Reinier Lambertus "René" van de Kerkhof (; born 16 September 1951) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right winger for FC Twente, PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands national team.
Career Van de Kerkhof and his twin brother Willy were squad members of the Dutch national team that made the World Cup final in 1974 and became key players in the team that made the 1978 final, losing to hosts West Germany and Argentina, respectively. He also played for the Netherlands at the Euro 1976 and Euro 1980. Overall, Van de Kerkhof appeared 47 times for his country, scoring five goals.
He is well remembered due to the incident before the 1978 World Cup final, when the opponent Argentina national team objected to the cast he wore on his injured forearm since it could have injured an Argentinian player. Despite the bandage having been passed by FIFA and worn in previous matches, the referee, Italian Sergio Gonella vacillated. The Dutch players threatened to walk off the field in protest, delaying the kickoff of the game. Finally an extra layer of padding was applied to the bandage as a solution, and the match could start.Salvation army: part two. Guardian (4 June 2006). Retrieved on 8 November 2013.
1978 was his most successful year, besides becoming runners-up at the World Cup, he also won the UEFA Cup, the Dutch championship and the KNVB Beker with PSV that year: "we had won everything possible – the title, the Dutch Cup and the UEFA Cup, and we had five or six players who had been runners-up at the FIFA World Cup in Argentina with the Netherlands. It was a beautiful period under manager Kees Rijvers", Van de Kerkhof later would tell to Berend Scholten.PSV smell danger as Rangers visit stirs memories by Berend Scholten
Van de Kerkhof was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsTwente1970–71Eredivisie33121971–7232101972–733412Total9934PSV Eindhoven1973–74Eredivisie31201974–753091975–763481976–772891977–7829101978–792781979–802931980–811811981–822991982–83238Total27885Apollon Athens1983–84Alpha Ethniki233Seiko1984–85First Division14861Helmond Sport1985–86Eerste Divisie1441986–872331987–88241Total618FC Eindhoven1987–88Eerste Divisie1111988–89192Total303Career total505141
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsNetherlands19731119742019752119765019777119781411979611980601981601982140Total475
Scores and results list the Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Van de Kerkhof goal.
+ List of international goals scored by René van de KerkhofNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 29 August 1973 De Adelaarshorst, Deventer, Netherlands 5–1 8–1 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification2 10 September 1975 Stadion Śląski, Chorzów, Poland 1–4 1–4 UEFA Euro 1976 qualification3 26 October 1977 Olympisch stadion, Amsterdam, Netherlands 1–0 1–0 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification4 18 June 1978 Estadio Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina 2–2 2–2 1978 FIFA World Cup5 21 November 1979 Zentralstadion, Leipzig, German Democratic Republic 3–2 3–2 UEFA Euro 1980 qualification
Honours
PSV Eindhoven Eredivisie: 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78 KNVB Cup: 1973–74, 1975–76 UEFA Cup: 1977–78
Seiko Hong Kong First Division: 1984–85 Hong Kong Senior Shield: 1984–85
Netherlands FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1974, 1978 UEFA European Championship third place: 1976 Tournoi de Paris: 1978
Individual FIFA 100
References