Although a first choice in the late sixties, his international career was cut short due to a long feud with Johan Cruyff.

[2] His father was Wil van Beveren (1911–2003), a sprinter who appeared at the 1936 Olympic Games, competing against Jesse Owens in the 200 metres event.

[2][4] A year later, Van Beveren decided to try his luck with a professional team: he had set his eyes on Sparta Rotterdam, where his brother Wil had left to play for earlier.

[8][9] Van Beveren reached the fifth place twice with Sparta and in his last season, that spot enabled them to enter the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

In 1970, the ambitious Van Beveren aimed for a bigger club, and Ajax, Feyenoord, Real Madrid and PSV Eindhoven tried to sign him.

[10] Of the remaining clubs, only PSV managed to meet the financial demands from Sparta and Van Beveren, with the transfer fee being 1 million Guilder.

In the following years, Van Beveren established himself as PSV's first goalkeeper choice; in 1973 he signed a new seven-year contract with the club.

[12] The 1977–78 season started unlucky when Van Beveren collided with the woodwork in an exhibition match against Hapert, leaving him with a concussion.

When he was asked to appear as a pundit for a 1978 FIFA World Cup national team match, the Dutch public broadcast channel received many threats aimed at Van Beveren, his property and his family.

When the contract ended in 1980, PSV offered an extension, but Van Beveren refused, opting for a move to the United States.

[11] Even though Olympique Marseille showed interest earlier, as well as the New York Cosmos, he chose to play for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

[10] His friend Cor van der Hart was the coach of the Strikers at the time and he convinced him to join the club.

He quickly gained a starting spot for Fort Lauderdale Strikers at the expense of previous goalkeeper Arnie Mausser.

[17] After playing only 17 games at the highest level, Van Beveren debuted for the Netherlands national football team at age 19.

But to his discontent, he faced the problem of playing with unmotivated Ajax and Feyenoord players who could achieve considerably more success and bigger financial gain at their clubs.

[18][5] After failing to qualify for the 1970 FIFA World Cup, Van Beveren lashed out against his teammates: "we lost because some players didn't want to put themselves out.

Weeks before the World Cup, Van Beveren almost regained full fitness and he was tested by coach Rinus Michels in a friendly match against Hamburger SV.

Van Beveren insisted on playing only one half, but Michels refused to give in to his demands and sent him home, later citing a "lack of character".

A problem emerged with the division of sponsorship money: for the World Cup, the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) decided to allocate a greater amount to Johan Cruyff, Johan Neeskens, Willem van Hanegem and Piet Keizer, leaving smaller amounts for the remaining team members.

[21] The Cruyff clan, who were backed by then-coach George Knobel, proceeded to antagonize Van Beveren and the other PSV players.

[9][19][2] Van Beveren was known as a goalkeeper who would seldom leave his direct goal area; he would rely on his reflexes to catch the ball once it was shot on target.

[8][4] Writer David Winner claimed in the New York Times that he was "a wonderfully agile "line keeper", a shot stopper of the old school".