Gerrit "Gert" Bals (18 October 1936 – 20 May 2016) was a Dutch footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
 Bals in 1968 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gerrit Bals | ||
| Date of birth | 18 October 1936 | ||
| Place of birth | Utrecht, Netherlands | ||
| Date of death | 20 May 2016 (aged 79) | ||
| Place of death | Veenendaal, Netherlands | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1947-1955 | Velox | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1956–1957 | Zeist | 25 | (0) |
| 1957–1961 | 't Gooi | 117 | (0) |
| 1961–1965 | PSV | 120 | (0) |
| 1965–1970 | Ajax | 162 | (0) |
| 1970–1973 | Vitesse | 84 | (0) |
| Total | 508 | (0) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Bals became the first Dutch goalkeeper in an UEFA Cup final, when he played for Ajax in the 1969 European Cup Final against Milan.[1]
Club career
editBorn in Utrecht, Bals played for local side RUC and Velox before joining SV Zeist[2] when they entered at the start of the professional era in Holland. After a spell at 't Gooi, he moved to PSV for whom he would play 120 matches winning the 1963 league title[3] and later Ajax whom he joined for a fee of 72 thousand guilders.[4]
He played 216 official matches for Ajax after making his debut for them in August 1965 and won 4 league titles with the club.[5] He won the Dutch Footballer of the Year Award in 1969.
He finished his career at Vitesse after losing Ajax´ number one jersey to Heinz Stuy in 1970.
Personal life
editAfter retiring as a player, Bals owned a sportshop in Velp and later a tobacco shop in Veenendaal.[6] He died in May 2016.
References
edit- ↑ Voormalig Ajax-keeper Gert Bals overleden - Volkskrant (in Dutch)
- ↑ Oud-doelman Gert Bals overleden - RTV Utrecht (in Dutch)
- ↑ Oud-doelman Gert Bals overleden Archived 2016-06-10 at the Wayback Machine - PSV (in Dutch)
- ↑ Martens, Henk (13 March 2021). "Gert Bals: oud-keeper van SV Zeist en Oranje". Zeister Magazine (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 April 2026.
- ↑ Oud-keeper Gert Bals overleden - Ajax (in Dutch)
- ↑ Legendarische oud-doelman Gert Bals overleden - NOS (in Dutch)
External links
edit- Gert Bals at Ererat (in Dutch)