Tonny van Leeuwen

Teunis Pieter van Leeuwen (21 March 1943 – 15 June 1971) was a Dutch footballer who played as a goalkeeper for GVAV Groningen and Sparta Rotterdam. He made two appearances for the Netherlands national team in 1967.

Early life and Sparta Rotterdam
Van Leeuwen was born in Gouda, South Holland, the son of a furniture maker, and grew up in the working-class neighbourhood of Korte Akkeren. He played for local clubs Jodan Boys and Vv ONA before signing for Sparta Rotterdam.

At Sparta Rotterdam, van Leeuwen was brought in as an understudy to Andries van Dijk. Due to van Dijk's injuries he got more playing time than planned and made his senior debut on 1 May 1960 against DWS at the age of 17, keeping a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw. Following an injury, van Leeuwen lost his place as number 1 goalkeeper to Pim Doesburg and wanted to leave the club.

GVAV Groningen
In 1963 van Leeuwen joined GVAV Groningen as a replacement for Otto Roffel. Groningen paid a transfer fee of 87,500 guilders to Sparta Rotterdam. In the 1969–70 season, he suffered relegation from the Eredivisie with Groningen. Despite offers from other clubs such as Belgian side Anderlecht, he remained at Groningen. In the 1970–71 season he conceded just seven goals – record low number of goals conceded in a season of any major European division –, keeping 23 clean sheets while Groningen achieved promotion back to the Eredivisie. His performances earned him the 1971 Goalkeeper of the Year award.

International career
Van Leeuwen was first called up to the Netherlands national team in 1964. A long suspension he received for striking an opponent delayed his debut. He made his debut on 5 April 1967, in a match against East Germany. The Netherlands lost 4–3 after leading 2–0 with van Leeuwen being criticised for not dealing well with high balls played into the penalty area. He made his second appearance against Hungary, asking to be substituted at halftime with The Netherlands losing 2–0. Van Leeuwen claimed he had sustained an injury to his shoulder but it later transpired that he was nervous.

Style of play
Van Leeuwen was known for his exceptional reflexes, his control of the penalty area and his charisma.

Legacy
Van Leeuwen is considered a cultural icon of Groningen. A grandstand, a train and a street were named after him and a statue of him stands in front of FC Groningen's Euroborg stadium.

Personal life and death
Van Leeuwen had two children, Harold and Irma, with his wife Gerie. In the 1990s it was revealed that he had had a third child, Richard Vennema, with another woman called Karla Vennema. Richard also played football as a goalkeeper. A semi-professional footballer, van Leeuwen worked as a representative at sporting goods manufacturer Quick.

He died at the age of 28 after crashing his car head-on into a truck loaded with concrete pipes on the wrong side of the road in the early morning of 15 June 1971. He was on his way home from the ceremony where he received the 1971 Goalkeeper of the Year award. His wife survived the crash.