Piet Keizer

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Piet Keizer

| image =Piet Keizer 1973c.jpg

| caption = Keizer in 1973

| full_name = Petrus Johannes Keizer

| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1943|6|14}}

| birth_place = Amsterdam, Netherlands

| death_date = {{death date and age|2017|2|10|1943|6|14|df=y}}

| height = 1.75 m{{Cite web |title=Piet Keizer |url=https://www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/piet-keizer/ |access-date=2024-11-13 |website=worldfootball.net |language=en}}

| position = Left winger

| currentclub =

| youthyears1 = 1953–1955

| youthclubs1 = Amstel

| youthyears2 = 1955–1961

| youthclubs2 = Ajax

| years1 = 1961–1974

| clubs1 = Ajax

| caps1 = 365

| goals1 = 146

| nationalyears1 = 1962–1974

| nationalteam1 = Netherlands

| nationalcaps1 = 34

| nationalgoals1 = 11

| manageryears1 =

| managerclubs1 =

| medaltemplates =

{{Medal|Country|{{fb|NED}}}}

}}

Petrus Johannes "Piet" Keizer (14 June 1943 – 10 February 2017) was a Dutch professional footballer who played as a left winger.

As part of the "Total Football" Ajax Amsterdam team of the 1960s and 1970s, Keizer was particularly notable during the successive managerial tenures of Rinus Michels and Stefan Kovacs (1965–1973). He is widely considered one of the greatest players in Dutch football history. Dutch writer Nico Scheepmaker once said: "Cruyff is the best, but Keizer is the better one".[http://www.football-oranje.com/hall-of-fame-piet-keizer/ Hall of Fame: Piet Keizer]

Club career

Keizer totalled 490 official matches for Ajax, scoring 189 goals between 1961 and 1974.[https://www.ajax.nl/streams/ajax-actueel/-ajaxicoon-piet-keizer-73-overleden-.htm Ajax-icoon Piet Keizer (73) overleden] – Ajax {{in lang|nl}} He played predominantly on the left-wing and with Ajax won three consecutive European Cups (1971, 1972, 1973), having lost the 1969 European Cup final to A.C. Milan. Also with Ajax, he won six Eredivisie titles, five KNVB Cups, two European Super Cups, one Intercontinental Cup and one Intertoto Cup.

In August 1973, under new Ajax manager George Knobel, the Ajax players voted in a secret ballot for Keizer to be the team's next captain, ahead of Johan Cruyff. Just weeks later Cruyff left Ajax to join Barcelona.{{Cite web |url=http://ghostgoal.co.uk/2010/08/02/player-feature-piet-keizer/ |title=Piet Keizer: Ghost goal |access-date=17 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914041622/http://ghostgoal.co.uk/2010/08/02/player-feature-piet-keizer/ |archive-date=14 September 2014 |url-status=dead }}

International career

With the Dutch national team, Keizer played 34 times, scoring 11 goals. He made his international debut in an 8–0 friendly win against the Netherlands Antilles in 1962. Keizer was selected by Netherlands manager, Rinus Michels, to play for the Dutch squad during the 1974 FIFA World Cup, but only started in the 0–0 draw against Sweden.[http://www.planetworldcup.com/CUPS/1974/squad_hol74.html 1974 Netherlands World Cup Squad at Planet World Cup]. Planetworldcup.com. Retrieved on 9 November 2013

Keizer suddenly retired from football in October 1974, shortly after a row over tactics with Ajax manager Hans Kraay.[http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=340956 Piet Keizer][http://www.telegraaf.nl/telesport/27603554/__Ajax-icoon_Piet_Keizer__73__overleden__.html Ajax-icoon Piet Keizer (73) overleden] – Telegraaf {{in lang|nl}}

Personal life

On 13 June 1967, Keizer married Jenny Hoopman.[http://www.gahetna.nl/collectie/afbeeldingen/fotocollectie/zoeken/weergave/detail/start/2/tstart/0/q/zoekterm/Piet%20Keizer%20huwelijk Het paar op weg naar de trouwzaal]. gahetna.nl The couple had two sons.[http://proxy.handle.net/10648/ab9362e2-d0b4-102d-bcf8-003048976d84 Ajax-elftal arriveert op Schiphol uit Londen. Piet Keizer met zoontje]. gahetna.nl

Keizer died after a long battle with lung cancer in February 2017.[http://www.sport1.de/fussball/2017/02/niederlande-vize-weltmeister-piet-keizer-erliegt-krebsleiden Niederlande trauern um Keizer] – Parool {{in lang|nl}}

Style of play

UEFA website has described Keizer as "the genius on the left wing, the skillful flanker, the superb foil to Johan Cruyff".[https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0253-0d7ff54908f6-5927d0a16600-1000--the-greatest-teams-of-all-time-ajax-1971-73/ The greatest teams of all time: Ajax 1971–73]. UEFA.com. Retrieved on 31 October 2015.

Cruyff, in his posthumously released autobiography,Johan Cruyff, My Turn. The Autobiography, Macmillan, 2016, p. 273. placed Keizer, as left winger, in his "ideal squad".