Gerard Meijer

Who is Gerard Meijer?

Gerard Meijer is a masseur and physiotherapist, currently employed to football team Feyenoord. As of July 2007 he is already contracted 48 years at Feyenoord, which makes him the longest serving employee in Dutch football history.

Meijer was born in Rotterdam. In his youth he was confronted with World War II. His father was a boxing coach and physio and Gerard was always allowed to join him. As a result he started to learn how to massage people and it didn't take long for him to massage professional boxers like Bep van Klaveren. Meijer joined Feyenoord aged 24 in 1959, just a few seasons after professional football started in the Netherlands. During his spell at the club he has witnessed successes and extremely weak performances from a close range. He saw the team win the 1970 European Cup, the Intercontinental Cup in the same year, the 1974 and 2002 UEFA Cups as well as various Eredivisie and KNVB Cup titles. On the other hand he saw the club balancing on the edge of bankruptcy more than once.

Whether it is Coen Moulijn, Ruud Gullit, Wim Jansen, Willem van Hanegem, Johan Cruijff, Julio Ricardo Cruz, Pierre van Hooijdonk, Dirk Kuyt or John de Wolf, they have all been undergoing massages by Meijer in their way of rehability to perform at their best when needed. Meijer used to be nicknamed "The fastest physio on Earth". When Meijer ran on the pitch to help an injured player he was always chanted by Het Legioen who made motorcycle noises.