Gerard Wiekens (born 25 February 1973) is a Dutch football manager

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 ...

and former professional footballer. He usually played as a defender, but could also play in

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

or as a sweeper, he notably played for

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

between 1997 and 2004 where he was involved in three promotions and two relegations, playing in the top three levels of English football, including three seasons as a

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

player. His spell at City was sandwiched between two spells with

BV Veendam Sportclub Veendam () was a Dutch professional association football club based in Veendam, province of Groningen. Founded on 4 September 1894 as Look-Out, it became P.J. Veendam in 1909, Veendam in 1910, SC Veendam in 1974, BV Veendam in 1997 a ...

, where he would retire in 2009. As a coach he remained with Veendam as assistant manager until the club folded in 2013, he later spent time with

FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, province of Groningen. Founded on 16 June 1971 as the successor of GVAV, the team compete in the Eredivisie, the highest tier of Dutch football. G ...

as a youth coach before a stint as manager of Dutch non-league side VV Noordster.

Club career

Wiekens Wiekens was born in

Oude Pekela Oude Pekela ( Gronings: ''Olle Pekel''; ) is a town in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Pekela, about 5 km southwest of Winschoten. It was established to exploit the peat in the area. During the 19th centu ...

. made his professional debut with Veendam in the 1990–91 season, and went on to make 26 appearances in his first season. He stayed at Veendam for nine seasons, and was named as club captain at the age of 20. In 1997 Wiekens made a £500,000 move to English club

, who were then playing in the First Division. Wiekens made his debut for Manchester City on the opening day of the 1997–98 season, scoring in a 2–2 draw with

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. Wiekens was a first team regular for five seasons, and in each of them Manchester City were either relegated or promoted, first suffering relegation to Division Two, then achieving consecutive promotions to reach the

FA Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

, before being relegated and promoted again. Wiekens was Manchester City's Player of the Year for the 1998–99 season, a season in which he missed just four games. Wiekens lost his first team place during the 2001–02 season, and subsequently made only sporadic appearances for Manchester City. His final appearance for Manchester City was in August 2003 at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...

in a

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

match against TNS. He was released by Manchester City in May 2004, and rejoined his former club Veendam. In September 2005, Wiekens broke his leg while playing for Veendam against Omniworld, an injury which was blamed on the artificial pitch on which the match took place.

Coaching career

As a coach he remained with Veendam as assistant manager until the club folded in 2013, he later spent time with

as a youth coach and as manager of Dutch non-league sides VV Noordster and WVV Winschoten. Until July 1st. 2023, he was assistant manager at

FC Emmen FC Emmen is a Dutch football club based in Emmen, Drenthe. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, after winning the 2021–22 Eerste Divisie title. Founded in 1925, the club entered the professional Eerste Divisie in 1985. I ...

.https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/gerard-wiekens-man-city-interview-18164029

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiekens, Gerard 1973 births Expatriate men's footballers in England Dutch men's footballers Dutch expatriate men's footballers Living people SC Veendam players Manchester City F.C. players Eerste Divisie players Premier League players People from Pekela Men's association football midfielders Men's association football defenders Footballers from Groningen (province) Dutch expatriate sportspeople in England