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PSV icon Lieuwe Steiger died on Tuesday afternoon at the age of 82. At the end of the forties and during the fifties of the former century he was, literally, one of the big men at PSV. The goalkeeper made appearances in the red-whites’ first team from 1942 until 1957. Lieuwe Steiger was born in Haarlem on 15 April 1924. When he was five, the Steiger family moved to Eindhoven. Lieuwe joined PSV as a goalkeeper at the age of twelve. . Steiger taught himself the trade, as there were no special training sessions for goalkeepers, let alone goalkeeping coaches in those days. Lieuwe also spent much time on his studies. When he was 18 years old, he succeeded Leo Boumans as first choice regular goalkeeper. He made a huge impact as a tall, talented stopper and he was admired for his athletic skills. He was blessed with the tallness of his stature: he was 1, 96 tall (six feet and six inches). For many years he was one of the stars in the PSV first team, together with Coen Dillen, Ad van Tuyl, Toon Brusselers, all from the county of Brabant, and Roel Wiersma. After having spent seven seasons with PSV, he was called up to the squad of the Dutch team. He was to be capped seven times for his country. When he was with the Dutch team, Steiger felt less confident than with PSV, where he played as goalkeeper from 1942 until the mid-fifties. He retired from football in 1957, but made a brief comeback a few years later to solve PSV’s goalkeeping problems. Later he was appointed vice-chairman of the club. During his fifteen seasons with PSV, he made 383 league appearances and scored one goal. He clinched the Dutch title in 1951 and won the Dutch Cup the year before. And he was the man between the posts in 1955, when PSV were the first Dutch club to play a European game. Steiger leaves a wife, Nel, The couple still lived happily together in Eindhoven. After a spell of illness, Steiger died last Tuesday, at the age of 82. He was the last regular of the great PSV team of the fifties.PSV want to offer their sincerest condolences to his wife Nel, to all relatives and friends and acquaintances.
