Cees Groot

Heerenveen

Groot began his career in the youth ranks of ZVV Zaandijk in his home town, before being recruited, and signing a contract with Heerenveen in 1956. He would go on to play one season for the Friesian club, before transferring once more, this time around to IJ.V.V. Stormvogels from IJmuiden.

Stormvogels

Signing with the Stormvogels in 1957, Groot would play with his younger brother by six years, Henk Groot at the club from Velsen, while working in the Metal Industry during the week. Both the Groot brothers made such an impression, while playing for the Stormvogels, that they were both offered contracts with Ajax, leaving for the Amsterdam side at the end of the 1958–59 season, having played two seasons for the Stormvogels.

Ajax

Groot was a physically strong striker, and was very good in the air, but had very little finesse and technical ability. His biggest strong point was his uncanny ability to score goals. In his first season with Ajax, he scored 29 goals for the Amsterdam side, while his younger brother Henk scored 38. Together the Groot brothers were responsible for more than half of the club's goals scored, and finished the season in first and third place of the league's top scorers. Groot finished as the club's top scorer for three consecutive seasons (1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64), and scored more than 100 goals (132) for Ajax. He is ranked 11th place on the club's all-time top scorer list.

Zaanstreek

In 1964, Groot left…

Club

After his retirement from professional football, Groot became a sports teacher. He taught sports at a halfway house near the Leidseplein in Amsterdam, amongst other places. After teaching, Groot returned to football, and became a youth trainer at Ajax. He died of cardiac arrest in 1988 during a winter vacation trip to the Sauerland in West Germany. Since 1991, a football tournament hosted in his hometown of Zaandijk, and named "Cees Groot-toernooi" (the Cees Groot tournament) in his honor, is staged annually, where youth teams of various football teams come to compete.

Cees' younger brother Henk also played at Ajax. His grandson Kick Groot is a football player.