He was not the best Dutch goalkeeper ever, but he did have the most famous nickname and without a doubt the most beautiful life story of all keepers who have stood under the bar in Orange.
The newly published biography Frans de Munck – The Black Panther is touted by the publisher as a true boys’ book. Unfortunately one with the necessary language and typing errors, but the main character is critically examined. It reads like a script for a post-war Dutch road movie, De Munck moved criss-cross through the country until a later age. And everywhere he went, women’s hearts raced.
A kiss, full on the mouth
Frans de Munck (1922-2010) was a beautiful boy with jet-black, neatly groomed hair – the comb also in his back pocket on the field. Even Jayne Mansfield was apparently impressed when she kicked off at Sparta-DOS in 1957 during a visit to the Netherlands.
The Utrecht captain Tonny van der Linden blushed and introduced his teammates to the American film diva, who passed for a sex symbol. Most DOS players gave Mansfield a hand or kiss on the cheek. De Munck kissed her full on the mouth – a picture for eternity.
The fact that DOS won 7-1 that afternoon was not only due to De Munck’s solid goalkeeping work. The Spartan captain Rinus Terlouw was, according to tradition, so upset after an almost equally intimate kiss that he did not hit the ball well and was partly to blame for the great home defeat. In the perception of the DOS players, De Munck’s kiss lasted a minute, writes biographer Danny van der Linden, who previously wrote a book about the dreaded Bunnikside, the hard core of FC Utrecht’s supporters.
This merger club arose in 1970 from DOS, among others, which had become national champion in 1958 thanks to or despite De Munck. He made a showy blunder in a decisive duel, rumors of bribery were circulating.
Money lust runs like a red thread through the book about the son of a Belgian barge skipper, who grew up in Zeeland. Cor van der Hart, with whom he played in Geleen at Fortuna ’54 and in the Dutch national team, expressed it as follows: „Frans gave away a corner every now and then, nothing else. He was an outspoken egotist. Not a nice guy to deal with.”
Flood Contest
Both played (unpaid) the 1953 ‘Floods Match’ in Paris. As a native of Zeeland, De Munck could not refuse to help raise money for the relatives and victims of the disaster. Professionals playing abroad – professional football was still banned in the Netherlands – won 2-1 against favorite France in the Parc des Princes in front of 8,000 fellow countrymen who had traveled with them. The pros had acquired hero status in an hour and a half. The KNVB agreed a year later: professional football in the Netherlands.
De Munck then exchanged FC Köln for Fortuna ’54. In four seasons Germany was Der Schwarze Katze so well known off the field that he was asked for a role in the B-movie for 5,000 D-Mark The ideal Brautpaar. Frans de Munck on the silver screen: his star status extended beyond the football field.
De Munck was a showman and a showkeeper. He excelled in full stadiums and sometimes had an off day in front of empty stands. At FC Köln, his contract stated that he did not have to play on clay courts. A mud field was also out of the question. “He didn’t want to risk diving into the wrong corner,” said DOS teammate and fellow international Hans Kraay senior.
“He didn’t want to endure that humiliation. Don’t forget that Frans was pretty vain,” said Kraay with a sense of understatement. Former international Joop Stoffelen: “Frans only talked about money, women and beautiful costumes.”
The biographer devotes several chapters to his turbulent private life. Married twice, children by both wives. And an endless series of extramarital affairs. Or as son Ronald, who is two drops like his father, puts it: “I wouldn’t be surprised if I still have half-brothers or sisters walking around somewhere.”
A version of this article also appeared in NRC in the morning of November 9, 2021
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