Arjan de Zeeuw
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Adrianus de Zeeuw | ||
| Date of birth | April 16, 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Castricum, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | retired | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1992–1995 | Telstar | 102 | (5) |
| 1995–1999 | Barnsley | 138 | (7) |
| 1999–2002 | Wigan Athletic | 126 | (6) |
| 2002–2005 | Portsmouth | 106 | (5) |
| 2005–2007 | Wigan Athletic | 52 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Coventry City | 1 | (0) |
| 2008– | ADO'20 | 12 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:26, 25 February 2008 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Adrianus "Arjan" de Zeeuw (born 16 April 1970 in Castricum) is a retired Dutch footballer, who played as a centre-back.
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[edit] Club career
De Zeeuw played for Telstar, before moving to Barnsley in a £250,000 deal for the 1995–96 season. He was a key player in the side that won promotion to the Premier League in the 1996–97 season. Despite the club being relegated the following year, de Zeeuw proved to be a consistent performer, and when his contract expired at the end of the 1998–99 season, he moved to Wigan Athletic. He soon became a vital team member, proving to be highly dependable at the back.
His contract with Wigan expired in the summer of 2002, and the following season, he moved on a free transfer to Portsmouth. He was an integral part of the Portsmouth squad that claimed the First Division championship.
He continued to perform to high standards as Portsmouth played well in their debut FA Premier League season, and was recognised by the fans who voted him Portsmouth Player of the Year. He was rewarded with the captaincy for the 2004–05 season, following Teddy Sheringham's departure to West Ham United, and led the team to stave off relegation following the departure of manager Harry Redknapp.
In the summer 2005, after falling out with then-Portsmouth manager Alain Perrin, he returned to Wigan Athletic for the nominal fee of £90,000. de Zeeuw, who is now advanced in years for the life of a footballer, wanted the guarantee of first-team football which Perrin was unwilling to provide. The majority of Portsmouth supporters lamented this decision and loss of their former captain, who had a very consistent season with Wigan at the heart of their defence, helping them to a better-than-expected mid-table finish and even received praise from then Prime Minister Tony Blair.[1]
He has a degree in medical science and became a professional footballer quite late in life, after he completed his degree.
De Zeeuw is considered by many to be an excellent example of professionalism in the modern game.[citation needed] He refused to retaliate after El Hadji Diouf spat in his face during a match at the Reebok Stadium in November 2004.[2] His response was to score the winning goal in Portsmouth's 1–0 victory.
In Wigan's second Premiership season, he struggled to get a regular first team place due to a series of injuries and was released by the club on 17 May 2007. Whilst at Wigan he started in the 2006 Football League Cup Final.
In a poll to celebrate the centenary of the Professional Footballer's Association fans voted De Zeeuw to be the best player of all time for Wigan Athletic.
In June 2007, it was announced that de Zeeuw had signed a one-year contract with Coventry City. During pre-season training, a freak accident left the defender sidelined for 6–8 weeks. He made his debut against Bristol City on 15 September 2007.[3]
It was announced towards the end of the 2007–08 season that De Zeeuw would be one of eight first team players whose contracts wouldn't be renewed. His season was hampered by injury and lack of form leading to new manager Chris Coleman decided he was surplus to requirements.
In 2009, he signed with ADO'20.
Following his retirement in 2009, De Zeeuw began working as an investigative detective, specialising in forensics.[4]
[edit] Career statistics
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Netherlands | League | KNVB Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||||
| 1992–93 | Telstar | Eerste Divisie | 30 | 1 | ||||||
| 1993–94 | 31 | 2 | ||||||||
| 1994–95 | 29 | 1 | ||||||||
| 1995–96 | 12 | 1 | ||||||||
| England | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||||
| 1995–96 | Barnsley | First Division | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | 33 | 1 | |
| 1996–97 | 43 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 49 | 2 | ||
| 1997–98 | Premier League | 26 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
| 1998–99 | First Division | 38 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 49 | 4 | |
| 1999–2000 | Wigan Athletic | Second Division | 42 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 3 |
| 2000–01 | 46 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 52 | 1 | ||
| 2001–02 | 42 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 2 | ||
| 2002–03 | Portsmouth | First Division | 38 | 1 | - | 1 | 0 | 39 | 1 | |
| 2003–04 | Premier League | 36 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 1 | |
| 2004–05 | 32 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 37 | 3 | ||
| 2005–06 | Wigan Athletic | Premier League | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| 2006–07 | 21 | 0 | - | 1 | 0 | 22 | 0 | |||
| 2007–08 | Coventry City | Championship | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| Total | Netherlands | 102 | 5 | |||||||
| England | 443 | 18 | 28 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 502 | 18 | ||
| Career Total | 545 | 23 | ||||||||
[edit] References
- ^ "Blair on the Ball". BBC Sport. 2005-11-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/funny_old_game/4414908.stm. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
- ^ Ken Gaunt (2004-11-29). "Diouf apologises for spitting incident as Bolton impose fine". The Independent. http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/premiership/article22380.ece. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
- ^ "Coventry sign De Zeeuw and Cairo". BBC Sport. 2007-06-30. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/coventry_city/6244506.stm. Retrieved 2007-06-30.
- ^ "Best & Worst: Arjan de Zeeuw". The Times. 2010-01-31. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article7009480.ece. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
- ^ Arjan De Zeeuw | Coventry City | Team | Profiles
[edit] External links
- Arjan de Zeeuw player profile at ccfc.co.uk
- Arjan de Zeeuw career stats at Soccerbase
- Sunday Times article 31 January, 2010
| Preceded by Teddy Sheringham |
Porsmouth captain 2004–2005 |
Succeeded by Dejan Stefanović |
