Wilbert Suvrijn

Wilbert Suvrijn

Suvrijn (far right) in 1986
Personal information
Date of birth (1962-10-26) 26 October 1962
Place of birth Sittard, Netherlands
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Centre back
Youth career
Almania
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1981–1986 Fortuna Sittard 156 (10)
1986–1989 Roda 82 (3)
1989–1993 Montpellier 103 (1)
Total 341 (14)
National team
1986–1988 Netherlands 9 (0)

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

† Appearances (goals)

Wilbert Suvrijn (born 26 October 1962 in Sittard, Limburg) is a Dutch retired footballer. Mainly a central defender, he could also operate as a defensive midfielder.

Club career

In his country, Suvrijn represented hometown's Fortuna Sittard (helping it promote to Eredivisie in his debut season, as champions) and Roda JC, playing in a total of 209 games in the top division over the course of seven seasons. With the latter club, he scored twice in 31 matches in the 1986–87 season, helping it finish fourth and qualify for the UEFA Cup.

In 1989, Suvrijn signed with French side Montpellier HSC, helping it win the domestic cup in his first year - he missed the final due to injury - and contributing decisively to the team's sixth place in Ligue 1 in 1991–92, playing almost exclusively in midfield. After only nine matches in the following campaign, mainly due to back problems, the 30-year-old decided to retire, staying closely related to France, and became a players agent.

International career

Suvrijn made his debut for the Netherlands on 29 April 1986, coming on as a substitute for Michel Valke in a friendly with Scotland (0–0), as Rinus Michels was the manager.

He went on to gain nine full caps in two years, being called to the squad for UEFA Euro 1988 in West Germany. In the finals, Suvrijn played two games for the eventual champions, totalling four minutes: in the group stage 3–1 win over England, he replaced Marco van Basten, scorer of all of the team's goals in the match; in the semifinals against the hosts (2–1), he played the last minute in the place of injured Erwin Koeman.

External links

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