Regi Blinker

Reginald Waldie Blinker (born 4 June 1969) is a former professional footballer who played as a left winger.

Regi Blinker
Personal information
Full name Reginald Waldie Blinker[1]
Date of birth (1969-06-04) 4 June 1969
Place of birth Paramaribo, Suriname
Position(s) Winger
Youth career
Delfia
DHC Delft
Feyenoord
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1986–1996 Feyenoord 238 (45)
1988–1989 → Den Bosch (loan) 25 (6)
1996–1997 Sheffield Wednesday 42 (3)
1997–2000 Celtic 47 (9)
2000–2001 RBC 22 (5)
2001–2003 Sparta Rotterdam 30 (1)
Total 404 (69)
National team
1993–1994 Netherlands 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

During his 17-year senior career, he amassed Eredivisie totals of 307 games and 57 goals over 12 seasons, mainly with Feyenoord. He also played three years in Scotland with Celtic.

Born in Suriname, he represented the Netherlands at international level.

Club career
Regi Blinker (1986)

Born in Paramaribo, Suriname, Blinker began his career with Feyenoord in 1986. He stayed at De Kuip for ten seasons, including one on loan at FC Den Bosch, and formed an efficient winger partnership with Gaston Taument (from 1991 to 1995, the pair combined for 61 Eredivisie goals).[2][3][4]

On 4 March 1996, Blinker joined Sheffield Wednesday for £275,000, scoring a brace on his debut, a 2–3 away defeat against Aston Villa. He was suspended by FIFA for a time at the end of the year, after it was discovered that he had signed for Udinese Calcio without telling the management at Feyenoord and then subsequently signing for the English club.[5]

In August 1997, Blinker moved to Celtic in part exchange for Paolo di Canio as part of the club general manager Jock Brown's infamous 'trade' deal with Sheffield Wednesday.[6][7] He re-joined former Feyenoord coach Wim Jansen, who had been appointed the previous month, going on to win the Scottish Premier Division and the Scottish League Cup in his first season[8] and scoring 12 goals in 70 competitive games.[9]

Blinker returned to the Netherlands in the summer of 2000, signing for RBC Roosendaal. After suffering top flight relegation as last, he joined Sparta Rotterdam, meeting the same fate; he played for amateurs Deltasport Vlaardingen for a few more years, before retiring at the age of 37.[10][11][12]

International career

Blinker won three caps for the Dutch national team, while at Feyenoord. He made his debut on 24 March 1993 in a 6–0 home win against San Marino for the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers where he featured 70 minutes, in Utrecht.

Blinker made his last appearance nearly one year later, in a friendly with Tunisia.

Honours

Feyenoord

Celtic

Post-retirement

Upon retiring, Blinker became a publisher of lifestyle magazines for the professional football world in the Netherlands, the company being named Life After Football.[12]

References
  1. "Regi Blinker". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  2. "Feyenoord bevecht een kampioenschap" [Feyenoord fights for championship] (in Dutch). Feyenoord Geschiedenis. 25 May 1993. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  3. "Taument, begeerd door Ajax: Ik kán op dit moment gewoon niets zeggen" [Taument, coveted by Ajax: I just can't say anything at the moment]. Trouw (in Dutch). 1 April 1996. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  4. "1991: B.V.V. Den Bosch – Feijenoord" [1991: B.V.V. Den Bosch – Feyenoord] (in Dutch). Lunatic News. 2 June 2011. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  5. "Reggie Blinker free to play on Saturday". FIFA.com. 6 December 1996. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  6. Weir, Stewart (7 August 1997). "Brown under fire after Di Canio finally leaves". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  7. Oliver, Gary (November 1998). "Celtic cross". When Saturday Comes. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  8. Brannan, Laura (13 March 2015). "Where are they now? Celtic and Dundee Utd stars from last League Cup Final". STV Sport. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  9. "Blinker, Regi". FitbaStats. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  10. "Regi Blinker houdt het voetbal voor gezien" [Regi Blinker is done with football] (in Dutch). Feyenoord. 17 December 2002. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  11. "Einde loopbaan Regi Blinker in zicht" [End of career is in sight for Regi Blinker] (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 28 March 2003. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  12. Lowes, Peter (23 September 2011). "Whatever happened to Celtic cult hero Regi Blinker?". Sabotage Times. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
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