Ruud Hesp

Ruud Hesp

Hesp in 2014
Personal information
Full name Rudolfus Hubertus Hesp
Date of birth (1965-10-31) 31 October 1965
Place of birth Bussum, Netherlands
Height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1985–1987 Haarlem 2 (0)
1987–1994 Fortuna Sittard 238 (0)
1994–1997 Roda 102 (0)
1997–2000 Barcelona 95 (0)
2000–2002 Fortuna Sittard 62 (0)
Total 499 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Rudolfus 'Ruud' Hubertus Hesp[1] (born 31 October 1965) is a Dutch retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Club career

Born in Bussum, North Holland, Hesp started his career in the 1985–86 season at HFC Haarlem. After two years where he rarely played, he moved to another club in the Eredivisie, Fortuna Sittard, where he would remain the following seven years; during his first ten professional campaigns (one with Fortuna was spent in the second division), he did not miss a single game.

After three seasons with Roda JC,[2] Hesp signed with Spanish side FC Barcelona as the Catalans were being managed by countryman Louis van Gaal, also newly-signed. He easily beat competition from Portuguese Vítor Baía,[3] playing in 73 out of 76 possible La Liga matches as Barça won back-to-back leagues (in 1998, the double befell).[4]

In his last season at the Camp Nou, Hesp split first-choice status with youth graduate Francesc Arnau, then moved back to the Netherlands and Fortuna, retiring at almost 37 in 2002. Subsequently, he joined FC Groningen as a goalkeeper's coach.

In the 2013 summer, Hesp left Groningen for PSV Eindhoven in the same capacity.[5]

International career

Although Hesp was picked by the Netherlands for their UEFA Euro 1996 and 1998 FIFA World Cup squads, he never actually won a cap for the national team, acting as understudy to both first-choice Edwin van der Sar and his substitute Ed de Goey.

He also worked with the national team as a goalkeeper coach.

Personal life

Hesp's younger brother, Danny, was also a professional footballer. A defender, the pair shared teams in 1994–95 at Roda.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Foreign players in the Spanish League (First Division)". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 March 2008.
  2. 1 2 "Ruud Hesp (1965)" (in Dutch). Kent u deze nog?. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Las oraciones de Baía" [Baía's prayers] (in Spanish). El País. 6 November 1997. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "La Copa de Hesp y del doblete de Van Gaal" [The Cup of Hesp and Van Gaal's double] (in Spanish). Sport. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "Ruud Hesp and John Feskens join PSV backroom staff". PSV Eindhoven. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
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