Former Netherlands' goalkeeper Jan Jongbloed has died at 82

Jan Jongbloed, the Netherlands’ goalkeeper in the 1974 and 1978 World Cup finals, died at the age of 82. This was confirmed on Thursday by his former club Vitesse after contacting his family following a report from the sports channel ESPN. Jongbloed, who had been ill for some time, worked for the Arnhem club as assistant coach and interim head coach.

Jongbloed earned 24 caps for the Dutch national team. He represented the Netherlands in the 1974 and 1978 World Cups, where his team lost in the finals on both occasions.

During his career as a player, he played for clubs including DWS, FC Amsterdam, Roda JC, and Go Ahead Eagles. He was known for being a mobile goalkeeper who would often act as an extra defender by leaving the penalty area.

He holds the record for being the oldest player to participate in an Eredivisie match. At the age of 44, he defended the goal for Go Ahead Eagles in September 1985. He ranks second in the list of most appearances in the Eredivisie, having played 686 matches at the top level. The record is held by goalkeeper Pim Doesburg, who passed away in 2020, with just one more cap.

Jongbloed had to retire after suffering a heart attack during a match between Go Ahead Eagles and Haarlem. He moved into coaching and was an assistant at Go Ahead Eagles before working as an assistant and interim head coach at Vitesse.

At Vitesse, he was notably the assistant to coach Bert Jacobs. Under their guidance, Vitesse was promoted to the Eredivisie in 1989 and qualified for the European competition the following year. Vitesse plans to pay tribute to Jongbloed during their match against AZ on Sunday in consultation with his family.

After retiring from coaching, Jongbloed often spoke about football on the radio. He was also known for his great love of fishing, often stating that he was more passionate about it than football. He reportedly turned down an offer from Ajax in 1974 because it would conflict with the time he dedicated to fishing.

His son Eric-Jan died in 1984 after being struck by lightning during a football game.