Benjamin van den Broek

Benjamin van den Broek
Personal information
Full nameBenjamin van den Broek
Date of birth21 September 1987
Place of birthGeleen, Limburg, Netherlands
Height1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current team
Universitatea Cluj
Number8
Youth career
Unitas '59
–1998ESV
1998–2003FC Eindhoven
2003–2008NAC Breda
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2008–2010Haarlem57(10)
2010–2011Shrewsbury Town22(1)
2011–2015FC Den Bosch117(16)
2015–Universitatea Cluj4(0)
National team‡
2015–New Zealand1(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 June 2014 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 31 March 2015

Benjamin van den Broek (born 21 September 1987) is a footballer who plays as a midfielder for Romanian club Universitatea Cluj. Born in the Netherlands, he represents New Zealand at international level.

Club career

He started his career with NAC Breda, but made no Eredivisie appearances for the club. In 2008 he moved to HFC Haarlem, where he made 57 appearances in the Eerste Divisie, scoring 10 goals.

After Haarlem went bust in January 2010, Van den Broek was left without a club. Despite attracting interest from Lierse SK of Belgium and FC Den Bosch,[1] he signed for English League Two club Shrewsbury Town on 12 February until the end of the season.[2] He made his debut on 6 March, replacing Jamie Cureton for the last 25 minutes of a 0–3 defeat at Grimsby Town.[3] His first start came a week later in his first game at the New Meadow, lasting 73 minutes before being replaced by Steve Leslie in a 0–1 defeat to Rochdale.[4] He scored his only goal for the club in a 2–3 home defeat against Morecambe on 1 May.[5] Later that month, he signed a new one-year contract.[6]

He signed a contract with Dutch club Den Bosch in spring 2011. On 2 February 2015, Van den Broek signed with Romanian Liga I side Universitatea Cluj.[7]

International career

On 8 March 2015, Van den Broek was called into the New Zealand national football team to play a friendly against South Korea by coach Anthony Hudson. He qualified through his mother, who is from New Zealand.[8] He made his debut in the match in Seoul on 31 March, replacing Bill Tuiloma for the final ten minutes of a 0–1 defeat.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Town go Dutch with midfield ace". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  2. ↑ "Shrewsbury sign Benjamin van den Broek". BBC Sport. 13 February 2010. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  3. ↑ "Grimsby 3 - 0 Shrewsbury". BBC Sport. 6 March 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Shrewsbury 0 - 1 Rochdale". BBC Sport. 13 March 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "Shrewsbury 2–3 Morecambe". BBC News. 1 May 2010.
  6. ↑ "Benjamin van den Broek staying at Shrewsbury Town". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  7. ↑ Groenendijk haalt weer twee oude bekenden naar Cluj (Dutch). Voetbal International. 2 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "New-look All Whites squad named for Korea trip". Radio New Zealand. 8 March 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "Late winner hurts All Whites". New Zealand Football. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2015.

External links