Daniël de Ridder - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Daniël Robin Frederick de Ridder (born 6 March 1984) is a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

footballer who currently plays for Grasshopper Club Zürich. He has previously played for Ajax, Celta Vigo

Celta de Vigo

Real Club Celta de Vigo , simply referred to as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, currently playing in the Segunda División. It was founded on March 28, 1923 following the merger of Real Vigo Sporting and Real Fortuna Foot-ball Club.Nicknamed Los Celestes ,...

, Birmingham City

Birmingham City F.C.

Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

and Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic F.C.

Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...

as a forward, winger or attacking midfielder.

De Ridder made his first-team breakthrough at Ajax on 21 January 2004 against Roda JC. He was a regular throughout the second half of the campaign, featuring in the UEFA

UEFA

The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

Champions League

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

, only to seek a fresh start in Spain with Celta de Vigo in August 2005.

He made his official debut for Celta de Vigo in the match against Sevilla

Sevilla FC

Sevilla Fútbol Club S.A.D. is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, Spain that plays in the Spanish La Liga championship.They are one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football having won a 1 La Liga title, 5 Spanish "Copa del Rey" Cups, 1 Spanish Super Cup and 2 UEFA...

in September 2005, and played as a regular after the winter break in matches against Osasuna

CA Osasuna

Club Atlético Osasuna, known as Osasuna, is a Spanish football team based in Iruñea-Pamplona, in the autonomous community of Navarre.Founded in 1920, it currently plays in the Spanish first division, holding home games at the 19,553-capacity Estadio Reyno de Navarra...

, Barcelona

FC Barcelona

Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....

and other Spanish clubs in the Primera Division

La Liga

The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...

.

For Birmingham City he made his Premier League debut on 12 August 2007 as a substitute in the opening match of the season against Chelsea

Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

. De Ridder was a key player in Birmingham's 3–2 win against Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic F.C.

on 27 October 2007 in which he made his full home debut.

In July 2010 he was linked with a return to Ajax under the management of Martin Jol.

Ajax

Born in Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

, to a Dutch father and Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

i mother, he plays as a forward/midfield player who operates either on the right or left side but can also play in a more advanced role. De Ridder worked his way up to first-team selection from Ajax's youth department, making his full debut in an away game against Roda JC on 21 January 2004, and scored his first goal against Willem II on 16 May.

De Ridder was a regular throughout the second half of the campaign, starting nine games and appearing a further six times as a substitute

Substitute (football)

In association football, a substitute is a player who is brought on to the pitch during a match in exchange for an existing player. Substitutions are generally made to replace a player who has become tired or injured, or who is not performing well; there may also be tactical reasons such as...

. De Ridder made his UEFA Champions League

UEFA Champions League

debut in September 2004, coming on as a 69th-minute substitute in a 4–0 defeat at Bayern Munich

FC Bayern Munich

FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....

. In December 2004, he was offered an improved contact until June 2007.

Part of the Netherlands

Netherlands national football team

The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...

side that reached the second qualifying round of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship in 2002–03, De Ridder stepped up to the U21s as the 2006 UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign kicked off.

De Ridder was told prior to the 2005–2006 season that there would be no room for him in the squad and he could expect little playing time if he decided to stay.

Celta Vigo

De Ridder joined Celta de Vigo

Celta de Vigo

permanently on 31 August 2005.

On 25 September 2005, De Ridder made his official debut for Celta when they beat Sevilla

Sevilla FC

, allowing the Galician club to temporarily top the Primera División. On 3 April 2006, De Ridder scored his first official goal for Celta against Atlético Madrid. Throughout the second half of the campaign he was a regular for Celta against Barcelona

FC Barcelona

Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....

, Valencia

Valencia CF

Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...

, Osasuna

CA Osasuna

and other clubs.

Celta were relegated from the Spanish Primera Division

La Liga

at the end of the 2006–2007 season.

Birmingham City

De Ridder signed for Birmingham City

Birmingham City F.C.

on a free transfer on 3 July 2007. He made his Premier League debut on 12 August 2007 as a substitute in the opening match of the season against Chelsea

Chelsea F.C.

, but injured his ankle within minutes of coming on and was unable to complete the match. Though starting the League Cup

Football League Cup

The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

defeat at Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn Rovers F.C.

Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

, he was not considered fit enough for League games until after the October international break, when he made a substitute appearance against Manchester City

Manchester City F.C.

Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

. He was a key player in Birmingham's 3–2 win against Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic F.C.

on 27 October 2007 in which he made his full home debut.
De Ridder's last game for the club was in January 2008 in the FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

, manager Alex McLeish

Alex McLeish

Alexander "Alex" McLeish , is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager, who is currently managing English Premier League club Aston Villa...

considering him better suited to a style of play which placed more emphasis on passing than did Birmingham's.
His contract was cancelled by mutual consent at the end of the season.

Wigan Athletic

He joined Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic F.C.

the next day on a free transfer and signed a three year deal. De Ridder got his first assist against Newcastle coming off the bench and swinging in a 89th minute corner for a dramatic Titus Bramble

Titus Bramble

Titus Malachi Bramble is an English footballer who plays for Sunderland as a defender. He is currently suspended by Sunderland after bring arrested for possession of a class A drug and sexual assault.-Ipswich Town:...

equalizer. He was released by Wigan at the end of the 2010–11 season

2010–11 Premier League

The 2010–11 Premier League was the 19th season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The 2010–11 fixtures were released on 17 June 2010 at 09:00 BST. The season began on 14 August 2010, and ended on 22 May 2011...

Loan to Hapoel

De Ridder moved to Israel and signed for Hapoel Tel Aviv on loan until the end of the season on 20 January 2010 after failing to make an appearance for Wigan Athletic in the 2009–10 season

Wigan Athletic F.C. season 2009–10

The 2009–10 English football season is Wigan Athletic's fifth consecutive season in the Premier League.After Steve Bruce left the club to join Sunderland, the club approached Swansea City manager Roberto Martínez. The Spaniard signed a three-year deal with Wigan on 15 June, bringing four backroom...

. Hapoel were surprised to learn that De Ridder did not have an Israeli passport

Israeli passport

The Israeli passport is issued to citizens of the State of Israel for the purpose of international travel and entitles the bearer to the protection of Israel's consular officials overseas....

since the age of 3 and would have to register him as a foreigner. The club then approached the Interior Ministry to check what allowances could be made to register De Ridder as an Israeli since he is Jewish. During his time with Hapoel, De Ridder scored a crucial goal against Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C. in the 46th minute (which won the game for Hapoel). He also scored the 3rd goal against F.C. Ashdod

F.C. Ashdod

F.C. Ashdod is an Israeli football club, playing in the port city of Ashdod. The unorthodox name of the team is the result of the union of two city rivals, Hapoel Ashdod and Maccabi Ironi Ashdod...

, a game which Hapoel won 4–0. He won the Israeli Cup

2009–10 Israel State Cup

The 2009–10 Israel State Cup was the seventy-seventh season of Israel's nationwide football cup competition and the fifty-sixth after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...

and the Israeli Championship

2009–10 Israeli Premier League

The 2009–10 Israeli Premier League was the 11th season since its introduction in 1999 and the 68th season of top-tier football in Israel. It began on 22 August 2009 and ended on 15 May 2010 with the last matches of the playoff round....

with Hapoel Tel Aviv in 2010.

Grasshopper Club Zürich

On 9 July 2011, De Ridder signed a two-year contract with Grasshopper Club Zürich.

International career

Ever present in the qualification games of the Netherlands U-21 team

Netherlands national under-21 football team

The Netherlands national under-21 football team is the national under-21 team of the Netherlands and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association. The team competes in the European Under-21 Championship, held every two years....

along with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, the Amsterdam-born attacker entered the finals as the most experienced member of the Netherlands' U-21 squad with 18 caps. De Ridder scored the decisive goal in the match against Italy

Italy national under-21 football team

The Italy national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation.The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...

which ensured qualification for the semifinals. The Netherlands went on to win the UEFA U-21 Championship 2006.

In 2007 De Ridder was called up by Jong Oranje

Netherlands national under-21 football team

coach Foppe de Haan

Foppe de Haan

Foppe de Haan OON is a Dutch football coach. He is known for his long association with Frisian club SC Heerenveen. De Haan is currently manager of the Tuvalu national football team.-Career:...

to be part of his squad for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

The UEFA U-21 Championship 2007 were held from 10 June 2007 to 23 June 2007. It is the 16th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Football Championship....

held in the Netherlands. De Ridder participated in their first round group match against Israel

Israel national under-21 football team

Israel's national Under-21 team , also known as Israel Under-21s or Israel U-21s, is considered to be the feeder team for the Israel national football team...

(1–0 win) and after the match against Portugal

Portugal national under-21 football team

The Portugal national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Portugal and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation . They are nicknamed "Esperanças." Esperança means hope, thus they are Portugal's hopes for the future...

(2–1 win) they secured a semi final spot and qualification for the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

. In the semi finals against England

England national under-21 football team

England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....

(1–1, 13–12 after 32 penalty kick

Penalty shootout (football)

A penalty shoot-out, referred to as kicks from the penalty mark in the Laws of the Game, is the FIFA official term for a method used in association football to decide which team progresses to the next stage of a tournament following a tied game...

s) De Ridder scored and missed one of the penalty kicks. In the final against Serbia

Serbia national under-21 football team

The Serbia national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Serbia and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia....

(4–1), De Ridder provided the pass from which Otman Bakkal

Otman Bakkal

Otman Bakkal is a Dutch international footballer of Moroccan origin who plays professionally for PSV as an attacking midfielder. He is currently on loan to Feyenoord.-Club career:...

made it 1–0. In the second half De Ridder created the opportunity for Ryan Babel

Ryan Babel

Ryan Guno Babel is a Dutch football player who currently plays for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. He can play as a left winger and as a striker. Babel began his career at AFC Ajax in 1998, working his way up through the youth team and into the senior squad...

to put the Netherlands 2–0 up, and in the 87th minute Luigi Bruins

Luigi Bruins

Luigi Bruins is a Dutch footballer who currently plays for FC Red Bull Salzburg.After being declined by Feyenoord at the age of six, the Rotterdam-born went through the complete Excelsior youth academy. Bruins made his first team debut in the season 2004–05 and managed to win the Eerste Divisie...

scored a tap-in from a De Ridder move to make it 4–1. The Netherlands won the UEFA U-21 Championship 2007.

Despite being an ever present figure in the Dutch youth teams, he is yet to receive a call-up for the senior side.

Career statistics

|-
|2003–2004||rowspan="2"|AFC Ajax||rowspan="2"|Eredivisie

Eredivisie

The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....

||15||1||-||-||-||-||2||0||17||1
|-
|2004–2005||15||2||-||-||-||-||3||1||18||3
|-

|-
|2005–2006

2005–06 La Liga

* Athletic Bilbao* Atlético Madrid* FC Barcelona* Betis* Cádiz CF* Celta de Vigo* Deportivo Alaves* Deportivo de La Coruña* Espanyol* Getafe CF* Málaga CF* RCD Mallorca* CA Osasuna* Racing de Santander* Real Madrid* Real Sociedad* Sevilla FC...

||rowspan="2"|Celta de Vigo

Celta de Vigo

||rowspan="2"|Primera División

La Liga

||17||1||-||-||-||-||2||0||19||1
|-
|2006–2007||3||0||-||-||-||-||-||-||3||0
|-

|-
|2007–2008||Birmingham City

Birmingham City F.C.

||rowspan="2"|Premier League||10||0||1||0||1||0||0||0||12||0
|-
|2008–2009||Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic F.C.

||18||0||1||0||3||0||0||0||22||0
|-

|-
|2010

2009–10 Israeli Premier League

||Hapoel Tel Aviv||Ligat ha'Al||10||2||1||0||0||0||1||0||12||4
|-

|-
|2010–2011

2010–11 Premier League

||Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic F.C.

||Premier League||0||0||0||0||1||0||0||0||1||0
|-
30||3||-||-||-||-||4||1||34||4
20||1||-||-||-||-||2||0||20||1
28||0||2||0||4||0||0||0||34||0
10||2||1||0||1||0||1||0||11||2
88||6||3||0||5||0||7||1||103||9

Awards

Individual Award: 2004 – Talent of the Year (NOS Award)
Eredivisie 2003–04 (Ajax Amsterdam)
2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
-Group B:---------------------Knockout stage:-Semi-finals:-----Final:-Goalscorers:4 goals Klaas Jan Huntelaar3 goals Thomas Kahlenberg Nicky Hofs2 goals Bryan Bergougnoux Ruslan Fomin Artem Milevskiy...
2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
The UEFA U-21 Championship 2007 were held from 10 June 2007 to 23 June 2007. It is the 16th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Football Championship....
2010 Israel State Cup
2009–10 Israel State Cup
The 2009–10 Israel State Cup was the seventy-seventh season of Israel's nationwide football cup competition and the fifty-sixth after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
2009-10 Israeli Premier League

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Ajax

Celta Vigo

Birmingham City

Wigan Athletic

Loan to Hapoel

Grasshopper Club Zürich

International career

Career statistics

Awards

See also

External links