Wim Kieft
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Willem Cornelis Nicolaas "Wim" Kieft (born 12 November 1962) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Kieft went into punditry in 2001, occasionally appearing on football talk show ''
Voetbal Inside ''Voetbal Inside'' (previously named as ''Voetbal Inside'' (2001-2007), ''RTL Voetbal Inside'' (2007-2008) and ''Voetbal International'' (2008-2015)) is a Dutch football talk show that has aired on TV channel RTL 7. In a studio, host Wilfred Gen ...
'' A prolific goal-scorer whose main asset was his heading ability, he played for two big clubs,
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 ...
and PSV. He also played in Italy and France. Kieft played for the Netherlands national team, and was a member of the squad that won Euro 1988. He also represented his nation at the
1990 World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being ...
.


Club career

Born 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 ...
, Kieft started his professional career with local
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 ...
, making his first-team debuts on 4 May 1980 at not yet 18. Amongst his youth teammates were
Frank Rijkaard Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard (; born 30 September 1962) is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a defensive midfielder. Rijkaard played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and AC Milan and represented the Netherlands national team side ...
,
John van 't Schip Johannes Nicolaas van 't Schip (; born 30 December 1963) is a Dutch Canadian and former Dutch international footballer, who played as a winger. He spent his club career with Ajax, where they won four Eredivisie titles, a UEFA Cup and a Europe ...
, Marco van Basten and Gerald Vanenburg, as in his first two full seasons he scored at an astonishing rate, especially in 1981–82 when he netted 32 goals in as many games, being crucial as the team lifted 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 ...
title and receiving the
European Golden Boot The European Golden Shoe, also known as European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of a European national league. The trophy is a sculpture of a football boo ...
award. At only 20, Kieft was sold to Italy's Pisa Calcio, scoring only three times in a relegation-ending campaign. He did help the
Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...
side immediately promote to
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
, but underperformed overall in the top flight, with that club and his following,
Torino FC Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...
. In the summer of 1987, Kieft returned to his country and signed 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, w ...
. His impact was immediate as his new team won
the treble A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A ''continental treble'' involves winning the club's national league competition, main national cup competition, and main continental trophy. A ...
, including the season's European Cup where he scored in the
penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
defeat of
S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904 as ''Sport Lisboa'', Be ...
(0–0 after 120 minutes). ''
En route ''En route'' may refer to: * ''En Route'' (novel), an 1895 novel by Joris-Karl Huysmans * ''En Route'' (film), a 2004 German movie directed by Jan Krüger * En-route chart, in aeronautics * enRoute (credit card), Air Canada's credit card divisi ...
'' to these accolades he contributed with more than 30 goals overall, 29 alone in the league, a competition-best; he was also one of five European players to ever achieve the feat of winning four competitions – three with their club and one with the national team – in the same year, the others being teammates Berry van Aerle,
Hans van Breukelen Johannes Franciscus "Hans" van Breukelen (; born 4 October 1956) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was the technical director of the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) from 2017 until 2018. Van Breuke ...
,
Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is the younger brother of his former international teammate Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman. Koeman was cap ...
and Vanenburg. Kieft had his second and last abroad experience in 1990, joining FC Girondins de Bordeaux from France and again underachieving, returning to PSV and playing three more seasons until his retirement, averaging more than 11 goals in his second spell with the latter. In total, he scored 158 times in only 264 matches in the Netherlands' top division. Kieft rejoined PSV in 2009, being named assistant coach of the club's youth sides.


International career

Kieft earned his first cap 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 ...
in 1981. He would represent the national team in three major international tournaments,
UEFA Euro 1988 The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany from 10 to 25 June 1988. It was the eighth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. The tournament crowned the Nethe ...
, the 1990 FIFA World Cup and Euro 1992. In the first competition, Kieft played three times for the eventual champions, always as a second-half substitute: on 18 June 1988, after having replaced
Erwin Koeman Erwin Koeman (born 20 September 1961) is a Dutch retired professional football player and retired football manager. Personal life He is the son of Dutch international footballer Martin Koeman, and, alongside his younger brother Ronald, has also ...
, he scored in the 82nd minute of the 1–0 group stage win against the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
, through a header, helping the Dutch overtake their opponents in the match and finish second in Group 2 to secure a place in the semi-finals. Kieft played four times in the second tournament, held in Italy, starting against a familiar opponent, Ireland, and finding the net in the 1–1 draw against
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
as the ''Oranje'' exited in the round-of-16.


Post-retirement career and personal life

After retiring, Kieft worked as a football pundit for television channels
Sport1 Sport1 may refer to the following TV channels: * Sport1 (Eastern Europe) * Sport1 (Germany) * Sport1 (Lithuania) * Sport1 (Netherlands) Sport1 may refer to the following TV channels: * Sport1 (Eastern Europe) * Sport1 (Germany) * Sport1 (Lithuani ...
and RTL, making a name for himself as a commentator and pundit with popular football talkshow ''
Voetbal Inside ''Voetbal Inside'' (previously named as ''Voetbal Inside'' (2001-2007), ''RTL Voetbal Inside'' (2007-2008) and ''Voetbal International'' (2008-2015)) is a Dutch football talk show that has aired on TV channel RTL 7. In a studio, host Wilfred Gen ...
'' (VI). In 2016, Kieft signed an exclusive agreement with Ziggo Sport. Because of this, he initially could not feature at the VI table. At the end of 2018, Kieft returned twice a week as a table guest at VI. In 2019, Kieft signed a three-year contract with
Talpa Talpa may refer to: Places * Talpa, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran * Talpa, Teleorman, a commune in Teleorman County, Romania * Talpa, a village in Cândeşti Commune, Botoşani County, Romania * Talpa, a village in Bârgăuani Com ...
, which meant that he returned to their new program, ''Veronica Inside'', with the same concept as VI. His son, Robbin (born 1987), was also a footballer. After attending Ajax and FC Groningen's youth academies, he played exclusively in the lower leagues of the country. In his biography, published in 2014, Kieft admitted a long-lasting addiction to alcohol and
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...
, which began after the end of his career and ended after a withdrawal treatment.


Honours

Ajax *
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 ...
: 1979–80, 1981–82, 1982–83 * KNVB Cup: 1982–83; runner-up: 1979–80, 1980–81 Pisa *
Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...
: 1984–85 *
Mitropa Cup The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the successor states of the former Austria-Hunga ...
: 1985–86 PSV * Eredivisie: 1987–88, 1988–89, 1991–92 * KNVB Cup: 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90 *
Johan Cruijff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...
: 1992; runner-up:
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
* European Cup: 1987–88 Netherlands *
UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...
:
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
Individual * Eredivisie top scorer: 1981–82, 1987–88 *
European Golden Boot The European Golden Shoe, also known as European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of a European national league. The trophy is a sculpture of a football boo ...
: 1982 *
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 solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
Top scorer: 1986–87


References


External links


Beijen profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kieft, Wim 1962 births Living people Footballers from Amsterdam Dutch footballers Association football forwards Eredivisie players AFC Ajax players PSV Eindhoven players Serie A players Serie B players Pisa S.C. players Torino F.C. players Ligue 1 players FC Girondins de Bordeaux players Netherlands international footballers UEFA Euro 1988 players UEFA Euro 1992 players 1990 FIFA World Cup players UEFA European Championship-winning players Dutch expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in France Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Italy Dutch expatriate sportspeople in France Dutch association football commentators