Dutch amateur footballer Mats Grotenbreg, who scored the winning goal in USV Hercules' shock Dutch Cup victory over Ajax in 2023, has died at the age of 28 following a collision with a boat.
The incident occurred while Grotenbreg was swimming in the Mookerplas recreation area south of Nijmegen, ESPN reports.
Most recently playing for VV VRC Veenendaal, Grotenbreg secured his place in Hercules folklore by scoring the stoppage-time winner in a dramatic 3-2 victory over Ajax at Stadion Galgenwaard in 2023, eliminating the Dutch giants from the KNVB Cup. At the time, Hercules were competing in the fourth tier of Dutch football.
Grotenbreg began his career in the youth academies of PSV Eindhoven and Vitesse before also playing professionally for TOP Oss.
Former teammates paid tribute to him on social media following news of his death.
"You were a star, far too young. We're going to miss you, friend," former teammate Nicky Hofs wrote.
Giovanni Büttner added: "No words for this, we played football together for six years. I wish his parents and family a great deal of strength with this terrible news."
By Vafa Guliyeva
