Michel Kuipers
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michel Kuipers[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 26 June 1974[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Amsterdam, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| ?–1999 | Door Wilskracht Sterk | ? | (?) |
| 1999–2000 | Bristol Rovers | 1 | (0) |
| 2000 | → Chester City (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2000–2010 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 247 | (0) |
| 2003 | → Hull City (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2005 | → Boston United (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2006 | → Boston United (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2010–2013 | Crawley Town | 41 | (0) |
| 2013 | Barnet | 0 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:39, 22 May 2013 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Michel Kuipers (born 26 June 1974) is a Dutch footballer. Prior to football he served with the Dutch Marine Corps.
Life and career
Born in Amsterdam, Kuipers started his footballing career with Door Wilskracht Sterk, before moving to England in 1999 to join Bristol Rovers, where he spent 16 months.[1]
In June 2000 he joined Brighton & Hove Albion on a free transfer, and quickly established himself as number one and became a firm fans' favourite because of his quick reactions, stops and outgoing style. Kuipers suffered several career-threatening injuries during his time at Withdean, being injured in a car crash in 2003,[2] and a severe shoulder injury in 2005.[3]
Kuipers twice left the club on loan during his time at Brighton. He joined Hull City on loan during the 2003–04 season (before his return to Albion and subsequent car crash) and joined Boston United on loan during the 2005–06 season, to regain match fitness after recovering from his shoulder injury. In 2008, he played a big part in Brighton's upset victory against Manchester City in the League Cup, saving Michael Ball's effort in the penalty shoot-out.[4]
In the 2007/08 season he was ever present in the goal playing all 46 league matches.[5] This good form led to a new two-year contract that expired in June 2010.[6] On 19 May 2010, he signed for fellow Sussex club Crawley Town.[7] Kuipers' career with Crawley did not start well, being sent off twice during the first month of the season against Grimsby Town[8] and Forest Green Rovers.[9] He started in Crawley's match against Manchester United F.C.[10] On 25 January 2013, his contract at Crawley was terminated by mutual consent.[11]
On 28 March 2013, Kuipers signed a short-term deal with Barnet until the end of the season.[12] He featured on the bench for all the remaining games that season, but never played with first choice keeper Graham Stack in good form. He was released at the end of the season.[13]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Hugman, Barry J. (2005). The PFA Premier & Football League Players' Records 1946–2005. Queen Anne Press. p. 355. ISBN 1-85291-665-6.
- ↑ "Kuipers injured in car crash.". The Argus. 20 November 2003. Retrieved 14 September 2008.
- ↑ "Sussex help out Albion". Sussex County Cricket Club. 16 February 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2008.
- ↑ Szczepanik, Nick (25 September 2008). "Michel Kuipers the hero as Brighton rock Manchester City". The Times (London). Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ↑ "First Team". Brighton & Hove Alvion F.C. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
- ↑ "Kuipers signs new Seagulls deal". BBC Sport. 3 June 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
- ↑ "Boss lands his Number 1 Target". Crawley Town F.C. 19 May 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
- ↑ "Crawley Town 0–1 Grimsby". BBC Sport. 14 August 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ↑ "Crawley Town 1–0 Forest Green Rovers". BBC Sport. 30 August 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ↑ "Man Utd 1–0 Crawley". BBC Sport. 19 February 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ↑ Goalkeeper Michel Kuipers departs Crawley Town
- ↑ "BARNET SIGN MICHAEL KUIPERS". Barnet F.C. 28 March 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
- ↑ 2013/14 Retained List
External links
- Michael Kuipers profile at the Crawley Town website
- Michel Kuipers career stats at Soccerbase