Rudolfus 'Ruud' Hubertus Hesp (born 31 October 1965) is a Dutch former professional
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
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
.
Club career
Born in
Bussum
Bussum () is a commuter town and former municipality in the Gooi region in the south east of the province of North Holland in the Netherlands near Hilversum. Since 2016, Bussum has been part of the new municipality of Gooise Meren.
Bussum had a ...
,
North Holland
North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...
, Hesp started his career in the
1985–86 season at
HFC Haarlem. He was recommended to Haarlem by
Piet Schrijvers
Piet Schrijvers (15 December 1946 – 7 September 2022)https://www.telegraaf.nl/sport/1875093014/voormalig-oranje-doelman-piet-schrijvers-75-overleden was a Dutch professional football manager and player who played as a goalkeeper. At interna ...
, who had coached him in FC Abcoude.
PC Fútbol
''PC Fútbol'' was a series of football management simulation games developed by Spanish developers Dinamic Multimedia. It was one of the big successes in the Spanish PC market, spawning several titles from 1992 until the studio's closure in 20 ...
6.0 database Despite rarely playing in his two years for Haarlem, he moved along with coach
Hans van Doorneveld to another club in the
Eredivisie
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 ...
,
Fortuna Sittard
Fortuna Sittard (; li, Fortuna Zitterd ) is a football club in Sittard, Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Fortuna Sittard Stadion and features in the Eredivisie. The club was established through a merger ...
, where he would remain the following seven years; during his first ten professional campaigns (one with Fortuna was spent in the
second division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
), he did not miss a single game.
After three seasons with
Roda JC
Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade (; Ripuarian: ), also known as Roda JC Kerkrade () or commonly Roda JC or Roda, is a Dutch professional football club based in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the Eerste Divisie. ...
,
Hesp signed with Spanish side
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Founded ...
as the
Catalans
Catalans (Catalan language, Catalan, French language, French and Occitan language, Occitan: ''catalans''; es, catalanes, Italian language, Italian: ''catalani'', sc, cadelanos) are a Romance languages, Romance ethnic group native to Cataloni ...
were being managed by countryman
Louis van Gaal
Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former football player and manager. At club level, he served as manager of Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, as well as having three spel ...
, also newly signed. Van Gaal resorted to Hesp after he was able to sign neither
Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar (; born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch football executive and former professional player who is currently the chief executive of AFC Ajax, with whom he began his senior playing career in the early 1990s; he is considered to be a m ...
, who stayed at
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 Greek ...
, nor
Ed de Goey
Eduard Franciscus "Ed" de Goeij (, anglicised to de Goey; born 20 December 1966) is a Dutch former professional association football, football Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. In a 20-year career, he played for Sparta Rotterdam, Fe ...
, who signed for
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
.
He easily beat competition from Portuguese
Vítor Baía
Vítor Manuel Martins Baía, OIH (; born 15 October 1969) is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
One of the most decorated goalkeepers of all time, his career was intimately connected with FC Porto, which he started re ...
, playing in 73 out of 76 possible
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
matches as ''Barça'' won back-to-back leagues (in
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
,
the double befell).
In
his last season at the
Camp Nou
Camp Nou (, meaning ''new field'', often referred to in English as the Nou Camp), officially branded as Spotify Camp Nou for sponsorship and financial reasons, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. It has been the home stadium of FC Barcelo ...
, Hesp split first-choice status with youth graduate
Francesc Arnau
Francesc Xavier Arnau Grabalosa (23 March 1975 – 22 May 2021) was a Spanish footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
In a 16-year professional career he played for Barcelona and Málaga, appearing in 126 La Liga games over the course of 12 seas ...
, then moved back to the Netherlands and Fortuna, retiring at almost 37 in 2002. Subsequently, he joined
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 goalkeeper coach.
In the summer of 2013, Hesp left Groningen for
PSV Eindhoven
Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, whi ...
in the same capacity.
International career
Although Hesp was picked by
the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
for their
UEFA Euro 1996
The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
and
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...
squads, he never actually won a
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
for the national team, acting as understudy to both first-choice
Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar (; born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch football executive and former professional player who is currently the chief executive of AFC Ajax, with whom he began his senior playing career in the early 1990s; he is considered to be a m ...
and his substitute
Ed de Goey
Eduard Franciscus "Ed" de Goeij (, anglicised to de Goey; born 20 December 1966) is a Dutch former professional association football, football Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. In a 20-year career, he played for Sparta Rotterdam, Fe ...
. He also worked with the side as a goalkeeper coach.
Personal life
Hesp's younger brother,
Danny
Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to:
People
* Danny Altmann, British immunologist
*Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer
*Danny Baker (born 1957), English journal ...
, was also a professional footballer. A
defender, the pair shared teams in
1994–95 at Roda.
[
]
Honours
Roda JC
*KNVB Cup
The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...
: 1996–97
Barcelona
*La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
: 1997–98, 1998–99
*Copa del Rey
The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...
: 1997–98
*UEFA Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
: 1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
References
External links
Beijen profile
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hesp, Ruud
1965 births
Living people
People from Bussum
Dutch footballers
Association football goalkeepers
Eredivisie players
Eerste Divisie players
HFC Haarlem players
Fortuna Sittard players
Roda JC Kerkrade players
La Liga players
FC Barcelona players
1998 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 1996 players
Dutch expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Spain
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Spain
PSV Eindhoven non-playing staff
FC Groningen non-playing staff
Footballers from North Holland