Regi Blinker

Regi Blinker
Personal information
Full name Reginald Waldi Blinker
Date of birth (1969-06-04) 4 June 1969
Place of birth Paramaribo, Suriname
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position Winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1986–1996 Feyenoord 238 (45)
1988–1989 → Den Bosch (loan) 25 (6)
1996–1997 Sheffield Wednesday 42 (3)
1997–2000 Celtic 47 (9)
2000–2001 RBC 22 (5)
2001–2003 Sparta Rotterdam 30 (1)
Total 404 (69)
National team
1993–1994 Netherlands 3 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

Reginald "Regi" Waldi Blinker (born 4 June 1969) is a retired Dutch footballer who played as a left winger.

During his career, he was also known for his dread-locked hairstyle, and played three years in Scotland with Celtic, after representing Feyenoord for 10 years

Early life

Blinker was born in Paramaribo, Suriname.

Club career

Blinker began his career with Feyenoord in 1986. He stayed at De Kuip for 10 seasons, including one on loan at Den Bosch, and formed an efficient winger partnership with Gaston Taument (between 1991 and 1995, the pair combined for 61 Eredivisie goals).

On 4 March 1996, Blinker joined Sheffield Wednesday for £275,000, scoring a brace on his debut, a 2–3 away defeat against Aston Villa, instantly becoming a crowd favorite. He was suspended by FIFA for a time at the end of 1996 after it was discovered that he had signed for Udinese without telling the management at Feyenoord and then subsequently signing for Sheffield Wednesday.[1] At the peak of his career in England, he was set to earn a sponsorship deal with a major sunglasses manufacturer; much to the amusement of the British press, the deal was scrapped when it was revealed Blinker had been mistaken for Edgar Davids, a footballer renowned for his use of eyewear.

In August 1997 Blinker moved to Celtic in part exchange for Paolo di Canio as part of Celtic general manager Jock Brown's infamous 'trade' deal with Sheffield Wednesday.[2][3] Blinker at this time linked up again with his former Feyenoord coach, Wim Jansen, who had been appointed Celtic first team coach the previous month. Blinker played in Scotland for three seasons, winning the Scottish Premier Division and the Scottish League Cup in his first season.[4] He made a total of 70 appearances for Celtic, scoring 12 goals.[5]

He returned home to the Netherlands in the summer of 2000 to sign for RBC Roosendaal. The next season, he signed for Sparta Rotterdam, where he finished his professional career in 2003. He played for amateur team Deltasport Vlaardingen for a few more years before officially retiring in the summer of 2006, aged 37.[6][7]

International career

Blinker won three caps for the Dutch national team while at Feyenoord, making his debut on 24 March 1993 in a 6–0 home win against San Marino for the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers (70 minutes played in Utrecht).

He made his last appearance nearly one year later, in a friendly with Tunisia.

Post-retirement

Upon retiring, Blinker became a publisher of lifestyle magazines for the professional football world in the Netherlands, the company being named Life After Football.[6]

Renowned for his charitable work, he also ran in the Berlin Marathon, in aid of the Dominic Hague 'Wheelbarrows for Africa' campaign.

References

  1. ↑ "Reggie Blinker free to play on Saturday". FIFA.com (Fédération Internationale de Football Association). 6 December 1996. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  2. ↑ Weir, Stewart (7 August 1997). "Brown under fire after Di Canio finally leaves". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  3. ↑ Oliver, Gary. "Celtic Cross". When Saturday Comes. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  4. ↑ Brannan, Laura (13 March 2015). "Where are they now? Celtic and Dundee Utd stars from last League Cup Final". STV Sport. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  5. ↑ "Blinker, Regi". FitbaStats. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  6. 1 2 Lowes, Peter (23 September 2011). "Whatever Happened To Celtic Cult Hero Regi Blinker?". Sabotage Times. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  7. ↑ "Regi Blinker". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 January 2016.

External links

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