Kevin Strootman

Kevin Strootman (born 13 February 1990) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a midfielder for Italian club Roma and the Netherlands national football team.^[2]

Club career

Sparta Rotterdam

Born in Ridderkerk, Strootman began his career with Sparta Rotterdam, making his professional debut during the 2007–08 season.^[3] He signed a contract extension with the club in November 2008.^[4] After they were relegated at the end of the 2009–10 Eredivisie season, he played with Sparta in the Eerste Divisie.

Utrecht

In the January transfer window of 2011, Strootman was signed by FC Utrecht.^[5] He played with Utrecht in the second half of the 2010–11 season,^[3] before moving to PSV in June 2011.^[6]

PSV

Strootman was joined at PSV with fellow Utrecht recruit Dries Mertens.^[7] He said about the move, "I could have continued my development at Utrecht, but PSV is one of the top clubs in the Netherlands, where I can quickly become a better player. This was the most logical step. There have been a number of steps in quick succession, but I do not think about it." ^[8] Strootman made his PSV debut in a 3–1 home win against AZ. He made 88 total appearances for the Eindhoven club.

Roma

On 16 July 2013, PSV and Roma finalized a deal for Strootman's transfer to the Italian Serie A side in a deal worth €17 million, with the fee potentially rising to €19 million through add-ons.^[9] He was given the number 6 shirt. After completing the move, Strootman commented to the Gazzetta dello Sport, "I'm really happy to be here. The negotiations went on too long, but I'm finally a Roma player. This is a top club, I joined because I know we can start winning immediately." ^[10]

In a pre-season friendly against the Major League Soccer (MLS) All-Stars, Strootman scored one goal and assisted another as Roma prevailed 3–1 at Sporting Park, Kansas City, Kansas.^[11] He scored his first competitive goal for Roma in 3–1 Serie A victory over Parma. He went on to score in matches against Torino, Atalanta, Milan and Livorno.

On 9 March 2014, Strootman sustained a knee injury in Roma's 1–0 defeat to Napoli which made him miss the remainder of the 2013–14 season and the 2014 FIFA World Cup,^[12] where the Dutch selection finished third.

On 9 November, Strootman made his first appearance for Roma in exactly eight months, appearing as an 84th-minute substitute in a 3–0 defeat of Torino at the Stadio Olimpico.^[13] His first start of the 2014–15 season came in a 2–2 draw with Sassuolo on 7 December.^[14] He assisted the first of captain Francesco Totti's two goals after appearing as a substitute in Roma's 2–2 draw with Lazio in the 175th Derby della Capitale on 12 January 2015.^[15]

On 26 January 2015, Strootman was substituted in a Serie A fixture against Fiorentina after sustaining further damage to his anterior cruciate ligament. Three days later, it was confirmed that the player would again undergo knee surgery.^[16] On 26 August, it was reported that, in spite of failing to make a single appearance in seven months, Strootman's injury required further surgery which sidelined the player for the majority of the 2015–16 Serie A season.^[17] He made his first appearance of the season on 21 February 2016, as a substitute in a 5–0 home defeat of Palermo.^[18] On 2 May, he made his first start in over 15 months, playing the full 90 minutes in Roma's 3–2 win at Genoa.^[19] He ended the season with five appearances, including two starts. His only assist of the season came in a 3–1 final day victory over Milan at the San Siro.^[20]

On 20 August 2016, Strootman captained Roma in the opening match of the 2016–17 Serie A season, a 4–0 home win against Udinese.^[21] In the team's second fixture, he scored his first goal since January 2014 as Roma drew 2–2 at Cagliari.^[22]

On 29 May 2017 Strootman signed a new 5-year contract with the 2017 Serie A runner-up.^[23]

International career

Strootman made his senior international debut for the Netherlands against Austria in 2011^[24] and scored his first international goal against Finland in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier. He was a member of the Netherlands' squad at Euro 2012 but did not appear in any matches as the Dutch were knocked out at the group stage.

He appeared for the Netherlands U21 team at the 2013 UEFA Euro U21 Championship where the team reached the semi-finals, losing to Italy.

Strootman was a regular in Louis van Gaal's side during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign,^[25] but missed the tournament finals due to injury.^[26]

On 27 May 2016, Strootman made his first international appearance in two years after missing both the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the entirety of the team's unsuccessful UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.^[27] He was selected to start in a friendly match against the Republic of Ireland, playing 70 minutes before being substituted for Marco van Ginkel.^[28]

Style of play

Strootman is said to be a tough-tackling midfielder, possessing good vision and balance on the ball.^[5] He is a physical, tactically strong midfielder. He is best used as a central midfielder, often serving as a box-to-box midfielder or a deep-lying playmaker.^[29] He is known as the Dutch Roy Keane, drawing comparisons for his uncompromising style of play.^[30] During his first season with Roma (2013–2014), he earned the nickname la lavatrice, "the washing machine", for his ability to always clean up play.^[31][32]

Career statistics

Club

As of 21 May 2017.^[33]

International

As of 9 June 2017^[33]

Honours

PSV Eindhoven

• KNVB Cup: 2011–12
• Johan Cruijff-schaal: 2012

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kevin Strootman.

• Official Website
• U21 stats at Ons Oranje

Netherlands squad – UEFA Euro 2012
1 Stekelenburg 2 Van der Wiel 3 Heitinga 4 Mathijsen 5 Bouma 6 Van Bommel (c) 7 Kuyt 8 N. de Jong 9 Huntelaar 10 Sneijder 11 Robben 12 Vorm 13 Vlaar 14 Schaars 15 Willems 16 Van Persie 17 Strootman 18 L. de Jong 19 Narsingh 20 Afellay 21 Boulahrouz 22 Krul 23 Van der Vaart Coach: Van Marwijk