Willy van der Kuijlen

Willy van der Kuijlen

Van der Kuijlen in 1968
Personal information
Full name	Wilhelmus Martinus Leonardus Johannes van der Kuijlen[1]
Date of birth	(1946-12-06)6 December 1946[1]
Place of birth	Helmond, Netherlands
Date of death	19 April 2021(2021-04-19) (aged 74)
Place of death	Helmond, Netherlands
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder, forward
Youth career
1953–1964	HVV Helmond[3]
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1964–1981	PSV	528	(308)
1981–1982	MVV	16	(3)
Total		544	(311)
International career
1966–1977	Netherlands	22	(7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Wilhelmus Martinus Leonardus Johannes "Willy" van der Kuijlen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋili vɑn dər ˈkœylə(n)]; 6 December 1946 – 19 April 2021) was a Dutch football player and a scout for PSV Eindhoven.

Van der Kuijlen was born in Helmond and started his youth career at local club HVV. In 1964, he was signed by PSV Eindhoven. Van der Kuijlen ended up playing for the club 18 years, winning three Eredivisie titles, two domestic cups and the UEFA Cup in 1978. He was also crowned Eredivisie top scorer three times. After short periods with MVV Maastricht and Overpelt, he retired at age 37. After his playing career, Van der Kuijlen returned to PSV as assistant manager, first team coach, youth coach and scout. He also briefly served as assistant manager at Roda JC.

Van der Kuijlen played 528 league games and scored 308 times for PSV, both being all-time club records. With 311 career goals in total, Van der Kuijlen also holds the all-time Eredivisie goal record. He won 22 caps and scored seven goals for the Netherlands national team in the 1960s and 1970s, but his international career was marred by frequent clashes with Johan Cruyff and his allies.