career*
Years|  Team|  Apps|  (Gls)
1959–1963|  Sparta Rotterdam|  25|  (0)
1963–1971|  GVAV Groningen|  232|  (2)
International career
1961|  Netherlands U19|  1|  (0)
1967|  Netherlands|  2|  (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Teunis Pieter van Leeuwen (21 March 1943 - 15 June 1971) was a Dutch footballer who played as a goalkeeper for GVAV Groningen and Sparta Rotterdam.[1] He made two appearances for the Netherlands national team in 1967.[2]

## Club career[edit]

### Early life and Sparta Rotterdam[edit]

Van Leeuwen was born in Gouda, South Holland, the son of a furniture maker, and grew up in the working-class neighbourhood of Korte Akkeren [nl].[3] He played for local clubs Jodan Boys and Vv ONA [nl] before signing for Sparta Rotterdam.[3]

At Sparta Rotterdam, van Leeuwen was brought in as an understudy to Andries van Dijk [nl].[3] Due to van Dijk's injuries he got more playing time than planned and made his senior debut on 1 May 1960 against DWS at the age of 17, keeping a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw.[3] Following an injury, van Leeuwen lost his place as number 1 goalkeeper to Pim Doesburg and wanted to leave the club.[3]

### GVAV Groningen[edit]

In 1963 van Leeuwen joined GVAV Groningen as a replacement for Otto Roffel [nl].[3] Groningen paid a transfer fee of 87,500 guilders to Sparta Rotterdam.[3] In the 1969–70 season, he suffered relegation from the Eredivisie with Groningen.[3] Despite offers from other clubs such as Belgian side Anderlecht, he remained at Groningen.[3] In the 1970–71 season he conceded just seven goals – record low number of goals conceded in a season of any major European division –,[4] keeping 23 clean sheets[3] while Groningen achieved promotion back to the Eredivisie.[4] His performances earned him the 1971 Goalkeeper of the Year award.[3]

## International career[edit]

Van Leeuwen was first called up to the Netherlands national team in 1964.[4] A long suspension he received for striking an opponent delayed his debut.[4] He made his debut on 5 April 1967, in a match against East Germany.[3] The Netherlands lost 4–3 after leading 2–0 with van Leeuwen being criticised for not dealing well with high balls played into the penalty area.[3][4] He made his second appearance against Hungary, asking to be substituted at halftime with The Netherlands losing 2–0.[3] Van Leeuwen claimed he had sustained an injury to his shoulder but it later transpired that he was nervous.[3][4]

## Style of play[edit]

Van Leeuwen was known for his exceptional reflexes, his control of the penalty area and his charisma.[3]

## Legacy[edit]

Van Leeuwen is considered a cultural icon of Groningen.[3] A grandstand, a train and a street were named after him and a statue of him stands in front of FC Groningen's Euroborg stadium.[3]

## Personal life and death[edit]

Van Leeuwen had two children, Harold and Irma, with his wife Gerie.[3] In the 1990s it was revealed that he had had a third child, Richard Vennema, with another woman called Karla Vennema.[5] Richard also played football as a goalkeeper.[5] A semi-professional footballer, van Leeuwen worked as a representative at sporting goods manufacturer Quick.[3]

He died at the age of 28 after crashing his car head-on into a truck loaded with concrete pipes on the wrong side of the road in the early morning of 15 June 1971.[3] He was on his way home from the ceremony where he received the 1971 Goalkeeper of the Year award.[3] His wife survived the crash.[3]

## Career statistics[edit]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[6][7] Club  | Season  | League

|
|

Division | Apps | Goals
Sparta Rotterdam | 1959–60  | Eredivisie | 2 | 0
1960–61  | Eredivisie  | 3 | 0
1961–62  | Eredivisie  | 16 | 0
1962–63  | Eredivisie  | 4 | 0
Total  | 25 | 0
GVAV Groningen | 1963–64  | Eredivisie  | 25 | 0
1964–65  | Eredivisie  | 21 | 0
1965–66  | Eredivisie  | 30 | 0
1966–67  | Eredivisie  | 34 | 1
1967–68  | Eredivisie  | 34 | 0
1968–69  | Eredivisie  | 24 | 0
1969–70  | Eredivisie  | 34 | 1
1970–71  | Eerste Divisie | 30 | 0
Total  | 232 | 2
Career total  | 257 | 2

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Tonny van Leeuwen". National Football Teams. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
2. ^ "Tonny van Leeuwen". EU Football. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Darwinkel, Geert Jan (4 June 2022). "Tonny van Leeuwen, de beste clubkeeper ter wereld" [Tonny van Leeuwen, the best club goalkeeper in the world]. Reporters Online (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 July 2023.
4. ^ a b c d e f "Tonny van Leeuwen – The Violent Death Of A Groningen Hero". Beyond The Last Man. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
5. ^ a b Darwinkel, Geert Jan. "Richard Vennema, zoon van de Leeuw van Groningen" [Richard Vennema, son of the Lion of Groningen]. darch media (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 July 2023.
6. ^ "Tonny van Leeuwen". GVAV Stats (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 August 2023.
7. ^ "Tonny van Leeuwen » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

## External links[edit]

* Tonny van Leeuwen at National-Football-Teams.com
* Tonny van Leeuwen at WorldFootball.net
* Netherlands national team profile
* Netherlands U19 national team profile

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