The early years

Like many youngsters growing up in football-mad Holland, John was drawn to the sport at an early age.  While many of John's classmates would take to the school playground looking to copy the likes of Johan Cruyff, or the emerging Marco Van Basten, John was different.  He was more interested in the likes of Neville Southall and Hans van Breukelen, legends of the goalkeeping variety.

John's formidable talents as a goalkeeper were clear to all from an early age.  He was just seven years old when he joined his first team, V.V.R.U.C. in his home town of Utrecht.  They were a successful side and he went on to win both the under-12 and under-14 leagues.

Such was his success, he made his first team debut for the club aged just 14 and went on to play at county level during his time there, something he considers still to be a 'great honour'.

Utrecht

It wasn't long before John was on the radar of some of the bigger clubs from the region, and by the time he was 16 he has been snapped up by FC Utrecht.  Utrecht is the fourth biggest city in the Netherlands and is located just south-east of Amsterdam.  Despite his tender years, playing for such an illustrious club would only bring out the best in John.

In his first season he helped the under-18 side finish second in the league to giants PSV Eindhoven.  In addition, he also helped the reserve team win the national league title, and his form was enough to thrust him up the pecking order to second choice goalkeeper for the first team.

In total, he spent six years at Utrecht, making _ first team appearances, before a move to NAC Breda presented itself.

NAC Breda & Eindhoven

Breda is a city located some way south-east of Utrecht.  The club, NAC, would be the place where John would make his top-flight debut in Dutch football, coming on as a substitute in a goalless draw against FC Groningen.

His full debut, however, was to be a baptism of fire.  The semi-final of the Dutch Cup at against Feyenoord was a massive game for the passionate Breda fans, and for John who would get his first real taste of first team football in the game.

He spent three successful years at Breda and enjoyed several highlights, not least beating PSV Eindhoven twice and playing against Brazilian superstar Ronlado during his days at PSV, prior to joining the mighty Barcelona.

The summer of 2006 saw John on the move again, this time joining second division Eindhoven on a Bosman free transfer.  Signing a two-year deal, he was joining a club who were in a building process.  The progress during John's two year stay was marked, and culminated in reaching the play-offs to get into the top-flight of Dutch football.

John looks back fondly at his time with Eindhoven, where he was first choice goalkeeper for each of his two seasons there.  However, once his contract expired in 1998, he opted for a new challenge.

Tranmere Rovers

After leaving Eindhoven, John took a gamble by flying to England for a trial with Tranmere Rovers, a club who were at the time in the second tier of English football (now the Championship).  Based on the Wirral, the club has to compete with Premier League giants Everton and Liverpool for limelight, but it was here that John was to truly find a second home.

After impressing manager John Aldridge during his trial, he signed a two year deal with Rovers and would shortly become first choice goalkeeper following Steve Simonsen's £3.5million move to Everton. 

John's first team debut with Tranmere came on the 25th September 1998 in a 0-0 draw with Swindon Town, a game broadcast live to the nation on television.

Although Tranmere would be relegated in 2001, during John's first five years at Prenton Park the club became known as something of a 'giant-killing' team due to an exceptional record in domestic cup competitions in which some of the country's biggest teams were beaten by Rovers, and fantastic runs to the latter stages of comeptitions.

With John in goal, Tranmere qualified for the FA Cup Quarter Finals three times which is unheard of for a club at that level, and something John fondly sees as a 'great achievement'.  The likes of Portsmouth, Fulham, West Ham, Sunderland and Bolton Wanderers were all beaten along the way.

John also played a huge art in Tranmere reaching their first ever major cup final as they played Leicester City in the League Cup Final at Wembley in February 2000.  Despite playing in every qualification round, John was dropped for the final by boss Aldridge due to contract negotiations being unfinalised.  Rovers lost 2-1.

There ere many other great games during his time at Prenton Park though.  A 3-0 win away to Everton in the FA Cup fourth round in 2001 was especially sweet.  Over 40,000 fans crammed into Goodison Park to watch the 'derby' game, and it was a massive result for both the players and the fans.

The victory over Everton was followed by what many consider to be the greatest FA Cup comeback of all time.  After drawing 0-0 away to Premier League Southampton, Tranmere found themselves trailing 3-0 at half-time in the replay.  In a remarkable second half, Rovers overran the Saints to record a phenominal 4-3 win.

When quizzed about his favourite games at Tranmere John said:

"I always enjoyed the atmosphere and the pressure from playing the bigger teams and in the cup runs.  The Bolton League Cup semi-final away particularly stands out as I made a number of very important saves which allowed us to win 1-0 and go on to defend the lead at home in the second leg.

"I also enjoed the FA Cup Quarter Final at Millwall in 2004 where we drew 0-0 and I made some important saves, including saving a Kevin Muscat penalty to get a historic replay back at Prenton Park.

"Obviously I really enjoyed the Everton and Southampton games, but from a personal view point I didn't have much to do!

"Keeping 20 clean sheets during the 2--3/04 season was a personal best for me and something I am very proud of."

During his time at Tranmere, John was voted Players' Player of the Year twice and the Supporters' Player of the Year once.  In the summer of 2007, after nine years at the club, John was delighted to sign a two-year player-coaching deal at Tranmere.  This was a real boost for him as it came on the back of two seasons where he had missed a lot of football due to injury.

John continued to push Welsh international Danny Coyne for the first choice jersey during his final two years at Prenton Park.

During the 2007/08 season. with Coyne out injured, he returned to the first team to a rapturous reception from the home fans.  He played five consecutive games, culminating in a stunning display away to Southend in October 2007 to help earn Tranmere a priceless win that sent them to the top of the league for the first time during his long stay at Prenton Park.  The performance also saw him named in the divisional Team of the Week and proved beyond all doubt he was still a fine goalkeeper despite his previous injuries.

Testimonial

In March 2009, John was awarded a Testimonial Match by Tranmere after 11 years of fantastic service.  The match was against Everton, and despite a 3-0 defeat, it was an event that was cherished by John, and the fans that turned up to salute him.  More than 30 former Tranmere players and managers returned to play their part in a 'Legends' match beforehand.

Speaking of the night, John said:

"It was a tremendous night for me, and one which I will remember forever.  The turn-out by the supporters was magnificent, and from my former team mates."

For more on John's testimonial, including never-seen-before picture gallery, click here.

Liverpool

The summer of 2009 was the end of an era for John.  He brought to an end his long association with Tranmere Rovers to take up the chance of a lifetime as a goalkeeping coach at European giants Liverpool Football Club.  Being asked to join Rafa Benitez's coaching staff was something that could not be passed on.

John said:  "Being offered to the chance to join Liverpool was a huge opportunity for me, and one I couldn't turn down.  I am loving every minute of my new role at Liverpool and it allows me to work closely with young goalkeepers, something I have enjoyed doing already for many years.

Coaching & the Academy

His contractual obligations at Liverpool meant that John had to close the John Achterberg Academy for Goalkeepers after several years of nurturing many professional and youth goalkeepers.  Since first moving in to goalkeeper coaching at Tranmere, John has worked with a whole host of keepers.

They include, but are not limited to:

Professionals:

Phil Palethorpe:	Now at Chester City.
Russell Howarth:	York City, Bradford City
Dino Seremet:	Whilst on loan from Luton Town
Joe Hart:	Shrewsbury, Manchester City, England under 21 - Whilst on loan from Man City
Steve Wilson:	Ex-Hull City and Macclesfield Town
Danny Coyne:	Ex-Leicester City, Burnley, Grimsby Town and Wales international

 

Youth keepers who became YTS or move elsewhere after I worked with them:

Stephen Ryan:	Stoke City Reserves first year pro
Peter Kennedy:	YTS
Shane McWeeney:	Now a professional goalkeeper in the QPR squad.
Damian Eastham:	Trial at Manchester United for three months, signed YTS at Huddersfield Town
Connor Roberts:	Sold from Tranmere to Everton.  Became Wales under 16 international whilst working with him and also called up for Northern Ireland under 16. Connor is currently a second year scholar at Everton.
Joe Collister:	Now a professional goalkeeper in the Tranmere Rovers first team squad.

 

Female keepers:

Jo Fletcher:	Tranmere Rovers goalkeeper who left to go to Birmingham City Ladies in the Premiership.  Jo has also been picked to play for England.
Laura Barnes-Ellis:	A member of the English student National team, she then moved to Bristol Rovers in the Premiership.
Rosie Lamprey:	Plays for the Wales under 16 national team and now moved to Atlantic USA scholarship were she been taken on.

 

RELATED ARTICLE:  John Achterberg's CV