 Anton Pronk in 1961 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Anton Pronk | ||
| Date of birth | (1941-04-21)21 April 1941 | ||
| Place of birth | Amsterdam, Netherlands | ||
| Date of death | 26 August 2016(2016-08-26) (aged 75) | ||
| Place of death | Purmerend, Netherlands | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1951–1960 | Ajax | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1960–1970 | Ajax | 337 | (8) |
| 1970–1974 | FC Utrecht | 64 | (1) |
| Total | 401 | (10) | |
| International career | |||
| 1961–1969 | Netherlands | 19 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Anton "Ton"Pronk (21 May 1941 – 26 August 2016) was a Dutchfootball defender who played forAjax in the 1960s and forFC Utrecht in the early 1970s.
Pronk came through theAjax youth system and made his senior debut for the club on 4 September 1960 againstPSV.[1] He played in 337 official matches for them during the 1960s, winning 4 league titles and 3KNVB Cups.[2] He was on their losing side in the1969 European Cup Final and was released by Ajax before the club won theChampions's Cup for three successive years in the beginning of the 1970s.[3]
He joined the newly formedFC Utrecht at the end of 1970 and finished his career with them.[4]
He made his debut for theNetherlands in a May 1961FIFA World Cup qualification match againstEast Germany and earned a total of 19 caps, scoring no goals.[5] His final international was a May 1969 World Cup qualification againstPoland.[6][7]
Pronk married Marjan Meier in 1969. Their son, Robin, used to work as a youth coach for Ajax and FC Utrecht and is currently a coordinator at the academy of Polish clubZagłębie Lubin.
After retiring as a player, Pronk was appointed as scout at Ajax andLouis van Gaal named him chief scout in 1991 until he retired in 2007.[1] He was honoured by Ajax in 2011 for being member of the club for 60 years and is credited for bringingJari Litmanen andZlatan Ibrahimović to the club.[3]
He died ofALS in August 2016 inPurmerend.[2]
