Toby Alderweireld

Toby Alderweireld
Personal information
Full name Tobias Albertine Maurits Alderweireld
Date of birth 2 March 1989 (1989-03-02) (age 23)
Place of birth Antwerp, Belgium
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Centre back
Club information
Current club Ajax
Number 3
Youth career
0000–2004 Germinal Beerschot
2004–2008 Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2008– Ajax 76 (5)
National team‡
2005–2006 Belgium U17 9 (2)
2006–2007 Belgium U19 3 (0)
2007–2011 Belgium U21 3 (0)
2009– Belgium 14 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 May 2011.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:06, 6 September 2011 (UTC)

Tobias "Toby" Albertine Maurits Alderweireld (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtɔ.bi ˌɑl.dər.ˈʋɪ.rəlt]) (born 2 March 1989 in Antwerp[1]) is a Belgian football defender who currently plays for Ajax.

An all-round defender, Alderweireld is mostly known for his long passes and physical strength. He mainly plays as a centre back but can play at right back as well and is usually positioned as a right central defender as he is right-footed.

Contents

Club career

Ajax

Alderweireld moved to Ajax's youth academy in August 2004 from Germinal Beerschot. On 22 February 2007, he signed his first professional contract tying him to the club until 30 June 2010.[2] He was promoted to the first team for the 2008–09 season but only made his first team debut on 18 January, in the 4–2 victory over NEC Nijmegen.[3] On 26 February, he made his European debut during a 1–1 draw against Fiorentina in the UEFA Cup.[4] Although he only made several appearances for the remainder of the season, he was awarded a new long-term contract extension until 2014.[5]

During the early stages of the 2009–10 season, Alderweireld established himself in the first team and starting eleven. He became first choice centre-back along with fellow Belgian Jan Vertonghen after the departure of former captain Thomas Vermaelen to Arsenal.[6] New coach Martin Jol praised the two defenders and has kept faith in the duo after a string of good performances.[7][8] During the 4 September win against Heracles that ended 3–0, he scored his first league goal for the club when he opened the scoring with a header from Luis Suárez's corner.[9] On 27 January, he scored a late equaliser in extra time during the KNVB Cup quarter final against NEC Nijmegen and Siem de Jong's late goal five minutes before the final whistle sealed a 3–2 win for Ajax. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Alderweireld was named "Ajax Talent of the Year".[10] He assured himself of a place in the Eredivisie giants' history books on 3 November 2011, heading in Ajax's 100th UEFA Champions League goal in the 2-1 Group G defeat by AJ Auxerre.[11] In the 2010-11 season, he scored a stunning 25 yard strike at the San Siro against Champions League group rivals AC Milan in a 0-2 away win. He followed this spectacular goal with an even more impressive 32 yard strike against Feyenoord in a 2-0 home win.

International career

Alderweireld first represented Belgium at U17 level in October 2005 and took part in the 2006 UEFA U17 Championship. After the 2008–09 season concluded, he made his senior debut for the Belgian national team in a friendly tournament. However his full senior debut came three months later, in a match against the Czech Republic. He was named in several 2010 World Cup qualifying squads, but was mostly an unused substitute. In October 2009, he came on as a second-half substitute for Daniel Van Buyten in the 2–0 defeat to Estonia.

Alderweireld was called up to the Belgian U21 squad for the 2011 UEFA U21 Championship qualifier against Ukraine on 13 November 2009, with the match finishing 2-0 to Ukraine. He played right back during the 2012 UEFA Euro qualification match against Turkey on 7 September 2010.

Career statistics

As of 15 May 2011

Club Season League Cup Europe Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Ajax 2008–09 5 0 0 0 3 0 8 0
2009–10 31 2 6 1 8 0 45 3
2010–11 26 2 4 0 12 3 42 5
Total 62 4 10 1 23 3 95 8

Honours

Club

Ajax

References

  1. ^ Toby Alderweireld profile, VI.nl, 18 January 2009, http://www.vi.nl/Spelers/Speler.htm?dbid=59198&typeofpage=84137, retrieved 19 January 2009 
  2. ^ Ajax sign Toby Alderweireld, AFC Ajax, 22 February 2007, http://english.ajax.nl/web/show/id=154814/contentid=61844, retrieved 19 January 2009 
  3. ^ Ajax win spectacular match, AFC Ajax, 18 January 2009, http://english.ajax.nl/web/show/id=154814/contentid=68549, retrieved 19 January 2009 
  4. ^ Leonardo scores to help Ajax advance
  5. ^ "Alderweireld langer bij Ajax" (in Dutch). De Telegraaf. 22 June 2009. http://www.telegraaf.nl/telesport/voetbal/article4222177.ece. Retrieved 10 October 2009. 
  6. ^ Zwartkruis, Simon (September 30, 2009). "'Wij hebben de beste selctie van Nederland'". Voetbal International. 
  7. ^ "Jol: 'Vertonghen en Alderweireld, dat ziet iedereen'" (in Dutch). Gazet van Antwerpen. 17 October 2009. http://www.gva.be/nieuws/sport/video/extern-jol-vertonghen-en-alderweireld-dat-ziet-iedereen.aspx. Retrieved 27 October 2009. 
  8. ^ Coerts, Stefan (13 October 2009), Ajax Coach Martin Jol Praises Jan Vertonghen And Toby Alderweireld, Goal.com, http://www.goal.com/en/news/462/netherlands/2009/09/30/1532572/ajax-coach-martin-jol-praises-jan-vertonghen-and-toby, retrieved 30 September 2009 
  9. ^ Report: SC Heracles Almelo vs Ajax Amsterdam
  10. ^ "Supporters Ajax eren Suarez". Telegraaf.nl. 2010-04-18. http://www.telegraaf.nl/telesport/voetbal/6550355/__Supporters_Ajax_eren_Suarez__.html. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 
  11. ^ "Ajax's Alderweireld thrives on art of defending". UEFA.com by Berend Scholten. 2011-02-05. http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/association=ned/news/newsid=1590396.html. Retrieved 2011-02-05. 
Awards
Preceded by
Gregory van der Wiel		 AFC Ajax Talent of the year
2009–10		 Succeeded by
Christian Eriksen
AFC Ajax – current squad