Alex Schoenmaker (born 23 August 1947) is a Dutch former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player and manager. Nicknamed ''Sexy-Lexie'' due to his good looks, he had a career as a player and manager in the Netherlands, the United States and the Middle East, mostly remembered as an icon of
ADO Den Haag
Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation f ...
.
Playing career
Schoenmaker was born in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
. His first club was amateur club VDS in his hometown. He began his professional career with
ADO in 1965 and in 1967 appeared for the exported ADO team in the United States called the
San Francisco Golden Gate Gales
The San Francisco Golden Gate Gales were an American soccer team that played in the United Soccer Association (USA). The team was based in San Francisco, California and played their home games at the Candlestick Park. The team folded when the U ...
. He left for
Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...
in the 1971–72 season, where he stayed for four years. For the
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
-based club he scored 19 goals in European competitions – a record that still stands today. In 1974, Schoenmaker became European top goalscorer with 10 goals. After his tenure with Feyenoord, he retired from football as part of his first club ADO, which had meanwhile changed to FC Den Haag, and he played in the
Zuiderpark
Zuiderparkstadion (, Dutch for ''Southern Park Stadium'') was an 11,000-seat stadium in The Hague, Netherlands. It was the home of football club ADO Den Haag.
For many years after the club's inauguration in 1905, they played football in man ...
until 1982. In the 1975–76 season, he was the European top goalscorer for the second time in his career, this time with six goals, sharing the honour with
Aad Mansveld
Adriaan Mansveld (14 July 1944 – 5 December 1991) was a Dutch footballer who played as a libero.
Career
Born in The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast fac ...
. Besides San Francisco Golden Gate Gales, Schoenmaker played in the
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and
NASL leagues for the
Edmonton Drillers and the
Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to:
*Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983
*Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...
.
Managerial career
After his playing career, he worked mostly as an assistant coach – among others with
AZ'67
Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and host ...
,
Volendam
Volendam () is a fishing town in the municipality of Edam-Volendam, province of North Holland, Netherlands. As of 1 January 2021, it has a population of 22,715. It is twinned with Coventry, England.
History
Originally, Volendam was the location o ...
and
Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...
. He was also head coach of
TOP Oss
TOP Oss (), is a professional association football club based in the town of Oss, North Brabant, Netherlands, that competes in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of the Dutch football league system. Founded in 1928 as T.O.P., a Dutch abbreviati ...
,
ADO Den Haag
Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation f ...
, Saudi club
Al Hilal and
Al Jazira Club
Al Jazira Club is an Emirati professional football club based in Abu Dhabi, that currently competes in the UAE Pro League.
History
Al-Jazira was established in 1974 as a merger between ''Khalidiyah'' and ''Al Bateen''. The club struggled to st ...
from
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area.
...
.
References
External links
*
*
1947 births
Living people
Association football forwards
Dutch footballers
Dutch expatriate footballers
Dutch football managers
ADO Den Haag players
Edmonton Drillers (1979–1982) players
Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983) players
Feyenoord players
FC Volendam managers
ADO Den Haag managers
FC Dordrecht managers
TOP Oss managers
Eredivisie players
Eredivisie managers
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players
San Francisco Golden Gate Gales players
Footballers from The Hague
United Soccer Association players
Expatriate soccer players in Canada
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Canada
Expatriate soccer players in the United States
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in the United States
UEFA Cup winning players
Dutch expatriate football managers
FC Volendam non-playing staff
AZ Alkmaar non-playing staff
Feyenoord non-playing staff
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