Gerard Wiekens

Gerard Wiekens
Personal information
Full name	Gerard Wiekens
Date of birth	25 February 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth	Oude Pekela, Netherlands
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Centre back ; Sweeper ; Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	FC Emmen ; (Assistant Manager)
Senior career*
Years	Team
1990–1997	BV Veendam
1997–2004	Manchester City
2004–2009	BV Veendam
Total
Managerial career
2018–2020	VV Noordster
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Last updated September 02, 2024

Gerard Wiekens (born 25 February 1973) is a Dutch football manager footballer and former professional footballer.

He usually played as a defender, but could also play in midfield or as a sweeper, he notably played for Manchester City between 1997 and 2004 where he was involved in three promotions and two relegations, playing in the top three levels of English football, including three seasons as a Premier League player. His spell at City was sandwiched between two spells with BV Veendam, where he would retire in 2009.

As a coach he remained with Veendam as assistant manager until the club folded in 2013, he later spent time with FC Groningen as a youth coach before a stint as manager of Dutch non-league side VV Noordster.

Club career

Wiekens Wiekens was born in Oude Pekela. made his professional debut with Veendam in the 1990–91 season, and went on to make 26 appearances in his first season. He stayed at Veendam for nine seasons, and was named as club captain at the age of 20. In 1997 Wiekens made a £500,000 move to English club Manchester City, who were then playing in the First Division. Wiekens made his debut for Manchester City on the opening day of the 1997–98 season, scoring in a 2–2 draw with Portsmouth. Wiekens was a first team regular for five seasons, and in each of them Manchester City were either relegated or promoted, first suffering relegation to Division Two, then achieving consecutive promotions to reach the FA Premier League, before being relegated and promoted again.

Wiekens was Manchester City's Player of the Year for the 1998–99 season, a season in which he missed just four games. Wiekens lost his first team place during the 2001–02 season, and subsequently made only sporadic appearances for Manchester City. His final appearance for Manchester City was in August 2003 at the Millennium Stadium in a UEFA Cup match against TNS. He was released by Manchester City in May 2004, and rejoined his former club Veendam.

In September 2005, Wiekens broke his leg while playing for Veendam against Omniworld, an injury which was blamed on the artificial pitch on which the match took place.^[1]

Coaching career

As a coach he remained with Veendam as assistant manager until the club folded in 2013, he later spent time with FC Groningen as a youth coach and as manager of Dutch non-league sides VV Noordster and WVV Winschoten.

Until July 1st. 2023, he was assistant manager at FC Emmen.^[2]

Related Research Articles

Pekela is a municipality in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. It was created in 1990 when Oude Pekela and Nieuwe Pekela were merged.

Football Club Groningen is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, Groningen province. Founded in 1971 as the successor of GVAV, Groningen compete in the Eredivisie, the first tier of Dutch football, following promotion from the 2023–24 Eerste Divisie. Groningen played in the Eredivisie during their first three seasons, before the side were relegated to the Eerste Divisie in 1973–74 as they got into financial difficulties. Groningen were promoted back to the Eredivisie as champions in 1979–80 and remained in the top flight for 18 seasons before they dropped to the second tier in 1997–98. The team won promotion to the Eredivisie in 1999–2000, where they remained for 23 seasons before suffering relegation in 2022–23. Groningen finished as runners-up in the 2023–24 Eerste Divisie and returned to the Eredivisie at the first attempt.

Sportclub Veendam was a Dutch professional association football club based in Veendam, province of Groningen. Founded on 4 September 1894 as Look-Out, it became P.J. Veendam in 1909, Veendam in 1910, SC Veendam in 1974, BV Veendam in 1997 and again SC Veendam in 2011. The club was a founder member of the regional first tier Eerste Klasse Noord in 1916 and became champions of the division in 1931–32; it qualified for the national championship play-offs but finished in bottom place. Veendam took part in the inaugural season of the third tier Tweede Divisie in 1956–57; after yo-yoing between the third and second tiers, the team won promotion to the first tier Eredivisie for the first time in 1985–86. The side spent two seasons in the Eredivisie—1986–87 and 1988–89—but were relegated both times. Veendam then competed in the second tier Eerste Divisie until they were dissolved due to financial problems in 2013.

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References

↑ "'Gerard Wiekens's broken leg entirely due to artificial turf'". FIFPro. Archived from the original on 16 October 2005. Retrieved 29 May 2006.
↑ Bajkowski, Simon (29 April 2020). "Gerard Wiekens: His Man City rollercoaster and Maine Road memories". Manchester Evening News.

External links

Gerard Wiekens at Soccerbase

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[1] "'Gerard Wiekens's broken leg entirely due to artificial turf'". FIFPro. Archived from the original on 16 October 2005. Retrieved 29 May 2006.

[2] Bajkowski, Simon (29 April 2020). "Gerard Wiekens: His Man City rollercoaster and Maine Road memories". Manchester Evening News.

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