Ger Blok

Summary

Ger Blok (16 October 1939[1] – 19 December 2016) was a Dutch football manager.[2]

Ger Blok
Ger Blok in 1974
Personal information
Full name Ger Blok
Date of birth (1939-10-16)16 October 1939
Place of birth Amsterdam, Netherlands
Date of death 19 December 2016(2016-12-19) (aged 77)
Place of death Anna Paulowna, Netherlands
Managerial career
Years Team
1971–1974 De Volewijckers
1974–1975 Netherlands Women
1987–1988 Honduras
1988–1989 RKC Waalwijk
1990 Mersin İdmanyurdu
1990–1991 Fenerbahçe (assistant)
1993–1996 Myanmar

Managerial career edit

Blok was born in Amsterdam and supported Blauw-Wit as a child.[3] Before becoming a manager, he was employed as a teacher in Bilthoven.[3] At the age of 29, Blok became the manager of amateur side SVM.[3] In 1971, he started managing professional club De Volewijckers.[3] In 1974, after De Volewijckers merged with FC Amsterdam, Blok found employment with the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), managing the Netherlands women's national football team between 1974 and 1975 and several national youth teams between 1975 and 1985.[1] With the under-20 team, he secured qualification for the 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship, but Kees Rijvers was chosen to coach the team during the tournament.[3]

In 1987, Blok became the manager of Honduras.[4] He later reflected that the team had been good enough to qualify for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, but this did not come to be.[3] He subsequently returned to the Netherlands, where, in the summer of 1988, he was appointed as manager of newly promoted Eredivisie club RKC Waalwijk.[2][5] However, after half a season, he was sacked and replaced by Leo van Veen.[5] He then moved to Turkey, working as manager of Mersin İdmanyurdu between January and May 1990 and as assistant of Guus Hiddink at Fenerbahçe S.K. during the 1990–91 season.[6] He also coached Myanmar, between 1993 and 1996.[7][8]

Later life edit

Shortly after finishing his coaching job in Myanmar, Blok was in an accident (a fall from stairs), which caused him to become paraplegic and in need of a wheelchair.[3] In 2005, he said that he remained an ardent follower of football.[3] In June 2012, he commented on the selection policy of then-Netherlands head coach Bert van Marwijk.[9]

Blok died of leukaemia at his home in 2016, he was 77 years old.[10]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Staflid: Ger Blok" (in Dutch). OnsOranje. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Ger Blok". Worldfootball.net. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Annema, Poul (11 June 2005). "De film van een enerverend voetbalverleden" (in Dutch). de Volkskrant. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  4. ^ Van der Voort, Marieke (27 May 2011). "Foppe de Haan moet Tuvalu op de kaart zetten" (in Dutch). metronieuws.nl. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Leon Hutten (1962)" (in Dutch). Kent u deze nog?. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Rijkaard zesde Nederlandse trainer in Turkse competitie" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 5 June 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  7. ^ Haverkort, Jeroen (9 February 2011). "Werken op twijfelachtig grondgebied" (in Dutch). metronieuws.nl. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Soccer-news on/from Burma". burmalibrary.org. 3 January 1996. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  9. ^ ""Vind het een drama dat Anita niet in de selectie zit"" (in Dutch). SoccerNews.nl. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  10. ^ Oud-bondscoach Ger Blok (77) overleden - RTV Noord Holland (in Dutch)

External links edit

  • Ger Blok coach profile at National-Football-Teams.com