Heinz Stuy

Heinz Stuy (born 6 February 1945) is a Dutch former football goalkeeper who played for AFC Ajax and was part of their European Cup victories in 1971, 1972 and 1973.^[1]The goalkeeper, who also earned the reputation of a "second libero" through his understanding of the game, has held a record in the Dutch first division, the Eredivisie, since 1971 with 1082 minutes without conceding a goal. However, Heinz Stuy – who was nicknamed "Heinz Kroket" ("Heinz Croquette") because he often let go of high balls like a hot croquette before bringing them under control with a second grip – did not make an appearance for the national team. Jan van Beveren, Jan Jongbloed and Piet Schrijvers, who took over his position in the Ajax goal from 1974, dominated here. Heinz Stuy thus holds another record: together with Bernd Dürnberger, who celebrated a European Cup hat-trick with FC Bayern Munich from 1974 to 1976, he is probably the player with the most important club titles with eleven titles, who never played for his national team. Regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the 1970s.

Stuy was born on February 6, 1945 in the northwest of Germany as the son of a Dutch father and a German mother in the last months of World War II. At the age of seven, Stuy moved with his family to IJmuiden. He learned the Dutch language fluently and quickly adapted to a community where hatred against Germans was greatest after the Second World War.

From 1963 he kept the goal of the Velsen club Telstar in 156 first division matches. In 1967, he was signed by Ajax Amsterdam, where he was originally the number two behind Gert Bals, whom he replaced as the regular goalkeeper from 1970.

From 1967 to 1976, he stood between the posts 132 times for the Ajacieden in league games. His time at Ajax describes the golden era of Ajax and he won the Dutch Cup three times, four national championships, the European Cup three times in a row and the Intercontinental Cup with the club. In the European Cup finals between 1971 and 1973, which Johan Cruyff, Johan Neeskens and Piet Keizer won 2-0 against Panathinaikos Athens and Inter Milan and 1-0 against Juventus, he kept three consecutive clean sheets, which is a record. In the two finals of the 1972 Club World Cup against CA Independiente from Argentina, however, he had to reach behind him once in the 1-1 draw in the industrial suburb of Avellaneda in Bonarens. Ajax won the title with a 3-0 win in the second leg. After the European Cup victory against Panathinaikos in 1971, Stuy was allowed to play as a striker in the remaining league match against the Go Ahead Eagles from Deventer, but did not score.

Despite this success at club level he never appeared for the Netherlands national team, sharing with Bernd Dürnberger (a Bayern Munich player of the 1970s and 1980s) a distinction of having won the most major club titles without having ever played for his country.

Ajax^[2]

• Eredivisie: 1971–72, 1972–73
• KNVB Cup: 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72
• European Cup: 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73
• European Super Cup: 1972
• Intercontinental Cup: 1972