Michel Vorm

Michel Vorm

Vorm in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Michel Armand Vorm
Date of birth	(1983-10-20) 20 October 1983
Place of birth	IJsselstein, Netherlands
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Swansea City
Number	1
Youth career
	JSV Nieuwegein
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005–2011	Utrecht	136	(0)
2005–2006	→ Den Bosch (loan)	35	(0)
2011–	Swansea City	89	(0)
International career‡
2008–	Netherlands	14	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 May 2014 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21 October 2013

Michel Armand Vorm (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmiʃɛl ˈvɔrm]; born 20 October 1983) is a Dutch football goalkeeper, currently playing for Swansea City. He is renowned for his remarkable penalty saving abilities, earning him the nickname 'penalty killer'.

Club career

FC Utrecht

Vorm began his career at FC Utrecht. In order to gain more experience, he spent the 2005-06 season on loan to FC Den Bosch. He made his debut on 12 August 2005 against FC Emmen, the first of 35 appearances that season.

In August 2006, Vorm made his debut for Utrecht against Willem II. Although he joined FC Utrecht as the third-choice goalkeeper, behind Franck Grandel and Joost Terol, his pre-season performances impressed manager Foeke Booy, and saw him promoted to first choice 'keeper at the start of the league season. During this first season Vorm played 33 out of 34 games, and his position as number one at the club remained unchallenged thereafter. Vorm missed a handful matches during the 2007–08 season due to knee and shoulder injuries. He left Utrecht at the start of the 2011–12 season, having played 136 games in the Eredivisie.

Swansea City

In August 2011, Vorm joined Swansea City for a fee of around £1.5 million. He took the vacant number 1 shirt and made his debut for the club against Manchester City on 15 August 2011 in a 4–0 defeat. Although he conceded four goals, he also made eleven saves – more than any other Premier League goalkeeper, in a single game, in the whole of the 2011–12 season. In his second match for Swansea against Wigan Athletic, on 20 August, Vorm saved a 72nd minute penalty from Wigan's Ben Watson, to give Swansea their first ever point in the Premier League. On 6 November 2011, Vorm arguably saved Swansea from defeat against Liverpool and earned them the draw at Anfield by pulling off two outstanding saves to earn the clean sheet. On 10 December, Vorm was instrumental in Swansea's 2–0 win over Fulham as he again saved a penalty, with Swansea 1–0 up, in the 87th minute from Fulham's Clint Dempsey.

During his first season with Swansea he helped keep 13 clean sheets in 37 league appearances. His performances were so impressive that he won three awards at the club’s end-of-season dinner – Supporters’ Player of the Year, Players’ Player and the Away Player awards.

On 27 September 2012, Vorm signed a new four-year contract with Swansea. On 28 October 2012, Vorm was ruled out for up to eight weeks due to a groin injury picked up in a game against Manchester City. On 3 November 2013, in the South Wales derby against Cardiff City, Vorm was shown a straight red card by referee Mike Dean for a stoppage time foul on Fraizer Campbell. The game ended 1-0 to Cardiff City.

International career

In 2006 he was a member of the Netherlands squad that won the UEFA U-21 Championship 2006 in Portugal.

Vorm played his first match for the senior national team in 2008. He made his debut in the starting lineup on 5 September 2009 in a friendly home match against Japan (3–0 win), followed up four days later by an impressive performance at Hampden Park during the World Cup qualifier Scotland – Netherlands, a match won by the Netherlands with 0–1. The match at Hampden Park was Vorm's first competitive game ever outside the Netherlands.

2010 World Cup

Vorm was included in the preliminary squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. On 27 May 2010, Netherlands manager Bert van Marwijk announced that the player would be part of the final squad of 23 participating in the FIFA World Cup. Before the start of the competition he was allowed to fly back to the Netherlands. During the World Cup, Vorm's girlfriend Daisy delivered a son, Jaivy Waylon. The Dutch goalkeeper returned home for two days following his son's birth.

Euro 2012

Vorm was included in the Netherlands squad for Euro 2012. Maarten Stekelenburg was Bert van Marwijk's first choice in goal, playing all three games for Netherlands from start to finish.

2014 World Cup

For the [[2014 FIFA World Cup], Louis van Gaal included Vorm in the Netherlands squad, alongside young Ajax talent Jasper Cillessen who was first choice in goal and Newcastle United's Tim Krul.

Honours

Club

Swansea City

• League Cup: 2012–13

Country

• 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Career statistics

As of 3 May 2014

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Netherlands			League		KNVB Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
2005–06	FC Den Bosch (loan)	Eerste Divisie	35	0	-		-		-		35	0
2006–07	FC Utrecht	Eredivisie	33	0	4	0	-		-		37	0
2007–08			11	0	-		-		-		11	0
2008–09			26	0	1	0	-		—		27	0
2009–10			33	0	1	0	—		—		34	0
2010–11			32	0	5	0	—		9	0	46	0
2011–12			1	0	—		—		—		1	0
Total	Netherlands		171	0	11	0	—		9	0	191	0
England			League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
2011–12	Swansea City	Premier League	37	0	—		—		—		37	0
2012–13			26	0	2	0	—		—		28	0
2013–14			26	0	0	0	—		4	0	30	0
Total	England		89	0	2	0	—		4	0	95	0
Career total			260	0	13	0	—		13	0	286	0

International performance

Dutch national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2008	1	0
2009	2	0
2010	2	0
2011	4	0
2013	2	0
Total	11	0

Statistics accurate as of matches played on 14 August 2013.

External links

• Soccerway Profile
• ESPN Profile
• Michel Vorm at Socqer.com