The Netherlands are mourning the loss of one of their great footballers: two-time vice world champion Wim Jansen died at the age of 75 as a result of Alzheimer’s disease, his long-time club Feyenoord Rotterdam announced on Tuesday.
Midfielder Jansen had reached the final with Oranje at the 1974 and 1978 World Cups. In 1974 in Munich, Germany won the title (2:1), Jansen’s tackle against Bernd Hölzenbein led to a penalty kick, which brought the German equalizer. Four years later, the Netherlands lost to Argentina in Buenos Aires (1-3 aet), and Jansen was also on the field from the start in this final.
He played a total of 65 games for Elftal. Jansen played for Feyenoord from 1965 to 1980, won the European Cup in 1970 and the Dutch championship three times. From 1980 he played in the USA for the Washington Diplomats and also for Rotterdam’s arch-rivals Ajax Amsterdam. In 1982, Jansen won the Dutch championship again with Ajax. He then began a career as a coach, which would take him to Saudi Arabia and Japan, among other places.
