Peter van de Merwe


Petrus van de Merwe was a Dutch footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Club career

Nicknamed the Black Panther of Breda, Van de Merwe played his entire career for hometown club NAC.
Van de Merwe played his final league game against AZ'67 in October 1970 and retired at 29 after persisting injury worries and totaling 257 matches for NAC. He was later diagnosed with rheumatics and spent time in a wheelchair.

International career

He made his debut for the Netherlands in a May 1962 friendly match against Northern Ireland and has earned a total of 5 caps, scoring no goals. His final international was a November 1962 European Championship qualification match against Switzerland.

Personal life and death

After retiring as a player, Van de Merwe moved to Sint Willebrord where he worked as a janitor at a school and a sports centre. He died of pleural cancer in Sint Willebrord in February 2016.