Gerard Meijer is a masseur and physiotherapist, currently employed to football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 team Feyenoord. As of July 2007 he is already contracted 48 years at Feyenoord, which makes him the longest serving employee in Dutch football history.

Meijer was born in Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

. In his youth he was confronted with World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. His father was a boxing

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 coach and physio and Gerard was always allowed to join him. As a result he started to learn how to massage people and it didn't take long for him to massage professional boxers like Bep van Klaveren

Bep van Klaveren

Lambertus "Bep" van Klaveren was a Dutch boxer, who won the gold medal in the featherweight division at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Born in Rotterdam as Lambertus Steenhorst, he adopted the name of his stepfather Pieter van Klaveren when he was eight...

. Meijer joined Feyenoord aged 24 in 1959, just a few seasons after professional football started in the Netherlands. During his spell at the club he has witnessed successes and extremely weak performances from a close range. He saw the team win the 1970 European Cup

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

, the Continental Cup

Continental Cup

The Continental Cup is an ice hockey tournament for European clubs, begun in 1997 after the discontinuing of the European Cup. It was intended for teams from countries without representatives in the European Hockey League, with participating teams chosen by the countries' respective ice hockey...

 in the same year, the 1974 and 2002 UEFA Cup

UEFA Cup

The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

s as well as various Eredivisie

Eredivisie

The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....

 and KNVB Cup

KNVB Cup

The KNVB Cup is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association since 1899. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside of the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup...

 titles. On the other hand he saw the club balancing on the edge of bankruptcy more than once.

Whether it is Coen Moulijn

Coen Moulijn

Coenraadt "Coen" Moulijn OON was a Dutch footballer who played for Feyenoord from 1955 to 1972 and was part of their European Cup victory in 1970.- Club career :...

, Ruud Gullit

Ruud Gullit

OON is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the...

, Wim Jansen

Wim Jansen

Wilhelmus Marinus Anthonius Jansen is a Dutch former association football player and manager.- Playing career :He spent most of his playing career with his hometown team, Feyenoord, between 1965 and 1980...

, Willem van Hanegem

Willem van Hanegem

Willem "Wim" van Hanegem is a Dutch football player and coach born in Breskens, Zeeland. In a playing career spanning over 20 years he won several domestic honours in the Netherlands, as well as two UEFA trophies, all with Feyenoord. He was also a finalist in the FIFA World Cup 1974...

, Johan Cruijff, Julio Ricardo Cruz

Julio Ricardo Cruz

Julio Ricardo Cruz is a former Argentine footballer.-Early career:A tall, physical striker at , Cruz started his career with Banfield in 1993. He moved to River Plate in 1996.-Feyenoord:...

, Pierre van Hooijdonk

Pierre van Hooijdonk

Petrus Ferdinandus Johannes "Pierre" van Hooijdonk is a retired Dutch football player who played as a striker. His last spell was at Feyenoord Rotterdam. Van Hooijdonk was capped 46 times for the Dutch national team, scoring 21 goals, and played in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000 and Euro 2004...

, Dirk Kuyt

Dirk Kuyt

Dirk Kuyt is a Dutch footballer who plays for English club Liverpool. He started his career as a striker, but he has been converted into a winger and plays the position for both Liverpool and the Netherlands national team....

 or John de Wolf

John de Wolf

Johannes "John" Hildebrand de Wolf is a retired Dutch footballer, who earned six caps for the Dutch national team, scoring two goals.-Club:...

, they have all been undergoing massages by Meijer in their way of rehability to perform at their best when needed. Meijer used to be nicknamed "The fastest physio on Earth". When Meijer ran on the pitch to help an injured player he was always chanted by Het Legioen

Het Legioen

Het Legioen is the name that is used to describe football fans who support Dutch side Feyenoord.The supporters of Feyenoord are said to be one of the most loyal supporter groups in the world supporting the team during both good or bad times. They are nicknamed Het Legioen, Dutch for The Legion and...

 who made motorcycle noises.

In August 2004 Meijer was honoured at the pitch of the Feijenoord Stadion

Feijenoord Stadion

The Feijenoord Stadion, better known by its nickname De Kuip , is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands that was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the area "Feijenoord" in Rotterdam, and from the club with the same name .Capacity at completion: 64,000. Maximum capacity: 69,000...

 for his efforts in his 45-year anniversary at the club. Former chairman Gerard Kerkum

Gerard Kerkum

Gerard Kerkum is a Dutch retired footballer and was twice chairman of Dutch football team Feyenoord Rotterdam.Kerkum, born in Rotterdam played a total of 349 matches in Feyenoord's first team from 1951 to 1965. He was the team's captain for many years and scored a total of 13 goals for the club...

, also a former Feyenoord footballer, was one of the first ever footballers to undergo Meijer's massages. He was the one that gave him flowers in front of the fans. Also Patrick Paauwe

Patrick Paauwe

Patrick Paauwe is a former professional football player from the Netherlands.-Career:He played for Feyenoord Rotterdam in a defensive midfield role, although he has been used mainly as defender in the past. Other teams he served are PSV Eindhoven, De Graafschap, Fortuna Sittard, Valenciennes FC...

gave him some flowers, to show the respect from the current squad in these days.

Beside a masseur Meijer has always been an important man for players to tell the problems they were and are facing. He has been asked to write a book about these stories, but as of today he has always denied to do this.