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Abe Lenstra

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Abe Lenstra
Lenstra in 1951
Personal information
Full name Abe Minderts Lenstra
Date of birth (1920-11-27)27 November 1920
Place of birth Heerenveen, Netherlands
Date of death 2 September 1985(1985-09-02) (aged 64)
Place of death Heerenveen, Netherlands
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1936–1955 Heerenveen 395 (471)
1955–1960 SC Enschede 107 (65)
1960–1963 Enschedese Boys 88 (40)
Total 590 (576[1])
International career
1940–1959 Netherlands 47 (33)
Managerial career
1946–1947 Heerenveen (player-coach)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Abe Minderts Lenstra (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈaːbə ˈmɪndərts ˈlɛnstraː]; 27 November 1920 – 2 September 1985) was a Dutch footballer and national football icon in the 1950s who played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the greatest players ever to hail from the Netherlands. He was also a Frisian legend, most notably with the club where he made his name as a football player, Heerenveen.[2]

Career

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Lenstra played for a host of clubs such as SC Enschede, Enschedese Boys, PH: DOS '19, WSV, DOS Kampen and vv LTC. However, it was with VV Heerenveen (the previous name of current day sc Heerenveen) where he first was selected for the Dutch national team. When in 1954 professional football was introduced in the Netherlands the already 34-year-old Abe Lenstra moved from VV Heerenveen to the bigger SC Enschede. It was in Enschede where he missed his best chance of ever winning the Dutch title: in 1958 SC Enschede lost the first and last Eredivisie final ever after 180 minutes from DOS Utrecht. In 1960, he made the move to the rivals Enschedese Boys, where he ended his professional career in 1963.

With the national team, for which he played a total of 47 caps scoring 33 goals,[3] he struck a partnership with other internationals such as Faas Wilkes and Kees Rijvers. He was known to stand by his principles and objected to play for the national squad if he was not selected for the position he favoured.

It was Lenstra who put the name of sc Heerenveen on the footballing map, where the club was also fondly referred to as 'Abeveen'. In 1977, long after he retired from football, he was diagnosed with having a brain haemorrhage and spent the remainder of his life using a wheelchair. He died in 1985, just a few days before the first ever international match in the stadium that a year later would bear his name.

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season, and competition. Only official games are included in this table.[4][5][6]
Club Season League League Play-Off Dutch Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Heerenveen 1936/1937 18 20 4 2 0 0 22 22
1937/1938 17 13 0 0 4 11 21 24
1938/1939 18 25 0 0 1 0 19 25
1939/1940 16 21 0 0 0 0 16 21
1940/1941 14 20 0 0 0 0 14 20
1941/1942 17 32 8 6 0 0 25 38
1942/1943 18 27 7 7 0 0 25 34
1943/1944 16 19 8 3 0 0 24 22
1944/1945 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1945/1946 19 18 9 7 1 1 29 26
1946/1947 19 30 10 15 0 0 39 45
1947/1948 20 28 10 13 0 0 30 41
1948/1949 18 21 10 12 0 0 28 33
1949/1950 17 30 10 5 0 0 27 35
1950/1951 21 29 4 1 0 0 25 30
1951/1952 26 29 0 0 0 0 26 29
1952/1953 26 19 0 0 0 0 26 19
1953/1954 25 24 0 0 0 0 25 24
1954/1955 34 28 0 0 0 0 34 28
SC Enschede 1955/1956 33 25 0 0 0 0 33 25
1956/1957 30 17 0 0 0 0 30 17
1957/1958 21 11 0 0 0 0 21 11
1958/1959 27 18 0 0 0 0 27 18
1959/1960 25 15 0 0 0 0 25 15
Enschedese Boys 1960/1961 27 13 0 0 4 3 31 16
1961/1962 33 20 0 0 1 2 34 22
1962/1963 23 7 0 0 1 1 24 8
Total 578 559 80 71 12 18 680 648

International

[edit]
Scores and results list Netherlands's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lenstra goal.
List of international goals scored by Abe Lenstra
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 31 March 1940 De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands  Luxembourg 1–0 4–5 Friendly [7]
2 21 September 1947 Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands   Switzerland 1–0 6–2 Friendly [8]
3 14 March 1948 Bosuilstadion, Antwerp, Belgium  Belgium 1–0 1–1 Friendly [9]
4 18 April 1948 De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands  Belgium 2–2 2–2 Friendly [10]
5 13 March 1949 Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands  Belgium — 3–3 Friendly [11]
6 12 June 1949 Københavns Idrætspark, Copenhagen, Denmark  Denmark 1–0 2–1 Friendly [12]
7 11 June 1950 Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland  Finland 1–3 1–4 Friendly [13]
8 15 April 1951 Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands  Belgium 4–3 5–4 Friendly [14]
9 5–3
10 6 June 1951 De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands  Norway 2–2 2–3 Friendly [15]
11 27 October 1951 De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands  Finland 1–0 4–4 Friendly [16]
12 25 November 1951 De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands  Belgium 1–2 6–7 Friendly [17]
13 3–3
14 4–4
15 21 September 1952 Københavns Idrætspark, Copenhagen, Denmark  Denmark 2–0 2–3 Friendly [18]
16 19 October 1952 Bosuilstadion, Antwerp, Belgium  Belgium — 1–2 Friendly [19]
17 7 March 1953 De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands  Denmark 1–2 1–2 Friendly [20]
18 22 March 1953 Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands   Switzerland 1–1 1–2 Friendly [21]
19 13 March 1955 Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands  Denmark 1–1 1–1 Friendly [22]
20 14 March 1956 Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany  West Germany 1–0 2–1 Friendly [23]
21 2–0
22 6 June 1956 Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands  Saar 2–0 3–2 Friendly [24]
23 15 September 1956 Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne, Switzerland   Switzerland 1–0 3–2 Friendly [25]
24 11 September 1957 De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands  Luxembourg 1–1 5–2 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification [26]
25 3–1
26 25 September 1957 Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands  Austria 1–1 1–1 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification [27]
27 13 April 1958 Bosuilstadion, Antwerp, Belgium  Belgium 1–0 7–2 Friendly [28]
28 4–0
29 23 April 1948 De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands  Netherlands Antilles 4–0 8–1 Friendly [29]
30 8–0
31 15 October 1958 De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands  Denmark 4–0 5–1 Friendly [30]
32 5–1
33 19 April 1959 Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands  Belgium 1–2 2–2 Friendly [31]

Legacy

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Today, his name has been closely associated with sc Heerenveen and its stadium: The Abe Lenstra Stadion has been named in his honour as a lasting memorial.

Honours

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Heerenveen

SC Enschede

Individual

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See also

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References

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Yme Kuiper, 'Abe Lenstra (1920–1985). Van Us Abe tot nationaal idool,' in: Fryslân, Nieuwsblad voor geschiedenis en cultuur, jg. 6 (2000), nr. 2, pp. 50–53. Online site

  1. ^ "Prolific Scorers Data - Abe Lenstra - Additional Data".
  2. ^ "Abe Lenstra". Olympedia. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Abe Lenstra - Goals in International Matches". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 14 March 2013.
  4. ^ "Delpher » Kranten, Boeken & Tijdschriften". www.delpher.nl.
  5. ^ "Abe Lenstra: cijfers per seizoen / Berichten | Golden Goals Media". www.goldengoals.nl.
  6. ^ "Voetbalarchieven | Statistieken Nederlandse voetbalgeschiedenis". Voetbalarchieven.
  7. ^ "Netherlands v Luxembourg, 31 March 1940". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  8. ^ "Netherlands v Switzerland, 21 September 1947". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Belgium v Netherlands, 14 March 1948". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  10. ^ "Netherlands v Belgium, 18 April 1948". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  11. ^ "Netherlands v Belgium, 13 March 1949". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  12. ^ "Denmark v Netherlands, 12 June 1949". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  13. ^ "Finland v Netherlands, 11 June 1950". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Netherlands v Belgium, 15 April 1951". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  15. ^ "Netherlands v Norway, 06 June 1951". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  16. ^ "Netherlands v Finland, 27 October 1951". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  17. ^ "Netherlands v Belgium, 25 November 1951". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  18. ^ "Denmark v Netherlands, 21 September 1952". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  19. ^ "Belgium v Netherlands, 19 October 1952". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  20. ^ "Netherlands v Denmark, 07 March 1953". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  21. ^ "Netherlands v Switzerland, 22 March 1953". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  22. ^ "Netherlands v Denmark, 13 March 1955". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  23. ^ "West Germany v Netherlands, 14 March 1956". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  24. ^ "Netherlands v Saar, 06 June 1956". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  25. ^ "Switzerland v Netherlands, 15 September 1956". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  26. ^ "Luxembourg v Netherlands, 11 September 1957". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  27. ^ "Netherlands v Austria, 25 September 1957". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  28. ^ "FRIENDLIES 1958 - Europe". football database. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  29. ^ "Netherlands v Netherlands Antilles, 23 April 1958". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  30. ^ "Netherlands v Denmark, 15 October 1958". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  31. ^ "Netherlands v Belgium, 19 April 1959". 11v11. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  32. ^ "Abe Lenstra - Goals in International Matches". Archived from the original on 14 March 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
Awards
Preceded by
None
 Dutch Sporter of the Year
1951 to 1952 		Succeeded by
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