Stanley Menzo

Stanley Menzo

180px
Personal information
Full name	Stanley Purl Menzo
Date of birth	(1963-10-15) 15 October 1963
Place of birth	Paramaribo, Suriname
Height
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	TWW Centrum
1980–1983	AVV Zeeburgia
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1983–1994	Ajax	249	(0)
1984	→ Haarlem (loan)	9	(0)
1994–1996	PSV	15	(0)
1996–1999	Lierse	73	(0)
1997	→ Bordeaux (loan)	10	(0)
1999–2000	Ajax	0	(0)
2001–2002	AGOVV	?	(?)
International career
1989–1992	Netherlands	6	(0)
Managerial career
2002–2003	AGOVV
2003–2004	AFC
2005–2006	AGOVV
2006–2008	Volendam
2008–2010	Cambuur
2010–2013	Vitesse (assistant)
2013–2014	Lierse
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Stanley Purl Menzo (born 15 October 1963) is a retired Dutch footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and currently works as a coach.

Most of his professional career was spent at Ajax (ten full seasons), appearing in more than 300 official matches with the club and winning nine major titles.

Menzo represented the Dutch national team in one World Cup and one European Championship.

Club career

Born in Paramaribo, Suriname, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Menzo arrived at Eredivisie giants Ajax Amsterdam at the age of 19, from amateurs A.V.V. Zeeburgia.

After two seasons deputising for Hans Galjé, and a loan to fellow league side HFC Haarlem, he became the starter for the 1985–86 campaign. Newly appointed manager Johan Cruyff believed that Menzo was one of the first goalkeepers who could also make his mark as a field player.

Menzo then proceeded to remain an undisputed starter for seven full seasons, helping Ajax to the 1989–90 national title, as well as the 1986–87 European Cup Winners' Cup and the 1991–92 UEFA Cup. However, after a game in the latter competition the following season, a 2–4 loss at AJ Auxerre, during which he scored an own goal and was also directly related to another, he lost his place to youth graduate Edwin van der Sar, and never regained it.

In the 1994 summer, Menzo signed with PSV Eindhoven, where he backed up Ronald Waterreus for two seasons. The 33-year-old managed to revive his career in Belgium with Lierse SK, which he helped win one league and one cup, eventually amassing nearly 100 official appearances. For a brief period of time, he also played in France for FC Girondins de Bordeaux, arriving in August 1997 to replace Gilbert Bodart. However, having lost his place to Ulrich Ramé (who would be the club's first-choice for more than one decade), he returned to Lierse, in January 1998.

In the summer of 2001, after a second spell at Ajax, Menzo joined amateur club AGOVV Apeldoorn, helping it to the amateur title. He retired from football at the end of the season.

International career

Menzo gained six caps for the Netherlands, the first arriving in 1989. He then spent nearly three years without any further appearances, but was summoned for the squads present at both the 1990 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1992, as third-choice.

After legendary Hans van Breukelen retired from international play following the latter competition, Menzo was named the starter for the qualification stages of the 1994 World Cup; following two unassuming performances, the 1–2 loss in Norway and a 2–2 home draw against Poland, he was benched, and ultimately did not even made the squad at all (Van der Sar would be the third goalkeeper in the list).

Managerial career

In the summer of 2004, after former Ajax teammate Marco van Basten became head coach of the national team, Menzo was named its goalkeeping coach, remained there for two years.

When coach Peter Bosz left in June 2005, Menzo became AGOVV's manager, remaining in the position for only one season: AGOVV became a professional club in the second division, but he did not have the qualifications to exercise in that category, subsequently moving to Amsterdam-based amateur club Amsterdamsche FC.

In February 2005, Menzo received the necessary diploma to coach professional clubs. That summer, he returned as head manager of AGOVV. A year later, he joined FC Volendam, lasting two seasons (incomplete) and signing with Cambuur Leeuwarden, which he led to the second position in the second level in 2009–10, even though the team ultimately failed in the playoffs.

In October 2010, Menzo resigned from his position at Cambuur in order to join Vitesse as assistant to new head coach Albert Ferrer. In May 2013, he became the head coach of Lierse S.K, where he stayed until his sacking at the end of August 2014.

Honours

• Ajax:
  • UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1986–87
  • UEFA Cup: 1991–92
  • Dutch League: 1984–85, 1989–90, 1993–94
  • Dutch Cup: 1985–86, 1986–87, 1992–93, 1995–96

• Lierse:
  • Belgian League: 1996–97
  • Belgian Cup: 1998–99

External links

• Beijen profile (Dutch)
• Stanley Menzo profile and stats at Wereld van Oranje (Dutch)
• Stanley Menzo at National-Football-Teams.com