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.jpg) Rensenbrink in 1978 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Pieter Robert Rensenbrink | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1947-07-03)3 July 1947 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Amsterdam, Netherlands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 24 January 2020(2020-01-24) (aged 72) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Oostzaan, Netherlands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[citation needed] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| OVVO Amsterdam | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| –1965 | OSV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1965–1969 | DWS | 120 | (34) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1969–1971 | Club Brugge | 55 | (24) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1971–1980 | Anderlecht | 262 | (143) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1980 | Portland Timbers | 18 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1981–1982 | Toulouse | 12 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 467 | (208) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1968–1979 | Netherlands | 46 | (14[1]) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pieter Robert Rensenbrink (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈrɔpˈrɛnsə(m)ˌbrɪŋk]; 3 July 1947 – 24 January 2020) was a Dutchfootballer and member of theNetherlands national team that reached twoFIFA World Cup finals, in1974 and1978. A creative and prolific leftwinger orforward, he became a legend inBelgium while playing in the greatAnderlecht side of the 1970s. He is theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup'sall-time top scorer, with 25 goals. A talenteddribbler as well as a cool finisher and adequate passer, he only ever missed twopenalties in his entire career. He was also the first winner of theOnze d'Or in 1976.
Born 3 July 1947, inAmsterdam, Rensenbrink started his career atDWS, an Amsterdam amateur club, before moving to Belgian sideClub Brugge in 1969. Between 1971 and 1980 he played forAnderlecht where he enjoyed his greatest club successes. In total when inBelgium he twice won theBelgian Championships, theBelgian Cup five times and at European club level theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup twice (in1976 and1978, as well as being runner-up in1977). Rensenbrink delivered a notable performance in the1976 final as Anderlecht ran out 4–2 winners againstWest Ham United. He scored two goals, one from the penalty spot and set upFrançois Van der Elst for the fourth goal.[2] Among his team mates was Dutch internationalist compatriot,Arie Haan. In 1980, he left Anderlecht and wound down his career with a spell atPortland Timbers in theNASL, followed by a brief stay withToulouse inFrance in 1981.
Rensenbrink made his international debut for theNetherlands national football team againstScotland in 1968, but picked up relatively few caps due to competition for the forward positions withJohan Cruijff andPiet Keizer. However,Rinus Michels included him for the1974 FIFA World Cup squad that made the short trip toWest Germany.
The Dutch side that took part in the1974 FIFA World Cup were the pinnacle ofTotal Football. Most of the 1974 team were made up of players fromAFC Ajax andFeyenoord, so Rensenbrink was an outsider and was unfamiliar with playing the system. His preferred position was up front on the left, but that position was alreadyJohan Cruijff's domain, so he played on the left-wing position in midfield, taking over from Ajax playerPiet Keizer. He missed one game in the tournament (when Keizer played instead) and was only half-fit for the final after picking up an injury during the semi-final againstBrazil. Rinus Michels gambled on Rensenbrink's fitness and played him from start – however he only lasted until half-time and was replaced byRené van de Kerkhof. The Netherlands took an early lead through aJohan Neeskens penalty, but goals fromPaul Breitner andGerd Müller gaveWest Germany a 2–1 victory. Rensenbrink's performances saw him named to the team of the tournament and he was sought by Ajax as a replacement for Keizer. However, contract negotiations fell through and he remained at Anderlecht.[3]
Rensenbrink stayed in theNetherlands national team during the qualifiers and finals of the1976 European Football Championship. However, the Netherlands fell at the semi-final stage toCzechoslovakia.
In the1978 FIFA World Cup tournament inArgentina, the Netherlands again reached the final, but this time without Cruijff (who decided to retire from international football) and under the guidance ofErnst Happel rather than Michels. Out of the shadow of Cruijff, Rensenbrink found more room to showcase his own considerable talent, playing on the left-hand side of a front three alongsideJohnny Rep andRené van de Kerkhof. He scored ahat-trick in the opening game againstIran, a penalty againstScotland which was goal number 1,000 inFIFA World Cup history and another spot-kick in the 5–1 win overAustria. In the final againstArgentina, the Netherlands yet again met the hosts. The Netherlands fell behind to a first-halfMario Kempes strike. AfterDick Nanninga's equalizer nine minutes from time, a long pass from the Dutch captainRuud Krol in the last 30 seconds of normal time gave Rensenbrink a half-chance, but his shot from a very narrow angle hit the post and was cleared by a defender.[4] Had he scored, it is almost certain that the Netherlands would have won the World Cup with Rensenbrink being top goal scorer. Argentina scored twice in extra-time for a 3–1 victory and the Netherlands again had to settle for the runners-up spot.[5]
Rensenbrink played some of the qualifiers forEuro 80, but after earning his 46th cap in 1979 (a 2–0 defeat by Poland in a qualifier forEuro 80), he retired from international football at the age of 32, having scored 14 times for his country. He along withEusébio are the only players to score the most goals from a penalty spot in a tournament (4 in 1978).
He was named byPelé as one of thetop 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. He was also namedAnderlecht's greatest ever foreign player in 2008.
Rensenbrink was married and lived inOostzaan. In the summer of 2015, he revealed that he had been diagnosed withprogressive muscular atrophy three years earlier.[6] He died on 24 January 2020, aged 72. Belgian news sources reported that he had been diagnosed with a muscular disease in 2012 which led to his death.[7]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| DWS | 1965–66 | Eredivisie | 23 | 5 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | 26 | 5 | |||
| 1966–67 | 29 | 4 | 2 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | – | 33 | 4 | ||||
| 1967–68 | 34 | 10 | 3 | 0 | – | 2 | 1 | – | 39 | 11 | ||||
| 1968–69 | 34 | 15 | 4 | 3 | – | 5 | 1 | – | 43 | 19 | ||||
| Total | 120 | 34 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 141 | 39 | ||
| Club Brugge | 1969–70 | Belgian First Division | 27 | 10 | – | 4 | 3 | – | 31 | 13 | ||||
| 1970–71 | 28 | 14 | – | 6 | 2 | – | 34 | 16 | ||||||
| Total | 55 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 29 | ||||
| Anderlecht | 1971–72 | Belgian First Division | 30 | 16 | – | 2 | 0 | – | 32 | 16 | ||||
| 1972–73 | 24 | 16 | – | 4 | 4 | – | 28 | 20 | ||||||
| 1973–74 | 29 | 20 | – | 2 | 3 | – | 31 | 23 | ||||||
| 1974–75 | 35 | 19 | – | 6 | 3 | – | 41 | 22 | ||||||
| 1975–76 | 35 | 23 | – | 9 | 8 | – | 44 | 31 | ||||||
| 1976–77 | 34 | 16 | – | 9 | 7 | 4[a] | 2 | 43 | 23 | |||||
| 1977–78 | 24 | 18 | – | 7 | 5 | – | 31 | 23 | ||||||
| 1978–79 | 31 | 12 | – | 2 | 0 | 2[b] | 1 | 33 | 12 | |||||
| 1979–80 | 20 | 3 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 21 | 3 | ||||||
| Total | 262 | 143 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 30 | 4 | 3 | 308 | 176 | ||||
| Portland Timbers | 1980 | NASL | 18 | 6 | – | – | – | – | 18 | 6 | ||||
| Toulouse | 1981–82 | Division 2 | 12 | 1 | – | – | – | 12 | 1 | |||||
| Career total | 467 | 208 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 37 | 4 | 3 | 544 | 251 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 1968 | 3 | 0 |
| 1969 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1970 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1973 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1974 | 12 | 4 | |
| 1975 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1976 | 6 | 3 | |
| 1977 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1978 | 12 | 7 | |
| 1979 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 46 | 14 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 May 1974 | Olympic Stadium,Amsterdam, Netherlands |  Argentina | 2–0 | 4–1 | Friendly | [8] |
| 2 | 30 June 1974 | Parkstadion,Gelsenkirchen, Germany |  East Germany | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1974 FIFA World Cup | [9] |
| 3 | 4 September 1974 | Råsunda Stadium,Stockholm, Sweden |  Sweden | 5–1 | 5–1 | Friendly | [10] |
| 4 | 20 November 1974 | De Kuip,Rotterdam, Netherlands |  Italy | 1–1 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 1976 qualification | [11] |
| 5 | 25 April 1976 | De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands |  Belgium | 2–0 | 5–0 | UEFA Euro 1976 qualification | [12] |
| 6 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 7 | 5–0 | ||||||
| 8 | 22 February 1978 | Ramat Gan Stadium,Ramat Gan, Israel |  Israel | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly | [13] |
| 9 | 3 June 1978 | Estadio Malvinas Argentinas,Mendoza Argentina |  Iran | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1978 FIFA World Cup | [14] |
| 10 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 11 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 12 | 11 June 1978 | Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza Argentina |  Scotland | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1978 FIFA World Cup | [15] |
| 13 | 14 June 1978 | Estadio Córdoba,Córdoba, Argentina |  Austria | 2–0 | 5–1 | 1978 FIFA World Cup | [16] |
| 14 | 20 September 1978 | Goffertstadion,Nijmegen, Netherlands |  Iceland | 3–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 1980 qualification | [17] |
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Club Brugge[18]
Anderlecht[19]
Toulouse
Netherlands
Individual
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