Full name Romeo Zondervan 1978–1982 FC Twente Name Romeo Zondervan | Years Team Role Footballer 1977–1978 FC Den Haag | |
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Date of birth (1959-03-04) 4 March 1959 (age 56) | ||
Place of birth Paramaribo, Suriname | ||
Romeo Zondervan (born 4 March 1959) is a former professional Dutch footballer who played as a [[midfielder. He was born in Paramaribo in Suriname, and played his early football with FC Den Haag and Twente Enschede before joining West Bromwich Albion, for whom he made 84 appearances. He signed for Ipswich Town in 1984 for £70,000 and went on to make 274 appearances for the club. Then he moved to Dutch club NAC Breda in 1992 and played there until 1995, and then finished his playing career.
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Dutch league clubs
Zondervan started his professional football career in The Netherlands with ADO Den Haag.
Ipswich Town
Zondervan was "discarded" by West Bromwich Albion's new manager, Johnny Giles, and signed for Ipswich, making his debut against Watford in March 1984. During the 1988–89 and 1989–90 seasons, he captained the club. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Zondervan stated that "my football days at Ipswich were the best in my career".
International career
Zondervan was selected to play for his country as part of the Dutch qualification campaign for UEFA Euro 1980. His only appearance came in a 3–0 victory over Cyprus in February 1981.
Later career
After retiring as a player, Zondervan went on to scout in Europe for Ipswich under George Burley. He was also the agent for Collins John, whose sale from FC Twente to Fulham came under scrutiny from the Royal Dutch Football Association in 2004. It was believed that Zondervan was not correctly registered with FIFA, but it was later determined that Zondervan was not involved in the transfer.
Personal life
Zondervan is a full qualified pilot. He was arrested at British customs after they discovered a friend of his was carrying pornographic material from the Netherlands. British tabloid, The Sun, referred to him as the "Porno King". He has three sons.
