Jump to content

Thomas Vermaelen: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
South Bay (talk | contribs)
4,190 edits
restoring deleted content
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Infobox Football biography 2
{{Infobox Football biography 2
| playername = Thomas Vermaelen
| playername = Thomas Vermaelen
| image = [[File:90968921.jpg|290px]]
| image = [[File:Thomas-vermaelen-3.jpg|290px]]
| caption = Vermaelen.
| dateofbirth = {{birth date and age|1985|11|14|df=y}}
| dateofbirth = {{birth date and age|1985|11|14|df=y}}
| cityofbirth = [[Kapellen, Belgium|Kapellen]]
| cityofbirth = [[Kapellen, Belgium|Kapellen]]

Revision as of 04:54, 15 March 2010

Thomas Vermaelen
Personal information
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre back
Team information
Current team
 Arsenal
Number 5
Youth career
0000–1999 Germinal Ekeren
1999–2000 Germinal Beerschot
2000–2003 Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2009 Ajax 94 (8)
2004–2005 → RKC Waalwijk (loan) 13 (3)
2009– Arsenal 30 (7)
International career‡
2006– Belgium 23 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:51, 6 March 2010 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15:51, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

Thomas Vermaelen (born 14 November 1985) is a Belgian footballer, who currently plays for Arsenal as a defender. He started playing professionally for Ajax before moving to Arsenal in June 2009. Despite being only six feet tall, a relatively unimposing height for a centre-half, Vermaelen is known for his aerial ability; Vermaelen also possesses an eye for goal in spite of his naturally defensive position.

Club career

Early career

Vermaelen started his career in his home country at Germinal Ekeren, which later changed its name to Germinal Beerschot after a merge.

Ajax

Vermaelen with Ajax

In 2000 he joined the academy of Dutch club Ajax. He made his professional debut on 15 February 2004 in a 2–0 away win over Volendam. It was however the only match he played during the season in which Ajax won the Eredivisie championship. He was sent on loan to RKC Waalwijk for the 2004–05 season. At RKC he was not a first team regular, but made thirteen appearances in which he scored two goals.

His breakthrough came when he returned to Ajax and won the KNVB Cup. Performances that season resulted in a call-up to the Belgium national football team. Ajax won the Johan Cruijff Shield and another KNVB Cup the following season and in 2007, they won the Johan Cruijff Shield for the second consecutive time.[2] He forged a partnership with fellow academy graduate John Heitinga and later Jan Vertonghen when Heitinga left for Spain. Following the departure of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in mid-season, Vermaelen served as captain of Ajax for the remainder of the 2008–09 season.

Arsenal

Vermaelen joined Arsenal from Ajax for an initial fee of €10 million, rising to €12 million on 19 June 2009.[3][4] as first choice partner to William Gallas in central defence, with Kolo Touré later joining Manchester City.[5]

Vermaelen with Andrei Arshavin in pre-season training

On 15 August against Everton, Vermaelen scored on his Premier League debut, heading an inswinging Robin Van Persie free-kick past Tim Howard in the 37th minute[6] and then scored the equalizer in the 16 September Champions League clash against Standard Liège that ended in a 3-2 win. Although having only signed for the Gunners in July, his solid performances earned plaudits, especially from Arsène Wenger who admitted that he was "surprised" at how quickly the Belgian has settled in the Arsenal defence.[7] On 19 September 2009, Vermaelen scored the first two goals in Arsenal's 4–0 win over Wigan at the Emirates.[8] On 4 October 2009, he scored again, during a 6–2 win over Blackburn Rovers at the Emirates, his fifth of the season.[9][10] Fans on arsenal.com voted him as their player of the month twice in a row. In recognition for his contributions, he was named as a nominee for the Belgian Sportsman of the year award.[11]

Vermaelen scored in Arsenal's 3-1 loss to Manchester United in January 2010, which was his seventh goal for the club in all competitions in just half a season. He was also able to score his eighth goal of the season in Arsenal's crucial 3–1 victory against Stoke on 27th February 2010.

International career

A former youth international, Vermaelen had participated in the U-19 Championships and the 2007 U-21 European Championships. He made his senior debut for Belgium at age 20 against Luxembourg in March 2006. On 8 October 2009, he was named Belgium captain[12] prior to the games against Turkey and Estonia in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers but could not prevent the Belgians from finishing fourth in their group. He was recalled to squad for the 14 November friendly against Hungary and scored his first goal for his country by tapping in a Eden Hazard cross.[13]

Club career statistics

(correct as of 6 March 2010)
Club Season League Cup[14] Europe Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
Netherlands Ajax 2003–04 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Netherlands RKC Waalwijk (loan) 2004–05 13 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 3 0
Netherlands Ajax 2005–06 29 2 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 34 2 0
2006–07 24 0 0 3 0 0 7 0 0 34 0 0
2007–08 20 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 22 1 0
2008–09 31 4 0 0 0 0 9 1 0 40 5 0
Total 118 10 0 3 0 0 23 1 0 144 11 0
England Arsenal 2009–10 30 7 1 1 0 0 9 1 1 40 8 2
Total 30 7 1 1 0 0 9 1 1 40 8 2
Career total 148 17 1 4 0 0 32 2 1 184 19 2

Honours

Ajax

References

  1. ^ "Factfile: Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen". Arsenal.com. Arsenal. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
  2. ^ "VZ: De transferobjecten van de Eredivisie". Voetbalzone.nl. Voetbalzone. 2009-06-08. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
  3. ^ "Thomas Vermaelen joins Arsenal". Ajax.nl. Ajax. 2009-06-19. Retrieved 2009-06-19.
  4. ^ "Thomas Vermaelen completes move to Arsenal". Arsenal.com. Arsenal. 2009-06-19. Retrieved 2009-06-19.
  5. ^ "Thomas Vermaelen's seamless transition augurs well for Arsenal's defence". The Guardian newspaper. 20 August 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
  6. ^ "Everton 1–6 Arsenal". BBC.co.uk. BBC. 2009-08-15. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  7. ^ "Arsène Wenger admits surprise over Thomas Vermaelen impact for Arsenal". guardian.co.uk. 19 August 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
  8. ^ "Arsenal 4–0 Wigan". BBC.co.uk. BBC. 2009-09-19. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
  9. ^ Arsenal 6-2 Blackburn Rovers - Fabregas dismantles Rovers
  10. ^ "Premier League: Arsenal 6-2 Blackburn Rovers". guardian.co.uk. 4 October 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
  11. ^ "65 nominés pour les 4 plus prestigieux prix du sport" (in French). lalibre.be. 9 November 2009.
  12. ^ "Vermaelen is de nieuwe kapitein van de Rode Duivels" (in Dutch). De Morgen Voetbal. 8 October 2009.
  13. ^ "Diables Rouges - Quelle équipe samedi contre la Hongrie?" (in French). lalibre.be. 13 November 2009.
  14. ^ Includes FA Cup, League Cup and FA Community Shield.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas Vermaelen.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_Vermaelen&oldid=349947023"