Wim van der Gaag (born 14 July 1936) is a retired professional footballer in the Netherlands and in Australia, known for his frequent change of teams. Van der Gaag's position wasforward.[1] Later, he became a manager of amateur clubs and a football reporter for various radio stations.[2]
Born inRotterdam, Wim van der Gaag played in his youth in the now-defunct RFC Rotterdam.
In 1954 he turned professional in the short-livedNBVB league, scoring the second goal ofBVC Rotterdam on 7 November 1954, in a game that ended in a 3–2 loss againstBVC Den Haag. In 1954–55 Van der Gaag played forSBV Vitesse, scoring two goals that season. In 1955–56, atSC Emma, he was the top scorer withJanus van der Gijp, both scoring seven goals. In 1957?–59?, Van der Gaag played atBVV in theEredivisie. Late August 1959, Van der Gaag scored the first two goals in BVV's 4–0 victory overSBV Excelsior.[1]
He continued to the Australian sides Sydney Austral,Sydney FC Prague,Pan Hellenic Sydney,South Coast United (1961–62),[3] andRingwood Wilhelmina.[2]
Back in the Netherlands, atAGOVV Apeldoorn (1966–67), Van der Gaag was instrumental in its 2–0 victory againstExcelsior Rotterdam on 14 August 1966, this time scoring only one of two goals. At PEC Zwolle (1967–68), he scored both goals in its 2–1 national cup victory againstZwolsche Boys on 31 December 1967. The victory was especially sweet as it was against PEC's urban rival.
Van der Gaag managed CDN Driebergen, Amsvoorde Amersfoort, VV Lunteren, WVC Winterswijk, AD Aalten,SV Steenderen and SDOUC Ulft.[2]
Wim is the father of football player and managerMitchell van der Gaag[4] (born 1971) and the grandfather of footballersJordan van der Gaag (1999) andLuca van der Gaag (2001).
BVV daarentegen zal bij de topploegen gaan behoren. Wat heeft men in die snelle Wim van der Gaag toch een uiterst gevaarlijke midvoor. Hij scoorde tweemaal! [BVV, on the other hand, will join the top teams. What an extremely dangerous center it has in the fast Wim van der Gaag. He scored twice!]
Aan de hand van zijn vader komt hij de kleedkamer binnen, na de wedstrijd van de A-jeugdselectie van WVC, op het hoofdveld aan de Morgenzonweg inWinterswijk, waar nu een woonwijk steeds meer gestalte krijgt. [He enters the dressing room arm in arm with his father, after the match of the A-youth selection of WVC, on the main field at the Morgenzonweg in Winterswijk, where a residential area is now taking shape.]