Rudolfus Hubertus "Ruud" Hesp (born 31 October 1965) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Club career

Born in Bussum, North Holland, Hesp started his career in the 1985–86 season at Haarlem. He was recommended to Haarlem by Piet Schrijvers, who had coached him at Abcoude. Despite rarely playing in his two years for Haarlem, he moved along with coach Hans van Doorneveld to another club in the Eredivisie, Fortuna Sittard, where he would remain the following seven years; during his first ten professional campaigns (one with Fortuna was spent in the second division), he did not miss a single game. After three seasons with Roda, Hesp signed with Spanish side Barcelona as the Catalans were being managed by countryman Louis van Gaal, also newly signed. Van Gaal resorted to Hesp after he was able to sign neither Edwin van der Sar, who stayed at Ajax, nor Ed de Goey, who signed for Chelsea. He easily beat competition from Portuguese Vítor Baía, playing in 73 out of 76 possible La Liga matches as Barça won back-to-back leagues (in 1998, the double befell). In his last season at the Camp Nou, Hesp split first-choice status with youth graduate Francesc Arnau, then moved back to the Netherlands and Fortuna, retiring at almost 37 in 2002. Subsequently, he joined Groningen as a goalkeeper coach. In the summer of 2013, Hesp left Groningen for PSV Eindhoven in the same capacity. On 27 June 2024, he moved to the Turkish side Beşiktaş, where he strengthens the staff of coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

International career

Although Hesp was picked by the Netherlands for their UEFA Euro 1996 and 1998 FIFA World Cup squads, he never actually won a cap for the national team, acting as understudy to both first-choice Edwin van der Sar and his substitute Ed de Goey. He also worked with the side as a goalkeeper coach.

Personal life

Hesp's younger brother, Danny, was also a professional footballer. A defender, the pair shared teams in 1994–95 at Roda.

Honours

Roda JC Barcelona