Johnny Rep

Not to be confused with Johnny Reb.

Johnny Rep

Rep in 1974
Personal information
Full name	John Nicholaas Rep
Date of birth	(1951-11-25) 25 November 1951 (age 74)
Place of birth	Zaandam, Netherlands
Position	Right winger
Youth career
	ZFC Zaandam
	Ajax
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1971–1975	Ajax	97	(41)
1975–1977	Valencia	55	(22)
1977–1979	Bastia	65	(33)
1979–1983	Saint-Étienne	131	(44)
1983–1984	PEC Zwolle	32	(5)
1984–1986	Feyenoord	43	(5)
1986–1987	Haarlem	5	(0)
Total		428	(150)
International career
1973–1981	Netherlands	42	(12)
Managerial career
1994–1996	De Zwarte Schapen
1996–2001	Omniworld
2002–2005	Texel'94
2005–2007	Omniworld (scout)
Medal record Men's football Representing   Netherlands FIFA World Cup Runner-up 1974 West Germany Runner-up 1978 Argentina European Championship 1976 Yugoslavia
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

John Nicholaas Rep (born 25 November 1951) ^[1] is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right winger. He holds the all-time record for FIFA World Cup goals for the Netherlands with 7. ^[2]

Playing career

Rep played as a right-footed striker in the Dutch World Cup teams of 1974 (West Germany) and 1978 (Argentina). He scored the winning goal for Ajax Amsterdam against Juventus in the 1973 European Cup Final in Belgrade and also helped SC Bastia reach the finals of the 1978 UEFA Cup. His pairing with Rob Rensenbrink was seen as an offensive powerhouse. ^[3]

He said that his time at Valencia was not good and that the only thing they helped him do was "learn Spanish". ^[3] He claimed that SC Bastia suited him best. ^[3] After his time in Bastia, Rep joined AS Saint-Étienne ^[4] and was part of a side that included Michel Platini.

Personal life

He said he liked to distract himself by reading books by Harold Robbins and by playing cards. ^[3]

Career statistics

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year ^[5]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Netherlands	1973	3	1
	1974	12	4
	1975	0	0
	1976	3	1
	1977	4	2
	1978	9	3
	1979	3	0
	1980	3	1
	1981	5	0
Total		42	12

Scores and results list the Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Rep goal.

List of international goals scored by Johnny Rep ^[5]

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	2 May 1973	Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Spain	1–0	3–2	Friendly
2	15 June 1974	Niedersachsenstadion, Hannover, Germany	Uruguay	1–0	2–0	1974 FIFA World Cup
3				2–0
4	23 June 1974	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Netherlands	Bulgaria	3–0	4–1	1974 FIFA World Cup
5	26 June 1974	Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Argentina	3–0	4–0	1974 FIFA World Cup
6	22 May 1976	Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium	Belgium	1–1	2–1	UEFA Euro 1976 qualification
7	26 March 1977	Bosuil Stadium, Antwerp, Belgium	Belgium	1–0	2–0	1978 FIFA World Cup qualification
8	31 August 1977	Goffertstadion, Nijmegen, Netherlands	Iceland	3–0	4–1	1978 FIFA World Cup qualification
9	11 June 1978	Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza, Argentina	Scotland	2–3	2–3	1978 FIFA World Cup
10	14 June 1978	Estadio Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina	Austria	3–0	5–1	1978 FIFA World Cup
11				4–0
12	14 June 1980	Stadio San Paolo, Naples, Italy	West Germany	1–3	2–3	UEFA Euro 1980

Honours

Ajax

• Eredivisie: 1971–72, 1972–73
• European Cup: 1971–72, 1972–73
• European Super Cup: 1972, 1973
• Intercontinental Cup: 1972

Bastia

• UEFA Cup runner-up: 1978

Saint-Étienne

• French League Championship: 1980–81

Netherlands

• FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1974, 1978
• UEFA European Championship third place: 1976
• Tournoi de Paris: 1978 ^[6]

Individual

• French Division 1 Foreign Player of the Year: 1977–78 ^[7]

Trivia

Rep is included in the "Classic Netherlands" team in the football video game Pro Evolution Soccer 6 under the name of "Rak".

Rep is the namesake of the Irish indie pop band Jonny Rep.

He also has a song named in his honour, written by French rock band Mickey 3D, who hail from Saint Etienne. ^[8]

References

1. "Johan Derksen - Het leven van Johnny Rep is een film" [Johan Derksen - the life of Johnny Rep is like a movie]. Voetbal International (in Dutch). 18 October 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
2. "Topscorers Nederlands elftal". voetbalstats.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 November 2025.
3. Se llama rep y vive del gol [It's called rep and it lives on goals], web: Goles Mundial, June 1978, Issue #1538, 1978, retrieved 13 March 2023
4. "Johnny Rep: Les Verts and Oranje Legend". 21 June 2011.
5. "Johnny Rep - Interlands Nederlands Elftal" (in Dutch).
6. "1978 Tournoi de Paris". RSSSF. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
7. "France - Footballer of the Year". Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
8. "'Goudhaantje' Rep is 70 jaar: een ode aan de blonde engel" ['Gem' Rep turns 70 years old: an ode to the blond angel]. NOS (in Dutch). 25 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2025.

External links

• Johnny Rep at Voetbal International (in Dutch)
• Johnny Rep at BDFutbol
• Johnny Rep – FIFA competition record (archived)