Cees Groot

Cees Groot
Personal information
Full name	Cees Groot
Date of birth	29 June 1932
Place of birth	Zaandijk, Netherlands
Date of death	13 March 1988 (aged 55)
Place of death	Winterberg, West Germany
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	VV Zaandijk
Senior career*
Years	Team
1956–1957	Heerenveen
1957–1959	Stormvogels
1959–1964	Ajax
1964–1967	Zaanstreek
1967	Pittsburgh Phantoms
1968	VV Zaandijk
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Cees Groot (29 June 1932 – 13 March 1988) was a Dutch footballer who played as a striker for Heerenveen, Stormvogels, Ajax, Zaanstreek and the Pittsburgh Phantoms during his career.

Club career

Heerenveen

Groot began his career in the youth ranks of ZVV Zaandijk in his home town, before being recruited, and signing a contract with Heerenveen in 1956. He would go on to play one season for the Friesian club, before transferring once more, this time around to IJ.V.V. Stormvogels from IJmuiden.

Stormvogels

Signing with the Stormvogels in 1957, Groot would play with his younger brother by six years, Henk Groot at the club from Velsen, while working in the Metal Industry during the week. Both the Groot brothers made such an impression, while playing for the Stormvogels, that they were both offered contracts with Ajax, leaving for the Amsterdam side at the end of the 1958–59 season, having played two seasons for the Stormvogels.

Ajax

Groot was a physically strong striker, and was very good in the air, but had very little finesse and technical ability. His biggest strong point was his uncanny ability to score goals. In his first season with Ajax, he scored 29 goals for the Amsterdam side, while his younger brother Henk scored 38. Together the Groot brothers were responsible for more than half of the club's goals scored, and finished the season in first and third place of the league's top scorers. Groot finished as the club's top scorer for three consecutive seasons (1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64), and scored more than 100 goals (132) for Ajax. He is ranked 11th place on the club's all-time top scorer list.

Zaanstreek

In 1964, Groot left Ajax, for the newly formed FC Zaanstreek. He would go on to play a total of three seasons for the side from Zaanstad, before following his former Ajax teammate Co Prins to play in the United States. The two would be rejoined for the first time since their Ajax days, playing together again for the Pittsburgh Phantoms.

Pittsburgh Phantoms

Moving to Pittsburgh, United States in 1967, Groot would go on to play a total of three seasons for the Pittsburgh Phantoms in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). After his period in the U.S., Groot returned to the Netherlands, and decided to play for his hometown side ZVV Zaandijk again. However, having played for the non-recognized NPSL, his request to play for Zaandijk was declined by the KNVB, the governing body of football in the Netherlands. This ruling meant that Groot was no longer eligible to play or coach football in the Netherlands.

VV Zaandijk

In February 1968, the KNVB decided to overturn their initial ruling, and permit Groot to play football again in the Netherlands starting 1 June 1968. Groot took it upon himself to debut for ZVV Zaandijk in March, three months earlier than the court ruling. However, he broke his leg in the first match back and was sidelined from football for months, leading to his eventual retirement.^[1]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[2]
Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ajax	1959–60	Eredivisie	34	27			—		34	27
	1960–61	Eredivisie	13	8			1^[a]	2	14	10
	1961–62	Eredivisie	27	23			2^[b]	0	29	23
	1962–63	Eredivisie	20	18			—		20	18
	1963–64	Eredivisie	26	22			—		26	22
Career total			120	98			3	2	123	100

^ Appearance in European Cup
^ Appearance in European Cup Winners' Cup

Post-career

After his retirement from professional football, Groot became a sports teacher. He taught sports at a halfway house near the Leidseplein in Amsterdam, amongst other places. After teaching, Groot returned to football, and became a youth trainer at Ajax. He died of cardiac arrest in 1988 during a winter vacation trip to the Sauerland in West Germany.

Since 1991, a football tournament hosted in his hometown of Zaandijk, and named "Cees Groot-toernooi" (the Cees Groot tournament) in his honor, is staged annually, where youth teams of various football teams come to compete.^[3]

Honours

Club

Ajax

References

^ "Cees Groot 1932-1988 (Dutch)". Zaans Stadsblad. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
^ "Julinho » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
^ "Verhaal Andere opzet Cees Groot-toernooi VV Zaandijk" (in Dutch). Oneindig Noord-Holland. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2012.

[3] Appearance in European Cup

[4] Appearance in European Cup Winners' Cup

[1] "Cees Groot 1932-1988 (Dutch)". Zaans Stadsblad. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2012.

[wf-2] "Julinho » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 9 December 2022.

[5] "Verhaal Andere opzet Cees Groot-toernooi VV Zaandijk" (in Dutch). Oneindig Noord-Holland. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2012.

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[2]

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