Rob van Dijk

Robert van Dijk (born 15 January 1969) is a Dutch retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Over the course of exactly 20 seasons as a professional, he appeared in 364 Eredivisie games, mainly with RKC (nine years) and Feyenoord (seven). He retired at the age of 43.

Early life Van Dijk was born in Voorhout, South Holland. In his youth, he never thought he would make it to become a professional footballer. He only enjoyed playing football with his friends on amateur level, while his dream was to become a physical education teacher.

Club career

Youth Van Dijk started his career at local team Foreholte, as a meritorious sweeper, who 'roamed' around the back line. Goalkeeper in his team was two-year younger Edwin van der Sar: "I was the last man to kick all the balls away, while Edwin did the rest. It was a nice time. I still talk to him occasionally." Van Dijk had his highlight two years after his debut: on 30 November 1994, he replaced the injured de Goey in the cup contest against Willem II (1–1 aet), performing well enough to earn Man of the match accolades, after a penalty shootout.

After four seasons playing only four league matches for Feyenoord, van Dijk decided to request a transfer: "De Goey wasn't going to leave. That was pretty much it. I've been a substitute behind Ed for four years. At the moment I had the chance, it didn't look like De Goey would leave any time soon. At RKC Waalwijk I could become the first goalkeeper."

At PSV, van Dijk signed a two-year deal with the reigning champions of the Netherlands, backing up experienced Ronald Waterreus for the entire campaign, For 2004–05, he would become fourth-choice, behind Heurelho Gomes, Edwin Zoetebier and Nathan Coe.

Van Dijk had one year left of his contract in Eindhoven, but was able to leave the club on a free transfer by mutual agreement. On 9 July 2004, he left the club and signed with De Graafschap.

Van Dijk signed for two years at De Graafschap, but missed the majority of his first year, due to a knee injury; the full recovery took months, as the doctors discovered severe cartilage wear. De Graafschap finished on the 17th place and relegated to the second level.

Subsequently, van Dijk returned to RKC in the summer of 2005, becoming first choice and not missing one single match during his first season. However, he had a less successful season 2006–07 as, due to bad results, RKC Waalwijk coach Adrie Koster was fired on 27 November 2006. The new coach, Mark Wotte, started experimenting with reserve goalkeeper Jurgen Wevers, who eventually became first-choice.

On 30 January 2007, SC Heerenveen announced the arrival of van Dijk as their new reserve, behind Brian Vandenbussche. He stayed at the club for two years, amassing a total of 15 first division games.

On 1 September 2008, 39-year-old van Dijk returned to Feyenoord. He was promoted to starter in his second year, following the retirement of another veteran, Henk Timmer.

On 24 October 2010, 41-year-old van Dijk was in goal as Feyenoord lost 0–10 at former team PSV, the club's heaviest defeat ever. He retired from football at the end of the season, having appeared 18 times in the league; on 9 August 2011, however, it was announced that the player had signed a one-year contract with FC Utrecht, as Michel Vorm signed for Swansea City and Roberto Fernández was out for three months with an injury.

Honours Feyenoord Eredivisie: 1992–93 KNVB Cup: 1993–94, 1994–95

Club statistics