Eredivisie Top Scorers of All Time

In some way these Eredivisie all-time top goal scorers are winners and we may also refer to them as top scorer winners in Eredivisie - they have actually won the title of Dutch Eredivisie top scorer.

Well then, who are these

top scorer winners in Eredivisie

? You might have some wild guesses like Johan Cryuff. That’s right; he’s among Eredivisie all-time top goal scorers but neither he’s the only one nor he tops the list - another guy does.

The List of Dutch Eredivisie Top Scorers of All Time

Based on Eredivisie top scorer records, the passed Dutch footballer, Willy van der Kuijlen, tops the list of Eredivisie top scorers of all time, but what about the rest of the list? Stay with us to know.

Willy van der Kuijlen (309 Goals)

Number one on the list of Eredivisie top scorers of all time, Willy van der Kuijlen is a passed Dutch footballer who served only two Eredivisie clubs, namely PSV Eindhoven and

, during his career with the former getting a share of 17 years and the latter 1 year from Van der Kuijlen’s years of service. As you see, if it was not for that one year that Van der Kuijlen served MVV, we could even call him a one-club man. It might also be interesting for you to know that Van der Kuijlen made only 16 appearances for MVV while he made a total of 528 appearances for PSV.

Well, let’s get to Van der Kuijlen’s goals; Van der Kuijlen made a total of 544 club appearances within Eredivisie during his career and scored 309 goals which gets him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.56 meaning that the passed Dutch footballer scored a little bit more than one goal (exactly 1.12) in every two appearances that he made within the Dutch top-tier league. And from among all these 309 goals 29 goals (9.3%) were scored from the penalty spot. It should also be mentioned here that Van der Kuijlen won six club trophies including three Eredivisie titles with PSV during his 18-year career.

Ruud Geels (266 Goals)

Occupying the second position on the list of Eredivisie top scorers of all time with a difference of 43 goals from the first position, Ruud Geels is a 73-year-old retired Dutch footballer - actually attacking midfielder - who played for 9 clubs during his career 7 of which were Dutch including Ajax and Feyenoord. These two clubs are actually the clubs Geels served the most during his career: Each for 4 years; this is as he played for the other clubs he served during his career for a year or two.

What is quite noticeable about Geel’s club career is that although he served the two above-mentioned Dutch clubs for the same number of years, he actually made the most number of appearances and scored the most number of his career goals for

: actually 123 goals in 131 appearances which is almost one goal in every appearance. The number of goals Geels scored for Ajax (123) actually comprise 46% of all his career goals (266) and are two to eight times higher than the number of goals he scored for other clubs during his career.

Also if you would like to know about the Geel’s goal-to-appearance ratio, we should say it’s 0.67 - even higher than the first place, Willy van der Kuijlen - which comes from the 266 goals that he scored in his 394 club appearances. And from all these 266 goals 23 (8.6%) were scored from the penalty spot. It should also be mentioned here that Geels became Eredivisie’s top scorer in 5 seasons 4 of which were consecutive; actually from 1974 to 1978 when he served Ajax.

Johan Cruyff (218 Goals)

Among the footballers with the highest goal-to-appearance ratio on the list of

Eredivisie top scorers of all time

, Johan Cruyff is the passed legendary Dutch footballer almost all football fans know about and respect. He served the top European clubs Ajax and Barcelona sometime during his career with the former being the club he served the most during his career - actually for 11 years - and in two time periods, once from 1964 to 1973 and another time from 1981 and 1983 before he actually joined Feyenoord for the final season of his career.

Cruyff made a total of 308 appearances and scored 218 goals within Eredivisie and for the top Dutch clubs, Ajax and Feyenoord, which gets him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.71 meaning that the Dutch legend scored a little bit more than 2 goals (exactly 2.13) in every 3 appearances that he made within

. And it might be interesting for you to know that none of the goals Cryuff scored in the top-tier Dutch league were from penalty spot. In fact, he’s the only footballer among the first ten Eredivisie top scorers with this case which means he earned his third spot on the list without the help of easy-scored penalties.

Kees Kist (213 Goals)

Consider him a one-club man within Eredivisie because he actually served only one Eredivisie club, namely

, during his career but actually for a major part of his career and in two time periods, once from 1972 to 1982 and another time in 1984-85 season. This is as he played for the other clubs he served during his career including PSG for not more than two years. So, as you might have guessed, he made the most number of appearances and scored the most number of his goals for the Dutch club as it is really so.

Kist actually made a total of 372 appearances and scored 213 goals for AZ Alkmaar during his career that since he only served this club within Eredivisie, the same record applies to his Eredivisie appearances and goals. Based on this record, Kist has scored a total of 213 goals in his 372 Eredivisie appearances which gets him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.57 meaning that the top former Dutch footballer scored a little bit more than one goal (exactly 1.14) in every two appearances he made within the Dutch league.

Tonny van der Linden (205 Goals)

Almost a one-club man, Tonny van der Linden is a passed Dutch footballer who served the Dutch club, VV DOS, which later merged with USV Elinkwijk and Velox to form FC Utrecht, for a major part of his career; actually for 11 years between 1956 and 1967, and if it was not for 3 years that he served another club, namely USV Elinkwijk, we could actually call him a one-club man. Van der Linden scored a total of 205 goals in his 318 Eredivisie appearances which gets him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.64 meaning that the passed Dutch footballer scored a little bit more than one goal (exactly 1.18) in every two appearances within the top-tier Dutch league.

Henk Groot (198 Goals)

Another footballer on the list of Eredivisie top scorers of all time with a high Eredivisie goal-to-appearance ratio (0.7), Henk Groot is a 83-year-old retired Dutch footballer who served only two Eredivisie clubs, namely Ajax and Feyenoord, during his career with the former actually getting almost all the share of Groot’s years of service: 8 years and in two time periods from 1959 to 1963 and from 1965 to 1969 while the latter only got two years from this share and, as you might have guessed, from 1963 to 1965.

Groot scored a total of 198 goals in the 283 appearances that he made within Eredivise and for the two above-mentioned clubs which gets him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.7 meaning that he almost scored 1.5 goals (exactly 1.4) in every two appearances that he made with the Dutch top-tier league.

Peter Houtman (179 Goals)

The only footballer on the list of

Eredivisie top scorers of all time

to have served the top Dutch club, Feyenoord, in four time periods, Peter Houtman is a 64-year-old retired footballer and almost a prolific goalscorer who scored one goal in every two appearances both in his club career and within Eredivisie, in fact with a small difference of 0.03: He scored 224 goals in his 447 club appearances which gets him the club goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.5 while he scored 179 goals in his 339 Eredivisie appearances which gets him an Eredivisie goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.53.

And as we said above, Houtman served

in 4 time periods: The first period was 1976-77 season where he actually was part of the Feyenoord squad but never made an appearance for them; the second period was 1978-79 season; the third between 1982 and 1985 where he made the most number of appearances and scored the most number of goals for Feyenoord in all the four periods that he served them - actually 72 goals in 96 appearances, and finally the fourth period which was 1988-1989 season.

Leo van Veen (176 Goals)

Having the lowest Eredivisie goal-to-appearance ratio among the first ten Eredivisie top scorers of all time, Leo van Veen is a 75-year-old retired Dutch footballer who served the top Eredivisie club, Ajax, for a season - actually 1982-83 season - during his career. Van Veen also served other Eredivisie clubs during his career and scored a total of 176 goals in the 489 appearances that he made for them which gets him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.36 meaning that he scored a little bit more than one goal in every 3 appearances that he made within Eredivisie. And from 176 goals that Van Veen scored in the Dutch league 7 were scored from the penalty spot.

Sjaak Swart (173 Goals)

And here comes one of the only two real one-club men on the list of

Eredivisie top scorers of all time

: Sjaak Swart. By real we mean he actually didn’t serve any other club except for Ajax during his career; you know, there are footballers on the list like Kees Kist or Marco van Basten who were a one-club man within Eredivisie and not in their careers - they actually served other clubs outside Eredivisie.

Well, let’s get to how many goals Swart scored within Eredivisie; Swart scored a total of 173 goals in his 463 Eredivisie appearances which gets him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.37 - a little better than that of Leo van Veen’s - meaning that he scored a little bit more than one goal (exactly 1.1) in every 3 appearances that he made within the Dutch league, however, in general - we mean across all competitions, Swart scored 228 goals in 603 appearances, and although that also got him the same goal-to-appearance ratio as that of his Eredivisie (0.37), he actually left a record of appearances for Ajax which has not been broken up to this date and what actually had fans call him Mr. Ajax.

Cor van der Gijp (158 Goals)

Among the old-generation footballers on the list of Eredivisie top scorers of all time, Cor van der Gijp is a 90-year-old former Dutch footballer who served the top Eredivisie club, Feyenoord, for a major part of his career; actually for 9 years between 1955 to 1964. He scored a total of 158 goals in his 212 Eredivisie appearances which gets him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.75 - one of the highest on the list - meaning that he scored 1.5 goals in every two appearances within the Dutch league. From all these goals two were scored from the penalty spot. Also Van der Gijp won two back-to-back Eredivisie titles from 1960 to 1962 with Feyenoord.

Wim Kieft (157 Goals)

Only one goal behind his fellowman, Cor van der Gijp, Wim Kieft is our next

Dutch Eredivisie top scorer

who served the Dutch clubs,

and Ajax, more than any other clubs during his career with the former actually getting the highest share of Kieft’s years of service: 6 years and in two time periods, once from 1987 to 1990 and another time from 1991 to 1994.

Kieft also scored the most number of his career goals for PSV - 89 only at league level - and if we just add up the number of goals he scored for Ajax to those he scored for PSV we get to 157 goals which is actually the number of goals he scored within Eredivisie since he only served these two Eredivisie clubs during his career. And he scored all these 157 goals in 266 appearances which gets him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.59 meaning that the 58-year-old retired Dutch footballer scored almost 3 goals (exactly 2.95) in every 5 appearances within Eredivisie.

And only two of Kieft's goals (1.2%) were scored from the penalty spot. It should also be mentioned here that Kieft won 6 Eredivisie titles - 3 with Ajax and 3 with PSV - and four KNVB Cups - one with Ajax and three with PSV - during his career. He was also named Eredivise top scorer in 1981-82 and 1987-88 seasons and won the European Golden Boot in 1982.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (154 Goals)

In the final season of his career - actually 2021-22 season - by high probability since he announced his retirement once in December 2020 but actually did not retire , Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is a 38-year-old Dutch forward who not only has served Ajax but also the top non-Dutch clubs, Real Madrid and

during his career. He started his career with PSV Eindhoven but only made one appearance for them in two seasons since he was loaned to the Eredivisie club, De Graafschap, and later to the Eerste Divisie club, AGOVV, actually up until the end of two seasons in 2004.

Ok, let’s get to Huntelaar’s Eredivisie goals: He has actually scored 154 goals in his 233 appearances within Eredivisie which gets him a not-too-bad goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.66 meaning that he has scored near 3.5 goals (exactly 3.3) in every 5 appearances that he has made within the Dutch league. And from all these goals 7 (4.5%) have been scored from the penalty spot. It should also be mentioned here that Huntelaar became Eredivisie top scorer in 2005-06 and 2007-08 seasons, was named Eredivisie Talent of the Year in 2005-06 season and AFC Ajax Player of the Year in 2006. He was also part of the Dutch national team who finished as runners-up in 2010 edition of FIFA World Cup.

Dirk Kuyt (153 Goals)

One of the top former Dutch footballers, Dirk Kuyt is a 41-year-old retired winger who served the top Premier League club,

, more than any other club during his career, though he also served the Eredivisie clubs, Utrecht and Feyenoord, too; the latter in two time periods. He actually scored 153 goals in his 324 appearances for these two clubs that since he served only these two clubs within Eredivisie we can say that is his Eredivisie record, too.

153 Goals in 324 Eredivisie appearances; that actually gets Kuyt a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.47 meaning that the top former Dutch winger scored almost one goal (exactly 0.94) in every two appearances that he made within Eredivisie. And from all these goals 22 were scored from the penalty spot which makes Kuyt the third footballer on the list of

Eredivisie all-time top goal scorers

after Henk Groot and Ronald Koeman to have scored the most number of penalties. Kuyt won the Dutch Golden Shoe in 2003 and 2006, became Eredivisie Top Scorer in 2005 and FIFA World Cup top assist provider in 2010, and was named Dutch Footballer of the Year in 2006. He was actually part of the Dutch national team who finished as runners-up in 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Henk Bosveld (152 Goals)

One of the few footballers one the list of Eredivisie top scorers of all time who never served the top Eredivisie clubs, Ajax, Feyenoord, or PSV Eindhoven, during his career, Henk Bosveld is an old-generation passed Dutch footballer mostly known for his style of walking which actually got him the nickname “Charly” after Charles Chaplin. Bosveld served only three Eredivisie clubs, namely SC Enschede,

, and Vitesse, during his career which lasted from 1959 to 1979. He scored a total of 152 goals in his 361 appearances for these three clubs which gets him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.42 which means the passed Dutch footballer scored a little bit more than two goals (exactly 2.1) in every 5 appearances within the Dutch professional league.

The List of Eredivisie Top Scorers of All Time Continues

Here is how the list continues based on

Eredivisie top scorer records

. Please not that by ratio below we mean goal-to-appearance ratio within Eredivise.

• Hallvar Thoresen, Goals: 151, Apps: 314, Ratio: 0.48, Ntl: Norwegian

• John Bosman, Goals: 147, Apps: 304, Ratio: 0.48, Ntl: Belgian

• Willy Brokamp, Goals: 146, Apps: 352, Ratio: 0.41, Ntl: Dutch

• Piet Keizer, Goals: 145, Apps: 364, Ratio: 0.4, Ntl: Dutch

• Lex Schoenmaker, Goals: 144, Apps: 395, Ratio: 0.36, Ntl: Dutch

• Luuk de Jong, Goals: 135, Apps: 248, Ratio: 0.54, Ntl: Dutch

• Cees van Kooten, Goals: 135, Apps: 390, Ratio: 0.35, Ntl: Dutch

• Piet Kruiver, Goals: 133, Apps: 234, Ratio: 0.57, Dutch

• Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Goals: 133, Apps: 315, Ratio: 0.42, Ntl: Dutch

• Ove Kindvall, Goals: 128, Apps: 144, Ratio: 0.89, Ntl: Swedish

• Marco van Basten, Goals: 128, Apps: 133, Ratio: 0.96, Ntl: Dutch

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