Ask a footballing layman what they know about Dutch club football and chances are the answer you’ll get will be a splash of Ajax, a pinch of Feyenoord and a smidgen of PSV – a natural response considering the extent to which the giants of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Eindhoven dominate the Dutch game culturally and financially.

Between them this trio has won every Dutch title with just three exceptions over the past six decades and their stellar reputations for youth development has meant that virtually every great Dutch player of the post-war era has worn the shirt of one, or more, of this elite group.

Even the talent they miss out on in the early stages of their careers will mostly gravitate to one of the clubs at some stage, either as part of their natural career progression or often in their late 20s and early 30s when they return to their Eredivisie after spells in other European Leagues.

So there’s insiders and there’s outsiders – the insiders are the players who have played, even if just a handful of times, for one of these three Dutch institutions, while the outsiders are the ones who didn’t ever get that call, or haven’t had it yet, to take them into the orbits of the Dutch giants.

Which got me thinking – just how many good Dutch footballer ‘outsiders’ are there and can we put together an imagined team for our Elevens series with players who fit this criteria? The answer is yes, very much so, it would be a fine team and it would merrily play in the 3-1-3-3 formation I’ve assigned it.

For context, beyond our usual stipulation that we put out a balanced team of defenders, midfielders and attackers, we simply applied the basic criteria that eligible players have to be of Dutch nationality and they never made, or have not yet made, an appearance in a competitive fixture for Ajax, Feyenoord or PSV. 

GOALKEEPER – JAN JONGBLOED. 24 caps (1962-78)

A keeper as good with the ball at his feet as in his hands was an unusual skill set in the 1960s and 70s, but then Jan Jongbloed had an unusual career. He played for Roda JC and Go Ahead Eagles after making his name with two Amsterdam clubs, DWS and FC Amsterdam, but never Ajax. 

A champions with DWS in 1964, the next defining moment in his career came late on – a call up aged 34 for the 1974 World Cup, a dozen years after his first and only previous international appearance.

CENTRAL DEFENCE – VIRGIL VAN DIJK. 64 caps / 7 goals (2015-)

After failing to make the grade at Willem II, Van Dijk moved to Groningen and quickly established himself as a central defender of power, pace and poise. Opportunistically snapped up by Celtic, his rapid development in Scottish football earned him a move to Southampton and then Liverpool where he became a vital component of a trophy-winning side. 

SWEEPER – EPI DROST. 9 caps (1969-73)

A colourful character and a fine sweeper, Epi Drost represented the beating heart of FC Twente in the 1970s, a period when they often went toe to toe with the big three. Loved by FC Twente fans for his determination, all-action style and coruscating long shots, Drost spent 15 years with the Enschede club. His career also took in spells with Wageningen, Heracles and DS ’79.

CENTRAL DEFENCE – HUGO HOVENKAMP. 31 caps / 2 goals (1977-83)

One of the few provincial teams who challenged the big Dutch Three with some success was AZ ’67 who reached their peak in 1981 winning the Eredivisie and reaching the UEFA Cup Final. An inspirational figure in that side was Hugo Hovenkamp, a left-back by trade but a player capable of playing in central defence too – where we have selected him.

Powerful and creative for club and country in these years, Hovencamp made his name with Groningen before his best years at AZ ’67. He wound down his career in Austria with Wacker Innsbruck.

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELD – MARTEN DE ROON. 38 caps / 1 goal (2017-) 

Establishing an early reputation domestically with Sparta Rotterdam and Heerenveen, De Roon’s career took off with a move to Italy where he brought a sober defensive grounding to an attack-minded Atalanta side.

A regular for the Bergamo side since 2015 with the exception of a single season he spent in England, and in the national team picture since 2018. 

MIDFIELD –  FRANS THIJSSEN. 14 caps / 3 goals (1975-81)

A composed and elegant playmaker capable of dictating the tempo of a game, Thijssen started his career with NEC before going on to make his name with FC Twente. Bobby Robson took him to Ipswich Town and he starred for the East Anglian side for the next 4 years in pursuit of major domestic and European honours. 

He later played with Nottingham Forest and Vancouver Whitecaps before returning to the Netherlands and finishing his career with stints in Sittard, Groningen and Arnhem. 

MIDFIELD – JAN PETERS. 31 caps / 4 goals (1974-82)

Another of the seemingly endless supply of fine playmakers the Dutch seemed to produce during the 70s, Peters was a considered and progressive passer of the ball who always looked unhurried in possession.  

Another important player in the potent AZ ’67 teams of the late 70s and early 80s, Peters moved then to Italy with Genoa and Atalanta before finishing his career back home with NEC. 

WIDE MIDFIELD – ROB RENSENBRINK. 46 caps / 14 goals (1968-79)

Quick, clever, highly-skilled and a prolific scorer – Rob Rensenbrink was an integral part of the great Dutch teams of the 1970s and featured in both World Cup Finals of 1974 and 1978. Club wise he spent most of his career across the Dutch border in Belgium with Club Brugge – who signed him from DWS Amsterdam at the age of 22 – and Anderlecht where he enjoyed domestic and European competition success. 

FORWARD – FAAS WILKES. 38 caps / 35 goals (1946-61)

One of the greats of the early post-war years of the Dutch game, Wilkes was hugely skillful, a devastating dribbler and a prolific scorer of goals.

At home he was associated most with the defunct Rotterdam club Xerxes with whom he started and ended his career. A move to professionalism in Italy in 1949 saw him establish himself as the first great Dutch export and he scored prolifically for Inter. 

His status as a professional between 1949 and 1955 disqualified him from appearing for his national team for some of the peak years of his career. 

CENTRE FORWARD – KICK SMIT. 29 caps / 26 goals (1934-46) 

The decision of which player to select at centre forward was one of the toughest in this selection. Ultimately we overlooked modern stars like Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Dick Nanninga and Kees Kist in favour of Kick Smit, perhaps the first great Dutch superstar from the pre-war amateur era. 

A one-club man with close to 400 appearances and 200 goals for Haarlem, Smit represented his nation at the 1934 and 1938 World Cups and became the first Dutch player to score at a major tournament finals. 

FORWARD – ABE LENSTRA. 47 caps / 33 goals (1940-59) (Heerenveen, SC Enschede, Enschedese Boys)

Another of the greats from the tail-end of the amateur era, Lenstra was an extraordinarily naturally gifted footballer and athlete for whom the game came all too easily. Fast, strong, two-footed, brilliant with the ball at his feet and so prolific that he managed a near goal-a-game ratio over his 700+ appearances for club and country.

The best years of his career came at Heerenveen where he is still seen as a hero, Lenstra also played to his mid 40s with SC Enschede and Enschedese Boys.