Petrus Johannes "Piet" Keizer (14 June 1943 – 10 February 2017) was a Dutch professional footballer who played as a left winger.
As part of the "Total Football" Ajax Amsterdam team of the 1960s and 1970s, Keizer was particularly notable during the successive managerial tenures of Rinus Michels and Stefan Kovacs (1965–1973). He is widely considered one of the greatest players in Dutch football history. Dutch writer once said: "Cruyff is the best, but Keizer is the better one".Hall of Fame: Piet Keizer
Club career Keizer totalled 489 official matches for Ajax, scoring 189 goals between 1961 and 1974, and is a member of the Club van 100 at Ajax, a list of players playing more than 100 official games for the club. He made his debut in the first team on 5 February 1961 against Feyenoord. He played predominantly on the left-wing and with Ajax, he won three consecutive European Cups (1971, 1972, 1973), having lost the 1969 European Cup final to AC Milan. In addition, he won six Eredivisie titles, five KNVB Cups, two European Super Cups, one Intercontinental Cup and one Intertoto Cup.
In March 1964, Keizer got seriously injured during a KNVB Cup match against DWS; a critical surgery was needed due to a skull fracture and a blood clot in his brains.
In August 1973, under new Ajax manager George Knobel, the Ajax players voted in a secret ballot for Keizer to be the team's next captain, ahead of Johan Cruyff. Just weeks later Cruyff left Ajax to join Barcelona.
International career With the Dutch national team, Keizer played 34 times, scoring 11 goals. He made his international debut in an 8–0 friendly win against the Netherlands Antilles in 1962. Keizer was selected by Netherlands manager, Rinus Michels, to play for the Dutch squad during the 1974 FIFA World Cup, but only started in the 0–0 draw against Sweden.1974 Netherlands World Cup Squad at Planet World Cup. Planetworldcup.com. Retrieved on 9 November 2013
End of career Keizer suddenly retired from football in October 1974, shortly after a row over tactics with Ajax manager Hans Kraay.Piet KeizerAjax-icoon Piet Keizer (73) overleden – Telegraaf
Personal life On 13 June 1967, Keizer married Jenny Hoopman.Het paar op weg naar de trouwzaal. gahetna.nl The couple had two sons.Ajax-elftal arriveert op Schiphol uit Londen. Piet Keizer met zoontje. gahetna.nl
Keizer died of lung cancer in February 2017, after a long illness.
Football player and manager Marcel Keizer, who played in the Ajax youth academy and was a manager of the first team in 2017, is a nephew of Piet Keizer.
Style of play UEFA website has described Keizer as "the genius on the left wing, the skillful flanker, the superb foil to Johan Cruyff".The greatest teams of all time: Ajax 1971–73. UEFA.com. Retrieved on 31 October 2015.
Cruyff, in his posthumously released autobiography,Johan Cruyff, My Turn. The Autobiography, Macmillan, 2016, p. 273. placed Keizer, as left winger, in his "ideal squad".
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAjax1960–61Eredivisie15652——2081961–62Eredivisie23121098—33201962–63Eredivisie25112021—29121963–64Eredivisie20132251—27161964–65Eredivisie113———1131965–66Eredivisie281350——33131966–67Eredivisie28115352—38161967–68Eredivisie2596320—33121968–69Eredivisie271022142—43141969–70Eredivisie32185481—45231970–71Eredivisie3295094—46131971–72Eredivisie31145392—45191972–73Eredivisie3112—624041141973–74Eredivisie3143020213851974–75Eredivisie51—20—71Career total3641464619732361489189
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsNetherlands196221196321196400196510196651196762196800196900197030197155197241197340197420Total3411
Scores and results list the Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Keizer goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Piet KeizerNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 5 September 1962 Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam, Netherlands 4–0 8–0 Friendly2 20 October 1963 Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam, Netherlands 1–0 1–1 Friendly3 17 April 1966 De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands 2–0 3–1 Friendly 4 5 April 1967 Zentralstadion, Leipzig, East Germany 2–0 3–4 UEFA Euro 1968 qualification5 3–2 6 24 February 1971 De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands 2–0 6–0 UEFA Euro 1972 qualification7 5–0 8 10 October 1971 De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands 2–1 3–2 UEFA Euro 1972 qualification9 3–1 10 17 November 1971 Philips Stadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands 2–0 8–0 UEFA Euro 1972 qualification11 1 November 1972 De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands 7–0 9–0 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification
Honours Ajax Eredivisie: 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1972–73 KNVB Cup: 1960–61, 1966–67, 1969-70, 1970–71, 1971–72; runner-up: 1967–68 European Cup: 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73; runner-up: 1968–69 UEFA Super Cup: 1972, 19731973: Ajax enjoy early success. UEFA.com. Retrieved on 31 October 2015. Intercontinental Cup: 1972 Intertoto Cup: 1961–62, 1968 (Group A2 winner)
Netherlands FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1974
Individual Winger in Johan Cruyff's favourite World XI
See also List of one-club men
References
External links