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(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Velox | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1955–1957 | Zeist | ||
| 1957–1961 | 't Gooi | ||
| 1961–1965 | PSV | ||
| 1965–1970 | Ajax | 345 | (0) |
| 1970–1973 | Vitesse | ||
| *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.
He played 216 official matches for Ajax after making his debut for them in August 1965 and won 4 league titles with the club.[4] 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.[5] 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)
- ^ Oud-keeper Gert Bals overleden - Ajax (in Dutch)
- ^ Legendarische oud-doelman Gert Bals overleden - NOS (in Dutch)