The Institute for Brilliant Failures interviews Hans van Breukelen about the meaning of making mistakes on and off the football field.

Hans van Breukelen is the most successful goalkeeper in Dutch history. Among other things, he became European champion and won the European Cup. He was also once a board member of the players' union, he presented a football quiz on television and wrote his autobiography. In 1994 started his career in business.

Hans became director of retail chain Breecom, was the initiator of Topsupport and director of technical affairs at FC Utrecht. He currently supports companies and institutions with change processes through his company HvB Management.

Reason enough for 'The Institute' to let this all-rounder speak about the meaning of making mistakes, brilliant failure and success! And forward, we won't talk about the obvious and now famous pollen incident, where Van Breukelen lets the ball bounce just before time and picks it up again against the rules.
IvBM: What did making mistakes mean to you as a top athlete and goalkeeper?

HvB: “Both in my top sports career and beyond, I have become wise through damage and disgrace. As a goalkeeper I tried to keep every game and every season at 'zero'. But at the same time I also knew that I would be there every season 35 until 45 would get to my ears…
Every goal against was a neck issue for me. I was really obsessive about it at that stage. As a goalkeeper you are actually a kind of tightrope walker. People go to the circus to admire you but at the same time they hope you fall…

If a goal went in, I always asked myself what I should have done to avoid the mistake. To give an example: In the last World Cup qualifier against France in 1981 Platini scored from a free kick. I should have kept that ball. That miss ultimately cost us the World Cup.

Every crucial miss is of course magnified in the media. The criticism came down on me anyway. That kept me busy for a long time, I kept asking myself questions: What was going on in me at the time of the free kick? How could I have avoided this error?”