When he is in England, there are still supporters who recognize him. It is very different in his hometown of Veldhoven. There he is not bothered by fans who approach him when he goes shopping. After a wonderful career in which he played goalkeeper in bulging stadiums in the Premier League, Hans Segers (61) is now quietly enjoying his work as goalkeeper coach of FC Eindhoven. “We are the underdog who wants to give everything to win. I like that mentality.”
Hans Segers is living proof that anything is possible in a football career. At the age of sixteen he was still playing for amateur club RKSV Woensel, after which he left for PSV. “After six years I went to England and had a great career. As a goalkeeper coach, I now tell this to my keepers and other players. If you work hard and are hungry, you can go far.”
In England, the born and raised Eindhoven resident was best known as goalkeeper of Wimbledon FC. The club was also known as The Crazy Gang. “We were a small club but wanted to beat the ‘big boys’ every week. It even managed to finish sixth in the Premier League. The team spirit was incredible. If any of us got kicked, it was time to get back at them. If Wimbledon FC played football in this day and age, you would need a 40-man squad because of all the red cards.”
“The experience was incredible.”
His relationship with the fans was special. “The experience was incredible. It’s nice when people chant your name or applaud at a rescue. But I also enjoyed the opponent’s crowd. They could almost pull your shirt on a goal kick. When people called me names or threw things, it gave me energy. That was not about one or two supporters, but about thousands.”
“I miss the huge passion of the fans.”
After a career at PSV, Nottingham Forest, Wimbledon FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers, Segers ended up at Tottenham Hotspur. Does he still often think of England? “I miss the huge passion of the fans. They work all week to be able to sit in the stadium on Saturday. Rain or shine, they are always there. Here in the Netherlands I sometimes hear people complain that they find it too cold and stay at home, that will never happen there. What I don’t miss about England is the chaos on the road.”
At Tottenham Hotspur he started his new job as a goalkeeper coach. He then returned to PSV, and then to Fulham. “I have worked with young goalkeepers, but also with international top players such as Australian international Mark Schwarzer and American Kasey Keller. Whoever I work with, every keeper always has something to learn. Keeping is an experience profession and you can continue for a long time if you are fit.”
Between 2014 and 2017 he worked at FC Eindhoven and in 2021 he signed again. Segers still has a contract for two years. “I think it’s great to get to work with the guys on the field. I would like to keep doing this as long as possible. FC Eindhoven is a club where players can develop excellently. From a sporting point of view, we have been doing well for years, but the play-offs were the highest achievable. I don’t know if the Eredivisie should be the goal, but as a team you can achieve a lot if everyone is on the same page.”
On Friday evening FC Eindhoven will play a practice match against the Belgian Beerschot. That duel is at the sports park of DOSL Leende and starts at 7 p.m.