Willem van Hanegem

Willem "Wim" van Hanegem (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋɪləm ˈʋɪm vɑn ˈɦaːnəɣɛm]; born 20 February 1944) is a Dutch former football player and coach who played as a midfielder. In a playing career spanning over 20 years, he won several domestic honours in the Netherlands, as well as a European Cup and a UEFA trophy, all with Feyenoord. He was also a finalist in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. As a manager, he won the league and cup with Feyenoord and spent a period as the Dutch national team's assistant coach. His most recent job as manager was for FC Utrecht, from 2007 to 2008.

Style Of Play

In the Netherlands he is widely considered one of the best Dutch football players in history. He was renowned for his tactical insight and was well known for his fantastic passing range and his ability with the ball at his feet. Both his way of sprinting (he had bandy legs), and his skill to give the ball a curve (achieved by striking the ball with the outside of his left foot) gave him the nickname De Kromme (The Crooked). Whilst being primarily renowned for the technical part of his game, he was also highly capable in the defensive part of his game, being a good tackler and not afraid to go into physical challenges. His primary weakness was his lack of pace.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Вим ван Ханегем (russian)