Theo Lucius

Theo Lucius
Lucius as a Feyenoord player in 2007
Personal information
Full name Theodorus Martinus Maria Lucius
Date of birth (1976-12-19) 19 December 1976 (age 47)
Place of birth Veghel, Netherlands
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Defender, defensive midfielder
Youth career
1982–1990 VV Heeswijk
1990–1996 Den Bosch
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1998 Den Bosch 67 (8)
1998–2006 PSV 144 (8)
1999–2000 → Utrecht (loan) 32 (3)
2006–2009 Feyenoord 74 (6)
2010 Groningen 4 (0)
2010–2011 Den Bosch 24 (0)
2011–2012 FC Eindhoven 25 (3)
2012 RKC Waalwijk 0 (0)
2013 FC Eindhoven 12 (0)
2013–2014 Kozakken Boys 16 (0)
Total 398 (28)
International career
2005 Netherlands 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Theodorus Martinus Maria "Theo" Lucius (born 19 December 1976) is a Dutch former professional footballer. He could operate as a right back or a central defender, and also as a defensive midfielder.

He spent most of his 16-year professional career with PSV, winning nine major titles with the club, notably four Eredivisie championships, and appearing in 254 games in the competition overall (17 goals).

Club career

Den Bosch

Lucius was born in Veghel, North Brabant.[1] When he was five years old he started his football career at amateurs VV Heeswijk, joining BVV Den Bosch eight years later and being reconverted from a striker to a midfielder; since the age of 15, he also worked as a carpenter, and made formwork for a concrete factory.[1]

In the 1996–97 season, newly appointed manager Kees Zwamborn awarded Lucius with his senior official debut, an Eerste Divisie match away against BV Veendam on 20 August 1996 (0–1 loss), and the player was an undisputed starter in his two years with the 's-Hertogenbosch side, as it consecutively fell short in the promotion playoffs.

PSV

In the 1998 off-season, after reported interest from FC Utrecht, AZ and PSV Eindhoven, Lucius chose the latter, managed by Bobby Robson. He played 25 games in his first season, winning the Dutch Supercup.

When Erik Gerets took over from the English, Lucius was sent on loan to Utrecht, returning to the Philips side for the 2000–01 campaign and continuing to be regularly used under both the Belgian and his successor, Guus Hiddink, as the club won four Eredivisie championships, also reaching the semifinals in the 2004–05 edition of the UEFA Champions League, being eliminated by A.C. Milan in the dying seconds of the game (3–1 home win, after a 0–2 loss in the first leg); in his last two years, the player was used more as a right back.

Feyenoord and later years

Lucius moved to Feyenoord for 2006–07, scoring a career-best five goals in 27 games as the De Kuip side finished in seventh position. He won the following season's domestic cup, against Roda JC (2–0).

Following the return of Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Lucius was stripped of his captain armband. In June 2009, his contract with the Rotterdam club ended, and Lucius spent the following months training with former club Den Bosch in view of a permanent move, supposedly with an amateur contract; eventually, nothing came of it and he joined FC Groningen for one season.[2]

In July 2010, aged nearly 34, Lucius finally returned to Den Bosch, again in the second division.[3] At the end of the campaign, he moved to another team in the category, FC Eindhoven.[4] After one year he joined RKC Waalwijk on an amateur basis, but left after only one month due to lack of playing time,[5] rejoining his previous club in the following transfer window.

International career

On 4 June 2005, Lucius made his debut with the Netherlands, led by Marco van Basten, in a 2–0 home win against Romania for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Four days later, in the same competition – again as a starting right back – he won the second of his three caps, in a 4–0 win over Finland.

Personal life

In January 2004, Lucius made headlines for selling illegal fireworks to a man from Breda in December of the previous year. When using the device, the man was badly injured and lost his eye. As a result, Lucius spent a few days in jail[6] and was sentenced to community service,[1] first to 80 hours, which was raised in 2006 to 240 hours.[7][8]

He was also a poker player, with a rather negative record.[9]

After his active career, Lucius became co-owner of a café in his home town of Heeswijk-Dinther.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League KNVB Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Den Bosch 1996–97[10] Eerste Divisie 34 4 – – 34 4
1997–98[10] Eerste Divisie 33 4 – – 33 4
Total 67 8 0 0 0 0 67 8
PSV 1998–99[10] Eredivisie 25 1 6 0 1[a] 0 32 1
2000–01[10] Eredivisie 17 1 9 1 0 0 26 2
2001–02[10] Eredivisie 23 1 10 0 1[a] 0 34 1
2002–03[10] Eredivisie 14 0 4 0 0 0 18 0
2003–04[10] Eredivisie 22 4 6 2 0 0 28 6
2004–05[10] Eredivisie 22 1 1 0 5 0 – 28 1
2005–06[10] Eredivisie 21 0 0 0 5 0 1 0 27 0
Total 144 8 1 0 45 3 3 0 193 11
Utrecht (loan) 1999–2000[10] Eredivisie 32 3 0 0 – 32 3
Feyenoord 2006–07[10] Eredivisie 27 5 0 0 4 1 2[b] 0 33 6
2007–08[10] Eredivisie 29 1 5 0 – – 34 1
2008–09[10] Eredivisie 18 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 22 0
Total 74 6 6 0 7 1 2 0 89 7
Groningen 2009–10[10] Eredivisie 4 0 0 0 – 1[c] 0 5 0
Den Bosch 2010–11[10] Eerste Divisie 24 0 1 0 – 1[d] 0 26 0
FC Eindhoven 2011–12[10] Eerste Divisie 25 3 2 0 – 1[d] 0 28 3
RKC Waalwijk 2012–13[10] Eredivisie 0 0 0 0 – – 0 0
FC Eindhoven 2012–13[10] Eerste Divisie 12 0 0 0 – – 12 0
Kozakken Boys 2013–14[10] Topklasse 16 0 3 0 – – 19 0
Career total 398 28 13 0 52 4 8 0 471 32
  1. ^ a b Includes appearance in Johan Cruyff Shield
  2. ^ Includes appearances in Eredivisie play-offs for UEFA Cup
  3. ^ Includes appearance in Eredivisie play-offs for UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ a b Includes appearance in Eredivisie relegation play-offs

Honours

PSV

Feyenoord

References

  1. ^ a b c Tol, Iwan (28 February 2010). "Ook als timmerman is Lucius gelukkig" [Even as a carpenter Lucius is happy] (in Dutch). De Pers. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  2. ^ Lucius en Sankoh weg bij FC Groningen (Lucius and Sankoh gone at FC Groningen) Archived 26 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine; FC Update, 9 May 2010 (in Dutch)
  3. ^ Lucius keert terug naar 'oude liefde' FC Den Bosch (Lucius returns to 'old love' FC Den Bosch); Voetbal International, 15 July 2010 (in Dutch)
  4. ^ Lucius op amateurbasis naar FC Eindhoven (Lucius on amateur basis at FC Eindhoven); De Telegraaf, 9 July 2011 (in Dutch)
  5. ^ Lucius weer weg bij RKC Waalwijk (Lucius already left RKC Waalwijk); NOS, 26 September 2012 (in Dutch)
  6. ^ "PSV'er Lucius vastgezeten voor vuurwerkongeluk" [PSV player Lucius was in jail for firework accident] (in Dutch). Nu.nl. 21 January 2004. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  7. ^ "Hogere straf geëist tegen Lucius" [Higher punishment asked for Lucius] (in Dutch). Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant. 12 April 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  8. ^ "Hogere taakstraf Lucius in vuurwerkzaak" [More community service for Lucius in fireworks case] (in Dutch). Nieuws. 25 April 2006. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  9. ^ Janssen, Han (14 November 2011). "Theo Lucius maakt grote klapper op pokertoernooi" [Theo Lucius rakes it in big at poker tournament] (in Dutch). Sportdome. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Theo Lucius » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 March 2021.