Sergio van Dijk

Sergio van Dijk
Personal information
Full name Serginho van Dijk
Date of birth 6 August 1982 (1982-08-06) (age 29)
Place of birth Assen, Netherlands
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Adelaide United
Number 9
Youth career
0000–1999 Groningen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2002 Groningen 2 (1)
2002–2005 Helmond Sport 87 (13)
2005–2008 Emmen 98 (32)
2008–2010 Brisbane Roar 50 (25)
2010– Adelaide United 37 (20)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Serginho "Sergio" van Dijk (born 6 August 1982) is a Dutch-born Indonesian footballer player, who currently plays for Adelaide United in the A-League. He was the top goalscorer in the 2010–11 A-League regular season and has made a name for himself in Australian football for his prolific scoring tally.

Contents

Biography

He was named after the Brazilian star, Serginho Chulapa, who played for Brazil during the 1982 World Cup. Van Dijk's mother was a big fan of Brazil at the time.[1] Van Dijk is of Indo (Dutch-Indonesian) parentage.[2]

Netherlands

Van Dijk started his career at local club LTC in Assen before he was drafted in the FC Groningen youth-academy. In the 2000/01 season he played two matches (one goal) for Groningen in the Eerste Divisie helping them to gain promotion. In the Eredivisie he did not play for Groningen and he moved back to the Eerste Divisie at Helmond Sport in 2002. In 2005 he moved to FC Emmen where he scored 18 and 12 goals in his first two seasons. In the 2007/08 season he played at Emmen alongside his brother Danny.

Brisbane Roar

On June 16, 2008, he was signed to a two year contract by Brisbane Roar (then operating as Queensland Roar) after impressing the Roar scouts with his technique at the end of May against Redlands United and a Gold Coast Select XI.[3]

Van Dijk started off the season slowly, only scoring 1 goal in his first 10 matches although managing 6 assists at the time.[4] However he then silenced the critics by scoring 9 goals in as many matches (including a brace against the Central Coast Mariners).[5] On January 17, 2009, Van Dijk was the Roar's first ever player to score a hat-trick in their 3-1 win over Sydney FC.[6]

Adelaide United

On February 11, 2010, Van Dijk was signed by Adelaide United on a six-month contract for the club's AFC Champions League campaign,[7] and made his debut against defending Asian champions, Pohang Steelers on February 24, 2010, in a 1-0 win at Hindmarsh Stadium. Van Dijk made his scoring debut for the Reds in their 2-0 away win against Shandong Luneng in Match Day 2 of the Champions League campaign.[8]

On March 14, 2010, Van Dijk agreed to a 3 year contract with Adelaide United.[9] On January 21, 2011, Van Dijk scored a hat-trick in the teams 8-1 win over North Queensland Fury. Van Dijk won the Golden Boot award for the 2010-11 season with 16 goals.[10]

Personal

Van Dijk has a clothing label called Sixlovesnine.[11]

International career

On July 19, 2010, it was reported that Van Dijk was to declare for Indonesia, the country of origin of one of his grandparents.[12] However, upon meeting with the Indonesian football authorities, he learned that in order to be able to represent Indonesia, he must earn Indonesian citizenship and give up his Dutch citizenship, as Indonesia does not allow dual citizenship. He refused to decide his international future, citing that it is difficult for him to gave up his Dutch citizenship because his wife and families are Dutch.[13] After some time, he finally decided to put off his Dutch citizenship in order to play for Indonesia. Football Association of Indonesia has announced that Sergio van Dijk is being naturalized, so he can play for the Indonesia national football team in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign.

A-League statistics

(Current as of 4 January 2012)

Club Season League1 Cup International2 Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
Brisbane Roar 2008–09 23 12 6 3 1 2 - - - 26 13 8
2009–10 27 13 4 - - - - - - 27 13 4
Adelaide United 2010–11 30 17 2 - - - 7 2 1 37 19 3
2011–12 7 3 2 - - - - - - 7 3 2
Total 87 45 14 3 1 2 7 2 1 97 48 17

1 - includes A-League final series statistics
2 - includes FIFA Club World Cup statistics; AFC Champions League statistics are included in season commencing after group stages (i.e. ACL and A-League seasons etc.)

Honours

References

  1. ^ Micallef, Philip. "Van Dijk reveals Latino legacy". The World Game. http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/a-league/news/399745/Van-Dijk-reveals-Latino-legacy. Retrieved 7 November 2010. 
  2. ^ "Slick Van Dijk puts his hand up - for Indonesia". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2009-02-27. http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/football/a-league/slick-van-dijk-puts-his-hand-up--for-indonesia/2009/02/26/1235237835176.html. Retrieved 7 November 2010. 
  3. ^ Roar add Dutch firepower
  4. ^ Roar’s Van Dijk admits goal drought
  5. ^ Queensland Roar sink Central Coast Mariners at Bluetongue Stadium
  6. ^ Van Dijk hat-trick and Roar get their final
  7. ^ "Reds add fire power with Van Dijk signing". Adelaide United FC (A-League). 2010-02-11. http://www.adelaideunited.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=32519. Retrieved 2010-02-11. 
  8. ^ "Adelaide United dismantle Shandong in China". Adelaide United FC (A-League). 2010-03-10. http://www.adelaideunited.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=32981. Retrieved 2010-03-14. 
  9. ^ "Reds snare Van Dijk for three years". Adelaide United FC (A-League). 2010-03-15. http://www.adelaideunited.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=33039. Retrieved 2010-03-15. 
  10. ^ http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/soccer/adelaide-uniteds-marcos-flores-named-a-league-player-of-the-year/story-e6frey4r-1226016737982
  11. ^ http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/soccer/van-dijks-secret-career/story-e6frepmf-1111118806217
  12. ^ "Van Dijk heads to Indonesia". Val Migliaccio (AdelaideNow). 2010-07-19. http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/soccer/van-dijk-heads-to-indonesia/story-e6frectc-1225894047258. Retrieved 2010-07-19. 
  13. ^ "Sergio Van Dijk, Siap Bela Merah-Putih [Sergio van Dijk, Ready to be a Red and White]" (in Indonesian). Bayu Marhaenjati (BolaNews). 2010-07-20. http://www.bolanews.com/liga/liga-indonesia/11660-Sergio-Van-Dijk-Siap-Bela-Merah-Putih.html. Retrieved 2010-08-23. 

External links

Awards
Preceded by
Shane Smeltz
A-League Golden Boot
2010/11
Succeeded by
Incumbent