Name: Wim Meutstege
Nickname: ''het professortje" (The Little Professor)
Country:
NetherlandsClub: Sparta Rotterdam (1973-1978), Ajax (1978-1980)
Position: *SB, SWP
Side: RF/BS
Age: 24-28 years (28/07/1952)
Height: 177 cm
Weight: 76 kg
Attack: 67
Defence: 76
Balance: 80
Stamina: 83
Top Speed: 82
Acceleration: 82
Response: 80
Agility: 75
Dribble Accuracy: 71
Dribble Speed: 74
Short Pass Accuracy: 74
Short Pass Speed: 73
Long Pass Accuracy: 71
Long Pass Speed: 72
Shot Accuracy: 61
Shot Power: 78
Shot Technique: 62
Free Kick Accuracy: 62
Curling: 67
Header: 80
Jump: 80
Technique: 74
Aggression: 64
Mentality: 72
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 75
Injury Tolerance: C
Condition/Fitness: 6
Weak Foot Accuracy: 6
Weak Foot Frequency: 6
Consistency: 5
Growth type: Standard
CARDS:
S09 - Covering
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Covering
Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Defence-Minded
INFO:
Defenders are often known for their toughness and strong tackles. Wim Meutstege had none of that. His nickname was the 'professortje', "The Little Professor" because of his less hard, soulful style of play. He himself later described it: "Kicking wasn't my thing. I've always had respect for other people - including my opponents. I had to assert myself with my speed and my overview... I outplayed the opponent, took the ball from him and passed it to my teammates. The fans didn't come to the stadium because of me. But I was quite valuable for the team."
Meutstege was a talented right back who also played on the left and be used as a libero. Strong and fast and because Wim was two-legged, he did not have sufficient technique for attack, Wim eventually grew into a hardworking, stable fullback who managed to put himself in the spotlight of the big cluster. However he was sometimes prone to mistakes and could not judge the situation quite right.
Meutstege played in the youth of SP Lochem and Go Ahead Eagles successively . In 1971 he moved to the Excelsior at the age of 19 , because in Rotterdam he could combine his football career with an education at the Academy of Physical Education. Two years later he was contracted by fellow townsman Sparta. From 1974 he was called up several times for the Dutch Juniors . In 1976 he was selected for the Dutch national team by national coach George Knobel. Initially, he was dropped from the selection for the 1976 European Championship at the last minute, but when Knobel fell short of players in the small final for third place due to injuries and suspensions, Meutstege and Kees Kist were allowed to travel to Zagreb . In the match against Yugoslavia (3-2 win), Meutstege replaced Wim Jansen at the start of the second half. It would be the only international match for Meutstege. After this match, Meutstege was called up six more times for the Orange squad, but he got no more playing minutes. Partly due to an injury, he also missed the World Cup in 1978.
Leo Beenhakker took over as coach at Ajax in 1979, who tended to rely on tough defenders, as in the first leg of the 1980 European Cup semi-final at Nottingham Forest, where powerful attacking forces Francis, Birtles and Robertson had to be kept in check. Piet Wijnberg was preferred to Meutstege; Ajax still lost 2-0. Meutstege returned to the side in the second leg but had to be substituted after suffering a knee injury. Although the 28-year-old was still hoping in September 1980 that he would be able to play again after the winter break, this injury put an end to his footballing career after 272 games and nine goals in the Eredivisie.