David van Zanten

David van Zanten
Personal information
Full nameDavid van Zanten
Date of birth8 May 1982
Place of birthDublin, Ireland
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing positionRight back
Club information
Current team
Dumbarton
Number2
Youth career
1998–1999Tolka Rovers
1999–2003Celtic
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2003–2008St. Mirren166(7)
2008–2009Hibernian30(0)
2009Greenock Morton6(1)
2010Hamilton Academical6(0)
2010–2014St. Mirren113(1)
2014–Dumbarton19(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:06 24 January 2015 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

David van Zanten (born 8 May 1982, in Dublin) is an Irish professional association football player who plays for Dumbarton. He was born in Ireland to a Dutch father and an Irish mother. Despite being born in Ireland, van Zanten has played his entire senior career in Scotland after signing for Celtic in 1999 from Tolka Rovers.

After leaving Celtic at the age of 21, van Zanten signed for St. Mirren; he made almost 200 appearances for the Paisley side. He subsequently played for Hibernian, Greenock Morton and Hamilton Academical, before returning to St. Mirren in 2010.

Career

Early career

Van Zanten began his career with Tolka Rovers before joining Celtic in 1999. He spent three seasons with Celtic but failed to make any first team appearances and he was freed in 2003.

St. Mirren

Van Zanten joined St. Mirren after impressing their manager John Coughlin in a trial match at Easter Road.[1] He helped St Mirren win promotion to the Scottish Premier League in 2006.[2]

Hibernian

On 6 May 2008 it was reported by the Glasgow Evening Times that van Zanten had made a pre-contract agreement to sign for SPL rivals Hibernian in the summer of 2008.[3][4] Van Zanten struggled for form during his first season with Hibs, and was frequently replaced at right back by Sol Bamba and Darren McCormack, who are more accustomed to playing at centre back.[5] Towards the end of the season, van Zanten admitted that he had been "disappointed with my performances" and went on to say that it was probably the worst time to lose form, as he had just joined a new club.[5] He was released by Hibs on 1 September 2009.[6]

Greenock Morton

After his release from Hibs, van Zanten (along with another former Hibee Alan Reid) appeared on trial for Greenock Morton against Partick Thistle in November 2009. After the game he was signed on a permanent contract until January 2010.[7]

Hamilton Academical

It was confirmed on 8 January 2010 that van Zanten had signed a contract with SPL side Hamilton Academical.[8] Van Zanten made his début against former club Hibernian in a 5–1 defeat, providing an assist for his team's only goal. After the 2009–10 SPL season, Van Zanten was released from his contract.[9]

St. Mirren

Van Zanten returned to St. Mirren in June 2010, becoming Danny Lennon's first signing as Saints manager.[10] He signed a one year extension to this contract in April 2012.[11] After appearing regularly during the 2012–13 season, van Zanten exercised an option to extend his contract for another year.[12]

On 19 May 2014 it was announced that van Zanten would not be offered a new contract, and would be leaving the club after making 332 appearances and scoring 8 goals in all competitions.[13][14]

Dumbarton

On June the 24th Van Zanten joined Dumbarton.[15]

Honours

St. Mirren

References

  1. ↑ "Van Zanten heads for happy hunting ground". The Scotsman. 8 May 2008.
  2. ↑ "Van Zanten signs new Saints deal". BBC Sport. 17 May 2006.
  3. ↑ St Mirren boss confirmed Van Zanten will join Hibs on a pre-contract, Evening Times, 6 May 2008
  4. ↑ Hibs snatch defender Van Zanten, BBC Sport, 6 May 2008.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Split screen action not quite fair". Sunday Herald. 19 April 2009.
  6. ↑ Player update, hibs.co.uk, 1 September 2009
  7. ↑ "Morton bring in Van Zanten until January". Greenock Telegraph. 10 November 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
  8. ↑ "Van Zanten signs". Hamilton Accies. 8 January 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
  9. ↑ "BBC Sport – Football – Hamilton Accies part with 11 players". BBC News. 12 May 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  10. ↑ Barnes, John (10 June 2010). "Defender David van Zanten seals second St Mirren spell". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  11. ↑ "David Van Zanten wins new St Mirren contract". BBC Sport. BBC. 10 April 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  12. ↑ "David van Zanten signs new contract with St Mirren". BBC Sport. BBC. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  13. ↑ "St Mirren: David Van Zanten announces Buddies exit". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  14. ↑ "David van Zanten – A Saints Career". www.saintmirren.net. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  15. ↑ http://www.dumbartonfootballclub.com/news/?mode=view&id=1406

External links