Matheus Wilhelmus Theodorus "Theo" Laseroms (8 March 1940 – 25 April 1991) was a Dutch football defender who made a name for himself when he played for Feijenoord. He gained six caps for the Netherlands national team.

Club career

Laseroms, nicknamed ''De

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

'' or ''Theo de Tank'', was famous for his

sliding tackle A sliding tackle, also called slide tackle, is a tackle in association football. It is completed with one leg extended to push the ball away from the opposing player. Sliding tackles can often be sources of controversy, particularly when players ...

. His career had started in 1956 at RBC, followed in 1958 by NAC. In 1963, he switched to

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

, with whom he won the KNVB Cup in 1966. In 1967, Laseroms signed with the Pittsburgh Phantoms of the newly created National Professional Soccer League while still under contract with Sparta Rotterdam. Sparta sued Pittsburgh in both the

United States 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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and the Netherlands and received $50,000 from the Phantoms. In 1968 he moved to Feijenoord where he would form the defensive core alongside

Rinus Israël Marinus "Rinus" David Israël (born 19 March 1942) is a Dutch former professional football player and manager who is currently a scout. Nicknamed "Iron Rinus", he formed a solid defence line at Feyenoord with Theo Laseroms. Club career Duri ...

. He played four seasons for Feijenoord through late sixties and early seventies. Laseroms was part of the team that won the European Cup in 1970 after a 2–1 final win over Celtic and in that same year the Intercontinental Cup against Argentinian club Estudiantes de La Plata. He also became champion twice with Feijenoord, in the seasons 1968–69 and 1970–71. In the seasons 1969–70 and 1971–72, Laseroms finished in second place with Feyenoord. The KNVB Cup was won in the 1968–69 season. He was part of the legendary team that included

Eddy Pieters Graafland Eduard Laurens "Eddy" Pieters Graafland (5 January 193428 April 2020) was a Dutch professional football player and coach. As a player, he was the goalkeeper of Ajax, Feyenoord and the Netherlands. In 1970, his last season as a professional, he w ...

Eddy Treijtel Eduard Willem Treijtel (born 28 May 1946) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He won the Intercontinental Cup in 1970 and the UEFA Cup in the 1973–74 season with Feyenoord. Club career Treijtel was born in ...

, Piet Romeijn,

Theo van Duivenbode Theo van Duivenbode (born 1 November 1943) is a Dutch former footballer who played for Ajax and Feyenoord and was part of their European and Intercontinental Cup victory in 1970. Club career Born in Amsterdam, van Duivenbode made his senior de ...

Franz Hasil Franz Hasil (born 28 July 1944 in Vienna) is a former Austrian footballer. Club career Born in Vienna, Hasil started his career at local giants Rapid Wien before moving abroad to play for Schalke 04. After one season in Germany, he moved to Feye ...

Wim Jansen Wilhelmus Marinus Antonius Jansen (; 28 October 1946 – 25 January 2022) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a midfielder or defender, he spent most of his career at Feyenoord, winning honours including the European C ...

Willem van Hanegem Willem "Wim" van Hanegem (; born 20 February 1944) is a Dutch former football player and coach who played as a midfielder. In a playing career spanning over 20 years, he won several domestic honours in the Netherlands, as well as a European Cu ...

Henk Wery Henk Wery (born 10 June 1943) is a Dutch former footballer who played for Feyenoord and was part of their European Cup victory in 1970. He earned 12 caps and scored 3 goals for the Netherlands national football team The Netherlands national ...

Ove Kindvall Bengt Ove Kindvall (born 16 May 1943) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He started his career at IFK Norrköping, where he played until he joined Feyenoord in 1966 and became professional. The same year, he w ...

and

Coen Moulijn Coenraadt "Coen" Moulijn (15 February 1937 – 4 January 2011) was a Dutch footballer who played for Feyenoord from 1955 to 1972 and was part of their European Cup victory in 1970. Club career Compared to Stanley Matthews and Garrincha, Moulijn ...

. After leaving the club in 1972, he played for the Belgian club

Gent Gent is a shortened form of the word gentleman. It may also refer to: * Ghent (Dutch language, Dutch: Gent), a Belgian city ** K.A.A. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** K.R.C. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** Gent RFC, a rugby club in Ghen ...

for two more years.

International career

In 1965 he made his first international appearance for 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 ...

against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Managerial career

Laseroms did an internship 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 Gree ...

in Amsterdam in the 1975–76 season before obtaining his training diploma; a team then consisting of players such as

Frank Arnesen Frank Arnesen (born 30 September 1956) is a former Danish footballer and sporting director at Dutch football club Feyenoord. Arnesen was the Director of Football at English football clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, and was Sporting Director a ...

Søren Lerby Søren Lerby (born 1 February 1958) is a Danish former football player, manager, and licensed agent. As a player, he spent most of his career in Dutch football, winning five Eredivisie championships with Ajax Amsterdam and two with PSV Eindhoven ...

Tscheu La Ling Tscheu La Ling (Chinese: 林球立; pinyin: ''Lín Qiú Lì''; born 6 January 1956) is a Dutch former professional footballer of mixed Dutch and Chinese descent, who played for clubs in the Netherlands, Greece and France. His name has been spelle ...

and

Ruud Geels Geertruida "Ruud" Maria Geels (; born 28 July 1948) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a striker and attacking midfielder. He obtained 20 caps for the Netherlands national team, scoring eleven goals, in the 1970s. Career ...

and was coached by

Rinus Michels Marinus Jacobus Hendricus Michels (; 9 February 1928 – 3 March 2005) was a Dutch football player and coach. He played his entire career for AFC Ajax, which he later managed, and played for and later managed the Netherlands national team ...

in his second period. Laseroms then started a less successful coaching career with

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...

Helmond Sport Helmond Sport is a professional association football club based in the city of Helmond, North Brabant, Netherlands, that competes in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of the Dutch football league system. The club was founded on 27 June 1967, as ...

, Vlaardingen '74,

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

and clubs from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, among others.

Death

Laseroms died of

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

on 25 April 1991, aged only 51.

Honours

Player

Sparta * KNVB Cup: 1965–66 Feyenoord *

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 ...

: 1968–69, 1970–71 * KNVB Cup: 1968–69 * European Cup: 1969–70 * Intercontinental Cup:

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

References

External links

*
Theo Laseroms
at nasljerseys.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Laseroms, Theo 1940 births 1991 deaths Sportspeople from Roosendaal Dutch footballers Dutch expatriate footballers Netherlands international footballers Dutch football managers Dutch expatriate football managers Association football defenders Feyenoord players Sparta Rotterdam players RBC Roosendaal players NAC Breda players National Professional Soccer League (1967) players Pittsburgh Phantoms players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Dutch expatriate sportspeople in the United States PEC Zwolle managers Heracles Almelo managers Helmond Sport managers Eredivisie players UEFA Champions League winning players Fortuna Vlaardingen managers Footballers from North Brabant Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate football managers in Turkey Expatriate football managers in Oman Expatriate football managers in Bahrain Bahrain national football team managers Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Bahrain Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Oman Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Turkey K.A.A. Gent players Belgian First Division A players Trabzonspor managers Al-Nahda Club (Oman) managers Riffa SC managers