Regi Blinker

Regi Blinker

Personal information
Full name	Reginald Waldi Blinker
Date of birth	4 June 1969 (1969-06-04)
Place of birth	Paramaribo, Suriname
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position	Winger
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1986–1996	Feyenoord	238	(45)
1988–1989	→ Den Bosch (loan)	25	(6)
1996–1997	Sheffield Wednesday	42	(3)
1997–2000	Celtic	47	(9)
2000–2001	RBC	22	(5)
2001–2003	Sparta Rotterdam	30	(1)
2003–2006	Deltasport Vlaardingen
National team
1993–1994	Netherlands	3	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Reginald "Regi" Waldi Blinker (born 4 June 1969) is a retired Dutch footballer of Surinamese extraction who played as a left winger.

During his career, he was also known for his dread-locked hairstyle, and played three years in Scotland with Celtic, after notably representing Feyenoord.

Club career

Born in Paramaribo, Suriname, Blinker began his career with Feyenoord Rotterdam in 1986. He stayed at De Kuip for 10 seasons, including one on loan at FC Den Bosch, and formed an efficient winger partnership with Gaston Taument (from 1991–95, the pair combined for 61 Eredivisie goals).

On 4 March 1996, Blinker joined Sheffield Wednesday for £275,000, scoring a brace on his debut, a 2–3 away defeat against Aston Villa, instantly becoming a crowd favorite. At the peak of his career in England, he was set to earn a sponsorship deal with a major sunglasses manufacturer. Much to the amusement of the British press, the deal was scrapped when it was revealed Blinker had been mistaken for Edgar Davids, a footballer renowned for his use of eyewear; he moved to Celtic in part-exchange for Paolo di Canio in August 1997, and was coached at the club by Feije legend Wim Jansen.

Blinker played in Scotland for three seasons, returning home in the summer of 2000 to sign for RBC Roosendaal. The next season, he signed for Sparta Rotterdam, where he finished his professional career in 2003. He played for amateur team Deltasport Vlaardingen for a few more years before officially retiring in the summer of 2006, aged 37.

International career

Blinker won three caps for the Dutch national team while at Feyenoord, making his debut on 24 March 1993 in a 6–0 home win against San Marino for the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers (70 minutes played in Utrecht).

He made his last appearance nearly one year later, in a friendly with Tunisia.

Post-retirement

Upon retiring, Blinker became a publisher of lifestyle magazines for the professional football world in Holland, the company being named Life After Football.

Also renowned for his charitable work, he also ran in the Berlin Marathon, in aid of the Dominic Hague 'Wheelbarrows for Africa' campaign.

External links

• Beijen profile (Dutch)
• Stats at Voetbal International (Dutch)
• Regi Blinker career stats at Soccerbase
• Regi Blinker profile and stats at Wereld van Oranje (Dutch)
• Regi Blinker at National-Football-Teams.com