Jan Hilbert Potharst (4 January 1918 – 6 September 2008) was a Dutch association football player, who played as a defender for

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...

and for the Netherlands national team.

Career

AFC Ajax

Born and raised in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, Jan Potharst began his football career in the youth ranks of local side VVA, before switching over to play in the ranks of Ajax at the age of 14. Advancing through the youth ranks, Jan Potharst made his debut for the first team on 5 March 1939 in an away match against VSV. In a career that spanned thirteen years, Jan Potharst made 237 appearances in the shirt of Ajax. He won the national championship in his first season with the first team, and again in the 1946–47 season. He also helped Ajax to win the Dutch Cup (''then NVB Cup'') in 1943. He was the team captain during his final seasons at the club, having never scored a goal his entire career.

International career

On 12 May 1946 Jan Potharst made his debut for the Netherlands national team in a 6–3 win over

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 ...

, making a total of six appearances for the Dutch national team with his final call-up occurring in 1950.

Business career

Following his playing career at Ajax, Jan Potharst joined the management at the club where he was made the commissioner of the board of directors and a member of merit. He was initiated as an Honorary club member at his farewell ceremony from the club, and in 1995 he hammered in the first pole at the construction site to build the new Ajax training facility

Sportpark De Toekomst Sportcomplex De Toekomst (Dutch for ''Sporting complex The Future'') is a sporting complex in Ouder-Amstel, Netherlands, owned by AFC Ajax N.V. The complex comprises nine football fields and is located close to the Johan Cruyff Arena. Its main fie ...

Honours

;

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

Dutch championship (2): 1938–39, 1946–47
NVB Cup: 1942–43

References

External links

Jan Potharst statistics
at Voetbalstats.nl
Netherlands statistics
at OnsOranje {{DEFAULTSORT:Potharst, Jan 1918 births 2008 deaths Men's association football defenders Dutch footballers Footballers from Amsterdam Directors of football clubs in the Netherlands Netherlands men's international footballers AFC Ajax players