suurbier was born in eindhoven. he made his debut for ajax amsterdam when he was 19 and played with them for 13 years, all throughout the most successful era until 1977 when he was 32 years old. usually a right back, suurbier was renowned for his pace and stamina. suurbier was a big part of the 70's "total football" team the "" of ajax amsterdam led by johan cruijff, which lifted the uefa european cup three times in a row. in 1977, he moved to fc schalke 04 for one season.