 Bals in 1968 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gerrit Bals | ||
| Date of birth | (1936-10-18)18 October 1936 | ||
| Place of birth | Utrecht, Netherlands | ||
| Date of death | 20 May 2016(2016-05-20) (aged 79) | ||
| Place of death | Veenendaal, Netherlands | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Velox | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1955–1957 | Zeist | ||
| 1957–1961 | 't Gooi | ||
| 1961–1965 | PSV | ||
| 1965–1970 | Ajax | 345 | (0) |
| 1970–1973 | Vitesse | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Gerrit "Gert" Bals (18 October 1936 – 20 May 2016) was a Dutch footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Bals became the first Dutch goalkeeper in an UEFA Cup final, when he played for Ajax in the 1969 European Cup Final against Milan.
Club career
Born in Utrecht, Bals played for local side RUC and Velox before joining SV Zeist when they entered at the start of the professional era in Holland. After a spell at 't Gooi, he moved to PSV for whom he would play 120 matches winning the 1963 league title and later Ajax.
He played 216 official matches for Ajax after making his debut for them in August 1965 and won 4 league titles with the club. He won the Dutch Footballer of the Year Award in 1969.
He finished his career at Vitesse after losing Ajax´ number one jersey to Heinz Stuy in 1970.
Personal life
After retiring as a player, Bals owned a sportshop in Velp and later a tobacco shop in Veenendaal. He died in May 2016.
References
- Voormalig Ajax-keeper Gert Bals overleden - Volkskrant (in Dutch)
- Oud-doelman Gert Bals overleden - RTV Utrecht (in Dutch)
- Oud-doelman Gert Bals overleden Archived 2016-06-10 at the Wayback Machine - PSV (in Dutch)
- Oud-keeper Gert Bals overleden - Ajax (in Dutch)
- Legendarische oud-doelman Gert Bals overleden - NOS (in Dutch)