Hendrik “Henk” Groot is a former striker and attacking midfielder for the Netherlands. On August 23, 1959, Groot made his professional debut in Ajax Amsterdam’s 3–0 triumph over NAC Breda.
Feyenoord was another club where he played. Zaandijk was his hometown. Current player Kick Groot is his cousin.
Henk Groot grew up in Zaandijk and began his football career with the local team ZVV Zaandijk. He joined the first team and scored goals there when he was seventeen years old.
Soon after, he signed with the Stormvogels club and began playing semi-professional football. Cees, his younger brother, was also involved in the transfer, and both brothers played for IJmuiden from the start.
The two brothers transferred to Ajax in 1959. Henk Groot scored his first goal against NAC on his debut. Ajax won the match 3–0, with Henk scoring all three goals.
He continued to score and concluded the 1959-60 season as the league’s leading scorer with 38 goals, nine more than his brother Cees, who finished third.
With Ajax, he won his first national championship in his first season.
Groot set a record for Ajax by scoring 41 goals in the 1960–61 season, which is still unmatched inside the club.
He scored 65 goals all that season, including 14 in the cup (in eight games) and nine in the Intertoto competition (in five games).
Henk Groot had to play a different role as a veteran than he had in his first season at Ajax.
He provided calm to the selection with young players like Johan Cruijff, Wim Suurbier, and Barry Hulshoff as a constructive midfielder.
Cees, his brother, had returned to his former club in Zaandijk in the meantime. He was primarily known for his precision penalty kicks.
During an international encounter with the Dutch national team in 1969, he was hurt by a death kick from Polish player Zygfryd Szotysik.
His sporting career was cut short in March 1970 due to this injury. Through the KNVB, Groot received compensation.
How Many Children Does Henk Groot Have?
Henk Groot was a private person. There is no information about his children and the number of children he has.
