John Yzendoorn

John Yzendoorn (born 17 September 1955) is an Australian former international association footballer who played for Heidelberg United, South Melbourne and Brunswick Juventus in the National Soccer League.

John Yzendoorn
Personal information
Full name John Yzendoorn
Date of birth (1955-09-17) 17 September 1955
Place of birth Leeds, England[1]
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1972–1974 Preston North End 0 (0)
1976 Morecambe
1978 Prahran Slavia
1979–1982 Heidelberg United 92 (11)
1983–1985 South Melbourne 64 (5)
1986–1988 Brunswick Juventus 60 (7)
1989 Sandringham City
1993 Croydon City 17 (0)
National team‡
1979–1981 Australia 13 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:00, 20 August 2010 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:00, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Club career

He started his career in his native England with Preston North End but was released in 1974 without making a first-team appearance.[2] He then moved into non-league football and played for nearby Morecambe.[3] Yzendoorn later moved to Australia and was signed by Heidelberg United in 1979, playing four seasons with the Melbourne-based club in the National Soccer League. He joined fierce rivals South Melbourne in 1983, and helped them to their first national championship in 1984. After three years with South Melbourne, he moved to Brunswick Juventus in 1986, where he spent the final three seasons of his national domestic career.

In 2009, he became one of the initial inductees into the South Melbourne Hall of Fame.[4]

International career

Yzendoorn made his international debut at the age of 23, when he was selected by Rudi Gutendorf to play in a two-match series against Partizan Belgrade in 1979, where he came on as a substitute in both matches. His first 'A' international cap came against Czechoslovakia in 1980, where he again appeared off the bench in the Socceroos 2–2 draw at Olympic Park in Melbourne. He scored his first and only international goal in another 2–2 draw against Mexico in Sydney later that year. In all, Yzendoorn would play 13 'A' international matches for his country, his career ending during Australia's ill-fated 1982 World Cup qualifying campaign, where he was a key member of the squad which lost at home to New Zealand.

Rudi Gutendorf remarked about him: "From the first day on he sabotaged my work. He was the most unpleasant player I met in my career as a soccer coach. ... Yzendoorn put a little Walkman inside our team sessions and put things that I said on tape. Later he played a few of my words in front of people from the press, but separate from their context."[5]

Honours

With Heidelberg United:

With South Melbourne:

With Brunswick Juventus:

References
  1. Rothmans Football Yearbook 1974–1975, p380, Queen Ann Press Limited – confirmation of birthplace
  2. Rothmans Football Yearbook 1974–1975 (published 1974), p380, Queen Ann Press Limited
  3. Lancaster City v Morecambe programme, 11 October 1976
  4. "South Melbourne FC celebrate 50 years". Football Federation Victoria. 20 November 2009. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  5. Andre Kruger: "It was not my fault!" (Interview with Rudi Gutendorf), ozfootball.net, 25 May 2003.
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