Ruud Geels

Ruud Geels
	Geels in 1974
Personal information
Full name	Geertruida Maria Geels
Date of birth	28 July 1948
Place of birth	Haarlem, Netherlands
Date of death	18 November 2023 (aged 75)
Place of death	Haarlem, Netherlands
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	RKVV DSS
	RKSV Onze Gezellen
Senior career*
Years	Team
1964–1966	Telstar
1966–1970	Feijenoord
1970–1972	Go Ahead Eagles
1972–1974	Club Brugge
1974–1978	Ajax
1978–1979	Anderlecht
1979–1981	Sparta
1981–1982	PSV
1982–1984	NAC
Total
International career
1974–1981	Netherlands
Medal record
Representing Netherlands
FIFA World Cup
UEFA European Championship
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Geertruida "Ruud" Maria Geels (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɣeːr.ˌtrœy̯.daː (ˈryt) mɑ.ˈrijaː ˈɣeːls]; 28 July 1948 – 18 November 2023) was a Dutch professional footballer who played as a striker. He obtained 20 caps for the Netherlands national team, scoring eleven goals, in the 1970s. A prolific goalscorer, Geels was known for his heading skills. He is also known for being the first of two footballers (the 2nd being Ronald Koeman) to play for the big three in Dutch football - Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord.

Geels died in 18 November 2023, at the age of 75.^[1]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[2]^[3]^[4]
Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Telstar	1965–66	Eredivisie	8	5			—		—		8	5
Feijenoord	1966–67	Eredivisie	25	8			—		—		25	8
	1967–68	Eredivisie	32	20			—		—		32	20
	1968–69	Eredivisie	20	10			1^[a]	0	—		21	10
	1969–70	Eredivisie	12	8			4^[b]	6	—		16	14
	Total		89	46			5	6	—		94	52
Go Ahead Eagles	1970–71	Eredivisie	34	17			—		—		34	17
	1971–72	Eredivisie	28	18			—		—		28	18
	Total		62	35			—		—		62	35
Club Brugge	1972–73	Belgian First Division	23	10			4^[c]	2	—		27	12
	1973–74	Belgian First Division	30	18			4^[b]	0	—		34	18
	Total		53	28			8	2	—		61	30
Ajax	1974–75	Eredivisie	32	30			5^[c]	1	—		37	31
	1975–76	Eredivisie	33	29			6^[c]	11	—		39	40
	1976–77	Eredivisie	34	34			2^[c]	0	—		36	34
	1977–78	Eredivisie	32	30	1	0	6^[b]	3	—		39	33
	Total		131	123	1	0	19	15	—		151	138
Anderlecht	1978–79	Belgian First Division	28	25			2^[d]	0	2^[e]	0	32	25
Sparta Rotterdam	1979–80	Eredivisie	18	13			—		—		18	13
	1980–81	Eredivisie	30	22			—		—		30	22
	Total		48	35			—		—		48	35
PSV	1981–82	Eredivisie	28	15			4^[c]	3	—		32	18
	1982–83	Eredivisie	4	0			0^[c]	0	—		4	0
	Total		32	15			4	3	—		36	18
NAC	1982–83	Eredivisie	22	6			—		—		22	6
Career total			473	318	1	0	38	26	2	0	513	344

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[2]^[3]^[5]
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Netherlands	1974	5	1
	1975	3	1
	1976	4	3
	1977	3	2
	1978	2	3
	1979	1	0
	1980	0	0
	1981	2	1
Total		20	11

Feyenoord^[6]

Club Brugge^[7]

Ajax^[8]

Anderlecht^[9]

Individual