Frank van der Struijk 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 Dutch 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....

 club Vitesse. Van der Struijk is a defender and was born in Boxtel

Boxtel

Boxtel is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands.This is the origin of the van Boxtel family, which has numerous descendants in North Brabant....

, North Brabant

North Brabant

North Brabant , sometimes called Brabant, is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west.- History :...

.

Club career

Van der Struijk made his debut in the professional football squad of Willem II in the 2003–04 season.

International career

In 2007 Van der Struijk was called up by Jong Oranje 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....

 where they qualified 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...

. The final was reached with a 1–1, 13–12 win after a penalty shootout with 32 penalty kicks taken 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....

. The Dutch went on to retain their 2006 title by beating 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 in the final.