Simon Tahamata

Simon Melkianus Tahamata (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈsimɔn mɛlkiˈaːnʏs ˈtaːɦaːmaːtaː]; born 26 May 1956 in Vught) is a former Dutch and Belgian football player originating from the Maluku Islands, who has played for Dutch and Belgian clubs. He has played 22 times for the Dutch national team, for which he scored twice. Tahamata was born in the Netherlands, but took Belgian nationality in 1990.^[2]

Club career

As a youth player Tahamata played for Theole from Tiel and for Ajax from Amsterdam. Then on 24 October 1976 he made his debut for Ajax Amsterdam, (Ajax-FC Utrecht 7–0). With Ajax he won the national title three times (1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80) and he was runner-up once (1977–78). With Ajax he played three national cup finals (1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80), where the middle was won. Tahamata reached with Ajax the semifinal of the European Cup I tournament (1979–80).

Mid 1980 Tahamata left for Belgium, where he played for Standard Liège. With this team he became national champion twice (1981–82 and 1982–83). With Standard he won the national cup once (1980–81). Tahamata reached with Standard the final of the European Cup II tournament (1981–82). In 1984 he returned to the Netherlands to play for Feyenoord. In 1987 he again joined the Belgian competition, playing for Beerschot and Germinal Ekeren. With Germinal he once more reached the final of the national cup (1994–95). Tahamata finished his career as an active football player in 1996.

International career

Tahamata made his national team debut on 22 May 1979 in Bern, Switzerland in the 75th Anniversary Match of the FIFA against Argentina.^[3] He went on to earn eventually 22 caps and scoring 2 goals. He played his last international match on 21 December 1986 in Limassol, Cyprus against Cyprus.

In 1979, Simon Tahamata released the 7"-vinyl single "We gaan naar Rome" ahead of the UEFA Euro 1980 tournament, following the Netherlands placement amongst the final eight.

Managerial career

After his career as a professional football player Tahamata went on to work as a youth coach for Standard Liège, Germinal Beerschot and Ajax Amsterdam. Occasionally he also played for the team of old Ajax players, named Lucky Ajax. Since May 2009 he works as a technical coach for the youth teams of under-10 until under-15 of the Saudi Arabian football club Al-Ahli.

Career statistics

Season	Club	Country	League	Apps	Goals
1976–77	AFC Ajax	Netherlands	Eredivisie	15	0
1977–78	AFC Ajax	Netherlands	Eredivisie	29	2
1978–79	AFC Ajax	Netherlands	Eredivisie	32	4
1979–80	AFC Ajax	Netherlands	Eredivisie	33	8
1980–81	Standard Liège	Belgium	Eerste Klasse	33	4
1981–82	Standard Liège	Belgium	Eerste Klasse	34	12
1982–83	Standard Liège	Belgium	Eerste Klasse	34	19
1983–84	Standard Liège	Belgium	Eerste Klasse	28	5
1984–85	Feyenoord	Netherlands	Eredivisie	19	7
1985–86	Feyenoord	Netherlands	Eredivisie	34	6
1986–87	Feyenoord	Netherlands	Eredivisie	34	16
1987–88	Beerschot	Belgium	Eerste Klasse	34	6
1988–89	Beerschot	Belgium	Eerste Klasse	32	3
1989–90	Beerschot	Belgium	Eerste Klasse	33	3
1990–91	Germinal Ekeren	Belgium	Eerste Klasse	34	6
1991–92	Germinal Ekeren	Belgium	Eerste Klasse	32	4
1992–93	Germinal Ekeren	Belgium	Eerste Klasse	27	2
1993–94	Germinal Ekeren	Belgium	Eerste Klasse	33	5
1994–95	Germinal Ekeren	Belgium	Eerste Klasse	31	2
1995–96	Germinal Ekeren	Belgium	Eerste Klasse	23	0
Total				604	114

International goals

^[4]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	10 September 1980	Dublin, Ireland	Republic of Ireland	0–1	2–1	World Cup 1982 qualifier
2.	10 November 1982	Rotterdam, Netherlands	France	1–0	1–2	Friendly match

Honours

Club

AFC Ajax

• Eredivisie: 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80
• KNVB Cup: 1978–79

Standard Liège

• Eerste Klasse: 1981–82, 1982–83
• Belgian Cup: 1980–1981

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Simon Tahamata.

• Profile (Dutch)