Theo Lucius

Theo Lucius

Lucius as a Feyenoord player
Personal information
Full nameTheodorus Martinus Maria Lucius
Date of birth19 December 1976
Place of birthVeghel, Netherlands
Height1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionDefender / Midfielder
Youth career
1982–1990VV Heeswijk
1990–1996Den Bosch
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1996–1998Den Bosch67(7)
1998–2006PSV144(8)
1999–2000→ Utrecht (loan)32(3)
2006–2009Feyenoord78(7)
2010Groningen4(0)
2010–2011Den Bosch24(0)
2011–2012FC Eindhoven25(3)
2012RKC Waalwijk0(0)
2013FC Eindhoven12(0)
2013–2014Kozakken Boys16(0)
National team
2005Netherlands3(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 April 2013.
† Appearances (Goals).

Theodorus Martinus Maria "Theo" Lucius (born 19 December 1976) is a Dutch former professional footballer who plays for Kozakken Boys in the Topklasse. He can operate as a right or central defender, and also as a defensive midfielder.

He spent most of his 16-year professional career with PSV, winning nine major titles with the club, notably four Eredivisie championships, and appearing in 254 games in the competition overall (17 goals).

Club career

Den Bosch

Theo Lucius was born in Veghel, North Brabant.[1] When he was five years old he started his football career at amateur side VV Heeswijk. He joined BVV Den Bosch eight years later, being reconverted from a striker to a midfielder; since the age of 15, he also worked as a carpenter, and made formwork for a concrete factory.[1]

In the 1996–97 season, newly appointed manager Kees Zwamborn awarded Lucius with his senior official debut, an Eerste Divisie match away against BV Veendam on 20 August 1996 (0–1 loss), and the player was an undisputed starter in his two years with the 's-Hertogenbosch outfit, as it consecutively fell short in the promotion playoffs.

PSV

In the 1998 off-season, after reported interest from FC Utrecht, AZ and PSV Eindhoven, Lucius chose the latter, managed by Bobby Robson. He played 25 games in his first season, winning the Dutch Supercup.

When Erik Gerets took over from the English, Lucius was sent on loan to Utrecht, returning to the Philips side for the 2000–01 campaign and continuing to be regularly used under both the Belgian and his successor, Guus Hiddink, as the club won four Eredivisie championships, also reaching the semifinals in the 2004–05 edition of the UEFA Champions League, being eliminated by A.C. Milan in the dying seconds of the game (3–1 home win, after a 0–2 loss in the first leg); in his last two years, the player was used more as a right back.

Feyenoord / Later years

Lucius moved to Feyenoord for the 2006–07 season, scoring a career-best five goals in 27 games as the De Kuip side finished in seventh position. He won the following year's domestic cup, against Roda JC (2–0).

Following the return of Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Lucius was stripped of his captain armband. In June 2009, his contract with the Rotterdam club ended, and Lucius spent the following months training with former club Den Bosch in view of a permanent move, supposedly with an amateur contract; eventually, nothing came of it and he joined FC Groningen for one season.[2]

In July 2010, aged nearly 34, Lucius finally returned to Den Bosch, again in the second division.[3] At the end of the season, he moved to another club in the category, FC Eindhoven.[4] After one year he joined RKC Waalwijk on an amateur basis, but left after only one month due to lack of playing time,[5] rejoining his previous club in the following transfer window.

International career

On 4 June 2005 Lucius made his debut with the Netherlands, led by Marco van Basten, in a 2–0 home win against Romania for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Four days later, in the same competition – again as a starting right defender – he won the second of his three caps, in a 4–0 win over Finland.

Personal

In January 2004, Lucius made headlines for selling illegal fireworks to a man from Breda in December of the previous year. When using the device, the man was badly injured and lost his eye. As a result, Lucius spent a few days in jail[6] and was sentenced to community service,[1] first to 80 hours, which was raised in 2006 to 240 hours.[7][8]

He is also a poker player, with a rather negative record.[9]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Tol, Iwan (28 February 2010). "Ook als timmerman is Lucius gelukkig" [Even as a carpenter Lucius is happy] (in Dutch). De Pers. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  2. ↑ Lucius en Sankoh weg bij FC Groningen (Lucius and Sankoh gone at FC Groningen); FC Update, 9 May 2010 (Dutch)
  3. ↑ Lucius keert terug naar 'oude liefde' FC Den Bosch (Lucius returns to 'old love' FC Den Bosch); Voetbal International, 15 July 2010 (Dutch)
  4. ↑ Lucius op amateurbasis naar FC Eindhoven (Lucius on amateur basis at FC Eindhoven); De Telegraaf, 9 July 2011 (Dutch)
  5. ↑ Lucius weer weg bij RKC Waalwijk (Lucius already left RKC Waalwijk); NOS, 26 September 2012 (Dutch)
  6. ↑ "PSV'er Lucius vastgezeten voor vuurwerkongeluk" [PSV player Lucius was in jail for firework accident] (in Dutch). Nu.nl. 21 January 2004. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  7. ↑ "Hogere straf geëist tegen Lucius" [Higher punishment asked for Lucius] (in Dutch). Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant. 12 April 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  8. ↑ "Hogere taakstraf Lucius in vuurwerkzaak" [More community service for Lucius in fireworks case] (in Dutch). Nieuws. 25 April 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  9. ↑ Janssen, Han (14 November 2011). "Theo Lucius maakt grote klapper op pokertoernooi" [Theo Lucius rakes it in big at poker tournament] (in Dutch). Sportdome. Retrieved 7 December 2011.

External links