Robert Vosmaer (born 17 July 1951) is a former Dutch

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

and represented the

Netherlands national football team The Netherlands national football team ( nl, Nederlands voetbalelftal or simply ''Het Nederlands elftal'') has represented the Netherlands in international men's football matches since 1905. The men's national team is controlled by the Royal Du ...

Early life

Vosmaer was born in 1951 in Indonesia, as his father was in the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

, and moved to the Netherlands in 1954, at the age of 3. He grew up playing "street soccer" with his friends and later competed for regional and national Dutch amateur teams.

Playing career

Vosmaer began his career in the Netherlands, playing with amateur club VUC Den Haag from 1969 to 1972. During this time, he was called up to the national Olympic team to play qualifying matches for the 1972 Summer Olympics. In 1972, Vosmaer joined brought to

HFC Haarlem HFC Haarlem was a Dutch football club from the city of Haarlem, established in 1889 and dissolved in 2010. The club won the Eredivisie in 1946 and reached five Cup finals, winning in 1902 and 1912. Haarlem reached the second round of the 1982 ...

in the

Eredivise The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

, where he played for coach

Joop Brand Joop Brand (born 11 June 1936) is a retired association football player and manager from the Netherlands. Playing career He played for Xerxes, DFC, HVC and Heracles Almelo. Managerial career He coached DWS, HFC Haarlem, AZ, Go Ahead Eagle ...

. He was named MVP in his rookie season in the Eredivisie. In his time with Haarlem, he was called up to the Dutch U21 team. In 1974, Vosmaer followed coach Brand to AZ '67. His first season in Alkmaar was very successful, scoring ten goals in 31 league games and earning a call-up to the

Dutch national team Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

in April 1975. He made his national team debut on 30 April 1975 against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, as a substitute for

Kees Kist Cornelis Kist (born 7 August 1952) is a Dutch former professional footballer and manager. He played as a striker, and most notably won the European Golden Shoe for the 1978–79 season. Club career Born in Steenwijk, Kist started his career at ...

. A month later, he made his first national team start in a friendly match against

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. He then struggled with injuries, eventually getting loaned to MVV Maastricht in 1977, in the

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the ...

, where he helped then to a second-place finish and earning promotion. After tearing his Achilles tendon in 1978, he tore it in his first game back a year later, which marked the end of his European career and he moved to a lower division team,

VV Eijsden VV, V V, or v. v. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Vopli Vidopliassova, or VV, a Ukrainian rock band * Vicarious Visions, a video game company * V/V, a secondary chord in music * V.V., a character in ''Code Geass'' People * Alison Mossh ...

. In 1980, he went to North America, joining the

Philadelphia Fury The Philadelphia Fury was an American soccer team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that last competed in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). The club formerly competed in the American Soccer League and is currently owned by ...

. He continued to play in North America for the next decade, playing both indoor and outdoor football for

Montreal Manic The Montreal Manic or the Manic de Montréal were a professional soccer team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that played in the North American Soccer League. The Montreal Manic were brought back in 2020 by Canadian businessman Gary Gaul as an ...

, Chicago Sting, FC Inter-Montréal,

Pittsburgh Spirit Pittsburgh Spirit were an indoor soccer team based in Pittsburgh and were one of the original six teams that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). The Spirit were founded in 1978, suspended operation for the 1980–81 season, then ret ...

, Charlotte Gold,

Canton Invaders The Canton Invaders was an indoor soccer club based in Canton, Ohio that competed in the National Professional Soccer League. After the 1995–96 season, the team relocated and became the Columbus Invaders. History The Canton Invaders were a p ...

, and

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional soccer team in the United States and are seven-time league champions, m ...

Managerial career

After a 17-year professional career, he became the general manager of the

. In 1992, he became the coach of Montreal Supra in the

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; french: Ligue canadienne de soccer — LCS) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (C ...

, guiding them to the semi-finals in the playoffs. In 1994, he founded North Stars FC, in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, where he serves as president. In 2005, he became the boys varsity head coach at

North Allegheny High School North Allegheny Senior High School (NASH) is a suburban high school in the North Allegheny School District and is located in Wexford, Pennsylvania, a northern suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The current building was built in 1974. In 2013, e ...

for 15 years, where he won the WPIAL Championship twice in 2016 and 2017. In 2016, he was named WPIAL Class AAAA Coach of the Year. Coach Vosmaer resigned from the varsity head coaching position on January 27, 2022 for undisclosed reasons. He holds the USSF "A" license as well as the Dutch coaching badge.

References

External links

Bobby Vosmaer Stats at NFTBobby Vosmaer Stats at Stats Crew
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vosmaer, Bobby 1951 births Living people Expatriate soccer players in Canada Association football forwards FC Inter-Montréal players AZ Alkmaar players HFC Haarlem players MVV Maastricht players Philadelphia Fury (1978–1980) players Montreal Manic players Chicago Sting (MISL) players Pittsburgh Spirit players Charlotte Gold players Canton Invaders (AISA) players Milwaukee Wave players Dutch expatriate footballers Dutch footballers Netherlands international footballers Montreal Supra coaches Canadian Professional Soccer League (original) players