Jan van Beveren

Sparta and PSV Eindhoven

At Sparta, Van Beveren trained with coach Wiel Coerver, who turned out to be instrumental in his development. They would frequently hold training sessions together three times a day. Van Beveren started out in the Sparta under-19 squad but he quickly became first choice, surpassing Pim Doesburg. Van Beveren reached the fifth place twice with Sparta and in his last season, that spot enabled them to enter the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. In 1970, the ambitious Van Beveren aimed for a bigger club, and Ajax, Feyenoord, Real Madrid and PSV Eindhoven tried to sign him. Real Madrid had to cancel the deal because the Spanish league was being closed for foreigners. Of the remaining clubs, only PSV managed to meet the financial demands from Sparta and Van Beveren, with the transfer fee being 1 million Guilder. When Van Beveren joined PSV he again took the starting spot from Doesburg, who consequently returned to Sparta. In his first season, the team reached the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup, but were eliminated by Real Madrid. In the following years, Van Beveren established himself as PSV's first goalkeeper choice; in 1973 he signed a new seven-year contract with the club. In late 1973, Van Beveren injured his groin during a match against Ajax. Despite severe pain, he chose to remain on the pitch. The injury prevented Van Beveren from playing for the remainder of the season, in which PSV won the KNVB Cup.

In the 1974–75 season, the…

After playing only 17 games at the highest level, Van Beveren debuted for the Netherlands national football team at age 19. His first match was a 3–1 victory over the Soviet Union. In the following years, Van Beveren became the first goalkeeper for the national team. But to his discontent, he faced the problem of playing with unmotivated Ajax and Feyenoord players who could achieve considerably more success and bigger financial gain at their clubs. After failing to qualify for the 1970 FIFA World Cup, Van Beveren lashed out against his teammates: "we lost because some players didn't want to put themselves out. They were only talking about money. (…) If you play for your nation, who cares about money?" In the Euro 1972 qualification, Van Beveren appeared in six matches, but the Netherlands again failed to qualify. For the 1974 World Cup, he played four qualification matches, but a groin injury sidelined him for the final matches.

Weeks before the World Cup, Van Beveren almost regained full fitness and he was tested by coach Rinus Michels in a friendly match against Hamburger SV. Van Beveren insisted on playing only one half, but Michels refused to give in to his demands and sent him home, later citing a "lack of character". The World Cup was played with Jan Jongbloed in the goal instead. Behind the scenes, Van Beveren faced a different issue. A problem emerged with the division of sponsorship money: for the World Cup, the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) decided to…

Van Beveren was known as a goalkeeper who would seldom leave his direct goal area; he would rely on his reflexes to catch the ball once it was shot on target. Journalist Matty Verkamman described his style as "gracious and elegant; athletic and stoic". His reflexes were considered his strongest point. Writer David Winner claimed in the New York Times that he was "a wonderfully agile "line keeper", a shot stopper of the old school". Van Beveren about himself said: "I could not play football, I was a born goalkeeper. Reflexes, jumping, strength; people are born with it." He was equally efficient with both hands, and also kicked with both feet.

After retiring, Van Beveren remained in Texas where he unsuccessfully tried a collectible postage stamp business. He also served as goalkeeping coach at the Dallas Texans Soccer Club. In December 1999, he was invited by Cruyff to play in the "Game of the Century"—a match between the Netherlands' best players ever and the best foreign players ever to have appeared in the Eredivisie. In 2007, he became the training coordinator for the Spindletop Select Soccer Club in Beaumont, Texas, training youth players aged 9 to 18. Van Beveren died on 26 June 2011 at age 63 at his home in Beaumont, Texas from a heart attack. He was found slumped over his laptop with a cigarette between his fingers. Tributes were held by the Spindletop Select players two days later. PSV Eindhoven commemorated Van Beveren during the Eredivisie match between PSV and NAC Breda in December 2011. That day, a sculpture of Van Beveren was also revealed at the Philips Stadion. On 26 August 1968 Van Beveren married Petra Warringa.