Gerald Mervin Vanenburg (born 5 March 1964) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right winger.

Gerald Vanenburg
Vanenburg in 1981
Personal information
Full name Gerald Mervin Vanenburg
Date of birth (1964-03-05) 5 March 1964 (age 60)
Place of birth Utrecht, Netherlands
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Winger
Youth career
Sterrewijk
Elinkwijk
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1980–1986 Ajax 173 (64)
1986–1993 PSV 199 (48)
1993–1996 Júbilo Iwata 86 (14)
1997 Utrecht 9 (2)
1997–1998 Cannes 26 (6)
1998–2000 1860 Munich 43 (2)
Total 536 (136)
International career
1982–1992 Netherlands 42 (1)
Managerial career
2000–2005 PSV (youth)
2004 1860 Munich
2006–2007 Helmond Sport
2008 FC Eindhoven
2008 Willem II (assistant)
Medal record
Representing  Netherlands
UEFA European Championship
Winner 1988 West Germany
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He amassed Eredivisie totals of 372 games and 112 goals for Ajax and PSV combined, winning fifteen major titles between the two clubs, including the 1988 European Cup with the latter. Subsequently he played in Japan, France and Germany, in a 20-year professional career.

Vanenburg earned more than 40 caps for the Netherlands, appearing at the 1990 World Cup and Euro 1988 and winning the latter tournament.

Club career

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Ajax

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Born in Utrecht of Surinamese descent,[1] Vanenburg finished his football formation with AFC Ajax, and made his Eredivisie debuts exactly one month after his 17th birthday, against ADO Den Haag. He finished his first season with 11 games and three goals, being soon dubbed Vaantje and Geraldinho for his above-average skills.

Vanenburg became an undisputed starter for the Amsterdam side shortly after, providing countless assists for strikers Marco van Basten and Wim Kieft and adding 30 himself in two seasons combined as the club won back-to-back national championships; before leaving in June 1986, he scored in double digits in two more seasons. Himself, van Basten, Kieft were amongst a steady stream of talented youngsters that also included Frank Rijkaard that helped to the conquest of three league titles between 1982 and 1985.[2]

Vanenburg signed for PSV Eindhoven for 1986–87, netting nine goals in 34 matches in his first season, which ended in league conquest. He was part of the team that won the treble the following campaign, with the player appearing in the final of the European Cup and converting his penalty shootout attempt against S.L. Benfica.[3] The backbone of this treble winning team was formed by many of his former teammates at Ajax, including Frank Arnesen, Kieft, Ronald Koeman and Søren Lerby.[2]

Having rejected a lucrative move to AS Roma, Vanenburg played and scored regularly for PSV in the following five seasons, winning a further three leagues and two Dutch Cups. He appeared in nearly 500 official games between the two clubs, scoring almost 150 goals. 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, Kieft and Koeman.

Abroad

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Aged 29, Vanenburg had his first abroad experience, helping Júbilo Iwata promote to the J1 League in his first year then playing a further two seasons with them. He finished the 1996–97 campaign back in his country, still being relatively played as hometown's FC Utrecht ranked in 12th position.

Until his retirement in 2000 at the age of 36, Vanenburg played three more years of top flight football, with AS Cannes (France) and TSV 1860 Munich (Germany), where he began appearing regularly as a sweeper.

International career

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Vanenburg made his debut for the Netherlands on 14 April 1982 at only 18, playing the full 90 minutes of a 1–0 friendly win with Greece, in Eindhoven.[4] Vanenburg was a member of the Dutch squad at the 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship. He was selected for the UEFA Euro 1988 tournament in West Germany, appearing in all the games as the Oranje won the competition.[5]

Vanenburg was also picked by manager Leo Beenhakker for his 1990 FIFA World Cup squad, but his contribution consisted of 45 minutes against Egypt (1–1 group stage draw),[6] in an eventual round-of-16 exit in Italy. His last international appearance came as a substitute in a 2–2 draw to Poland on 14 October 1992, in Rotterdam in a 1994 World Cup qualification match.[4]

Coaching career

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After leaving 1860 Munich, Vanenburg immediately returned to PSV where he was appointed the youth team's manager but, during that timeframe, also managed former club TSV during three months, starting in April 2004, with the team eventually being relegated from the Bundesliga.

In 2006–07, Vanenburg coached Helmond Sport in the Eerste Divisie, being fired on 17 February 2007. On 1 January of the following year he was appointed at another club in the category, FC Eindhoven.

Personal life

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Vanenburg was the nephew of former Surinamese international player and manager Roy Vanenburg. The latter was considered one of the greatest footballers in the country's history, having won the SVB Hoofdklasse title six times and the CONCACAF Champions' Cup twice with S.V. Transvaal.[7]

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[citation needed]
Club Season League National cup League cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Ajax 1980–81 Eredivisie 11 3 11 3
1981–82 32 13 32 13
1982–83 33 17 33 17
1983–84 34 7 34 7
1984–85 29 12 29 12
1985–86 34 12 34 12
Total 173 64 173 64
PSV 1986–87 Eredivisie 34 9 34 9
1987–88 34 1 34 1
1988–89 34 10 34 10
1989–90 21 6 21 6
1990–91 29 11 29 11
1991–92 19 7 19 7
1992–93 28 4 28 4
Total 199 48 199 48
Yamaha Motors 1993 Football League 0 0 1 0 4 2 5 2
Júbilo Iwata 1994 J1 League 43 8 1 0 4 0 48 8
1995 21 1 2 1 - 23 2
1996 22 5 0 0 12 3 34 8
Total 86 14 3 1 16 3 105 18
Utrecht 1996–97 Eredivisie 9 2 9 2
Cannes 1997–98 Ligue 1 26 6 26 6
1860 Munich 1998–99[8] Bundesliga 27 2 2 0 29 2
1999–2000[8] 16 0 1 0 17 0
Total 43 2 3 0 0 0 46 2
Career total 536 136 7 1 20 5 563 142

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[9]
National team Year Apps Goals
Netherlands 1982 4 0
1983 5 1
1984 0 0
1985 0 0
1986 4 0
1987 7 0
1988 10 0
1989 4 0
1990 6 0
1991 1 0
1992 1 0
Total 42 1
Scores and results list the Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Vanenburg goal.
List of international goals scored by Gerald Vanenburg
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 17 December 1983 De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands   Malta 1–0 5–0 Euro 1984 qualifying[4]

Honours

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Ajax

PSV

Netherlands

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Ajax en Suriname: twee handen op één buik" [Ajax and Suriname: two peas in a pod]. Het Parool (in Dutch). 1 August 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Ajax Amsterdam". Football History. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  3. ^ "1987/88: PSV prosper from Oranje boom". UEFA.com. 25 May 1988. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  4. ^ a b c "Gerald Vanenburg – International Appearances". RSSSF. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  5. ^ "Van Basten ends Dutch wait". UEFA.com. 5 October 2003. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  6. ^ Netherlands – Egypt 1–1 (0–0); Planet World Cup, 12 June 1990
  7. ^ "Vanenburg, Roy; De eerste Surinaamse sportencyclopedie (1893–1988)" [Vanenburg, Roy; The first Surinamese sports encyclopedia (1893–1988)] (in Dutch). Digital Library for Dutch Literature. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Gerald Vanenburg » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Gerald Vanenburg". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  10. ^ a b c "Gerald Vanenburg". Eurosport. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  11. ^ a b c "Gerald Vanenburg". Sport Promotion. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  12. ^ "PSV honour ´golden´ 1988 squad". PSV Eindhoven. 14 April 2011. Archived from the original on 29 September 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
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