Willy van der Kuijlen

Who is Willy van der Kuijlen?

Wilhelmus "Willy" Martinus Leonardus Johannes van der Kuijlen is a former Dutch football player and currently a scout for PSV Eindhoven.

Van der Kuijlen was born in Helmond and started his youth career at local club HVV. In 1964, he was signed by PSV. Van der Kuijlen ended up playing for the club 18 years, winning three Eredivisie titles, two domestic cups and the UEFA Cup in 1978. He was also crowned Eredivisie top scorer three times. After short periods with MVV Maastricht and Overpelt, he retired at age 37. After his playing career, Van der Kuijlen returned to PSV as assistant manager, first team coach, youth coach and scout. He also briefly served as assistant manager at Roda JC.

Van der Kuijlen played 528 league games and scored 308 times for PSV, both being all-time club records. With 311 career goals in total, Van der Kuijlen also holds the all-time Eredivisie goal record. He won 22 caps and scored seven goals for the Dutch national team in the 1960s and 1970s, but his international career was marred by frequent clashes with Johan Cruyff and his allies.