Legendary FC Den Haag goalkeeper Ton Thie (76) has died

In Ton Thie’s years, ADO – then still called FC Den Haag – was a fixture in the (sub) top of Dutch football. For example, the Green Angels finished third in the Premier League with Thie under the bar in 1965, 1966 and 1970. The goalkeeper celebrated the greatest success in 1968, when FC Den Haag won the KNVB Cup at the expense of the ‘Ajax (2-1). During the thirteen seasons that Ton Thie was under contract in the royal city, he was the first undisputed guardian, interrupted only by a trip of a few months to the United States; in 1967, he played thirteen games for the San Francisco Golden Gales.

Thie never reached the baseline for the Dutch national team, although he was still in the pre-selection for the 1974 world championships in Germany. Just before the start of the tournament, he still gave up. Thie was once on the reserve bench in an A game. Partly because of stiff competition from Jan van Beveren and Jan Jongbloed, he never made his debut.

Ton Thie and Johan Cruijff

Ton Thie also became known for a goal he had to concede. On January 2, 1972, in a crowded Zuiderpark stadium, Ajax player Johan Cruijff managed to beat The Hague goalkeeper with a magnificent bow ball. It is one of the most beautiful goals ever scored on Dutch pitches.

Although Thie has become a true figurehead of ADO, he has also played (briefly) for other clubs. In his youth he played for FC Olympia de Gouda and for Excelsior Rotterdam. Then he played two seasons (1962-1964) for Hermes DVS in the second division of Schiedam. In 1979, after his ADO period, he briefly played for FC Olympia.

After his football career, Thie became the manager of a swimming pool canteen in Gouda. In 1996 he emigrated to The Gambia.

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