Servaas "Faas" Wilkes (; 13 October 1923 – 15 August 2006) was a Dutch football forward, who earned a total of 38 caps for the Netherlands national team, in which he scored 35 goals (average 0.92 goals per game). However, for a prolonged period of his career, June 1949 through till March 1955, he was banned from the national team since the KNVB did not allow professional players to participate. He also played for the Netherlands at the 1948 Summer Olympics.
Career Wilkes played for Xerxes Rotterdam, before moving to Internazionale in the summer of 1949. There he played 95 matches, scoring 47 goals. After his stay in Milan ended in 1952, he had a one-season spell at Torino. At age 30 he moved to Valencia in Spain, scoring a total of 38 goals in 62 appearances between 1953–54 and 1955–56, making him the first foreign idol of the club. He also played for VVV, Levante, and Fortuna '54. He died of a cardiac arrest in 2006, aged 82.
He is considered one of the best footballers the Netherlands ever produced, being especially known for his creative style of play and brilliant dribbling. Wilkes was the 4th Dutch player (after Gerrit Keizer, Bep Bakhuys and Gerrit Vreken) who moved to play abroad. He held the record of most goals scored for the Netherlands national team from 1959 until 1998.
The Dutch cartoon character Kick Wilstra was named in part after Faas Wilkes (Wilstra was also named after two other Dutch men's footballers, Kick Smit and Abe Lenstra).
Gallery
Career statistics Player
ClubSeasonLeagueCupEuropeOtherTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsXerxes Rotterdam1945–46 3 1 – 3 11946–47 19 8 – 19 81947–48 24 19 – 24 191948–49 25 21 – 25 21Total 71 49 71 49Internazionale1949–50Serie A 34 17 34 171950–51Serie A 38 23 38 231951–52Serie A 23 7 23 7Total 95 47 95 47Torino1952–53Serie A 12 1 12 1Valencia1953–54La Liga 28 18 28 181954–55La Liga 15 9 15 91955–56La Liga 19 11 19 11Total 62 38 62 38Venlo1956–57Eredivisie 30 8 30 81957–58Eredivisie 34 15 34 15Total 64 23 64 23Levante1958–59Segunda División 34 20 34 20Fortuna '541959–60Eredivisie 30 16 30 161960–61Eredivisie 27 5 27 51961–62Eredivisie 31 12 31 12Total 88 33 88 33Xerxes Rotterdam1962–63 20 8 20 81963–64 8 2 8 2Total 28 10 28 10Total 454 221 454 221
International Scores and results list Netherlands's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Wilkes goal. + List of international goals scored by Faas WilkesNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1Stade Municipal, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg1-06-2Friendly22-133-146-15Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands1-16-3Friendly65-376-38Bosuilstadion, Antwerp, Belgium1-02-2Friendly92-010Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands2-16-2Friendly116-212Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands1-01-0Friendly13Fratton Park, Portsmouth, United Kingdom1-03-11948 Summer Olympics143-115Arsenal Stadium, London, United Kingdom3-33-41948 Summer Olympics16De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands4-14-1Friendly17Københavns Idrætspark, Copenhagen, Denmark2-12-1Friendly18De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands1-04-1Friendly194-020Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands3-13-2Friendly21Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands1-11-2Friendly22De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands2-15-21958 FIFA World Cup qualification23De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands3-05-2Friendly244-025Bosuilstadion, Antwerp, Belgium5-17-2Friendly266-127De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands1-08-1Friendly282-029Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands1-01-2Friendly30De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands3-09-1Friendly314-0326-033De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands3-17-1Friendly347-135Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands1-11-2Friendly
Honours Internazionale Serie A runner-up: 1950–51 Serie A third place: 1949–50, 1951–52
Valencia La Liga Third Place: 1953–54 Copa del Generalísimo: 1954 Concepción Arenal Trophy: 1954
Levante Segunda División Runner-up: 1958–59 Individual Netherlands All-Time Top Scorer: 1959–1998 Spanish Player of the Year: 1954 Valencia Top Scorer: 1953–54, 1955–56 Levante Top Scorer: 1958–59
References
External links
Faas Wilkes at Voetbal International
In memorial for Faas Wilkes (Dutch)