Maarten Stekelenburg
Encyclopedia
Maarten Stekelenburg (ˈmaːrtə(n) ˈsteːkələ(n)ˌbʏrx; born 22 September 1982 in Haarlem
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...

) is a professional Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 football goalkeeper who plays for Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

 club Roma
A.S. Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...

 and also the Netherlands national football team
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...

.

Stekelenburg is product of the Ajax youth system, where he followed in the footsteps of Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar OON is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper for AFC Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United. He is the most capped player in the Netherlands national football team's history...

, who he succeeded in the Dutch national team, with whom he reached the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...

.

Ajax

Stekelenburg began his career at Zandvoort '75 before joining VV Schoten, which he left for Ajax when he was 15 years old. He made his official debut for Ajax on 24 February 2002, in a game against NAC Breda
NAC Breda
NAC Breda , simply often known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Dutch Eredivisie and are known by the fierce and fanatic support of...

. At the start of the 2002–03 season he won his first prize when Ajax won the Johan Cruijff-schaal
Johan Cruijff-schaal
The Johan Cruijff Schaal is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after legendary Dutch football player Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national football league and the winner of the national...

. In 2004 he and Ajax won the Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....

 championship, having played 10 matches that season.

He became the first goalkeeper at Ajax in the 2005–06 season. In 2006 he won his first KNVB Cup
KNVB Cup
The KNVB Cup is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association since 1899. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside of the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup...

. At the start of the 2006–07 season he won his second Johan Cruijff-schaal, which he helped his team defend the next season, and later on in 2006–07, he won his second KNVB Cup.

Stekelenburg was named Ajax "Player of the Year" for the 2007–08 season
Eredivisie 2007-08
The 2007–08 Eredivisie was the 52nd season of the Eredivisie, the top division of association football in the Netherlands. The season began in August 2007 and ended on 18 May 2008, with defending champions PSV retaining their title with 72 points....

, succeeding Wesley Sneijder
Wesley Sneijder
Wesley Sneijder is a Dutch footballer playing as an attacking midfielder for Internazionale. He was named UEFA midfielder of the season as well as one of the three best midfielders in the world for 2010 by FIFA....

.
During the 2008–09 season
Eredivisie 2008-09
The Eredivisie 2008–09 is the fifty-third season of Eredivisie since its establishment in 1955. PSV were the reigning champions. The season began on 29 August 2008 with a game between Vitesse and FC Groningen and ended on 10 May 2009. A total of 18 teams take part in the league, consisting of 16...

, he lost his place in the goal to Kenneth Vermeer
Kenneth Vermeer
Kenneth Vermeer is a Dutch footballer who plays goalkeeper for AFC Ajax. He has been capped for the Netherlands U-21 team but has so far failed to break into the national team.- Career :...

 due to injuries. He re-established himself as the first-choice keeper under new manager Martin Jol
Martin Jol
Maarten Cornelis "Martin" Jol is a Dutch football manager and former midfielder who currently manages Fulham in the Premier League. Jol played over 400 games during his career which included spells in the Netherlands, Germany, and England, as well as earning three caps with the Dutch national team...

 and subsequently had a very strong season for both Ajax and the Dutch national side. During the 2009-10 season Stekelenburg went on to have a consistent season, playing in all of Ajax's Eredivisie games and Europa League games, after they were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League in the group stages. Stekelenburg unfortunately sustained a finger injury which kept him out for the remainder of the season. He made a total of 51 appearances on the 2010/11 season in all competitions.

After winning the 2010/11 Eredivisie on May 15, 2011, Stekelenburg dropped the trophy while standing on top of the Ajax team coach with Vertonghen. He won Ajax Player of the Year for the second time.

Roma

On August 1, 2011 it was announced that Stekelenburg officially transferred to the Italian club for an estimated €6 million, making him the first Dutch footballer to ever play for Roma. He picked the no. 24 shirt, which is the day his son was born.

International career

Stekelenburg made his international debut for the Netherlands
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...

 on 3 September 2004 against Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein national football team
The Liechtenstein national football team is the national football team of Liechtenstein and is controlled by the Liechtenstein Football Association. The organisation is known as the Liechtensteiner Fussballverband in German. The team's first match was an unofficial match against Malta in Seoul, a...

, whom they beat 3–0.

2006 World Cup

He was called up by then manager Marco van Basten for the squad of the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...

 in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, but he did not play any game during this tournament as Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar OON is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper for AFC Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United. He is the most capped player in the Netherlands national football team's history...

 was first choice.

Euro 2008

Despite his international debut in 2004, Stekelenburg was called up to Marco van Basten's Euro 2008 squad to play as understudy to Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar OON is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper for AFC Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United. He is the most capped player in the Netherlands national football team's history...

. He took part in the Group C match against Romania on 17 June. With Netherlands already having qualified for the quarter finals, coach Marco van Basten fielded a second-string side, to give players like Stekelenburg a game.

In a September 2008 friendly match against Australia, Stekelenburg was sent off after 44 minutes into the first half for fouling Joshua Kennedy
Joshua Kennedy
Joshua Blake Kennedy is an Australian professional football player who plays as a striker for the Australia national association football team and Nagoya Grampus.- Club career :...

. Stekelenburg is the first goalkeeper of the Dutch national side ever to receive a red card.

2010 World Cup

Since the retirement of Edwin van der Sar from the national team, Stekelenburg has been the first-choice keeper under manager Bert van Marwijk
Bert van Marwijk
Bert van Marwijk OON is the coach of the Netherlands national football team. He also played for Go Ahead Eagles, AZ, MVV, Fortuna Sittard, and other clubs, as well as for the Dutch national team. In 1982, he began his transition into coaching, retiring as a player in 1988 and becoming a full time...

. Stekelenburg was included in the preliminary squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...

 in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. On 27 May 2010, van Marwijk announced that he would be part of the final squad of 23 participating in the competition. Stekelenburg helped the Netherlands reach the final of the competition against Spain by making big saves throughout the tournament, memorably the save from Kaká
Kaká
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite , commonly known as Kaká , is a Brazilian football attacking midfielder who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team. Kaká started his footballing career at the age of eight, when he began playing for a local club...

 in the Netherlands 2-1 victory against Brazil in the quarterfinals. Only conceding 6 goals in the whole tournament (2 of them being penalty kick
Penalty kick
A penalty kick is a type of direct free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.Penalty kicks are performed during normal play...

s). Then despite making a number of saves in the final, he ended up on the losing side, conceding the only goal of the game to Andrés Iniesta
Andrés Iniesta
Andrés Iniesta Luján is a Spanish football player. He currently plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, and the Spanish national team....

 in the 116th minute of the match.

Club

Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Ajax 2002–03 9 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 13 0
2003–04 10 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 11 0
2004–05 11 0 1 0 4 0 1 0 17 0
2005–06 27 0 4 0 6 0 4 0 41 0
2006–07 32 0 4 0 9 0 5 0 50 0
2007–08 31 0 1 0 4 0 5 0 41 0
2008–09 12 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 15 0
2009–10
2009–10 Eredivisie
-Personnel and sponsoring:-Managerial changes:-League table:-Results:...

33 0 7 0 10 0 0 0 50 0
2010–11
2010–11 Eredivisie
-Managerial changes:-League table:-Results:...

26 0 4 0 13 0 1 0 43 0
Total 1910220Career total 1910220Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....

 (2): 2003–04, 2010–11
2010–11 Eredivisie
-Managerial changes:-League table:-Results:...

  • KNVB Cup
    KNVB Cup
    The KNVB Cup is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association since 1899. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside of the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup...

     (3): 2005–06, 2006–07, 2009–10
    2009–10 KNVB Cup
    The 2009–10 KNVB Cup was the 92nd season of the Dutch national football knockout tournament. The competition began on 29 August 2009 with the matches of Round 1 and culminated with a double-leg Final on 25 April and 6 May 2010 respectively...

  • Johan Cruijff Shield (4): 2002
    Johan Cruijff-schaal VII
    The match for the Johan Cruijff-schaal VII was held on 11 August 2002 between Eredivisie 2001-02 champions and KNVB Cup 2001-02 winners Ajax and Eredivisie runners-up PSV. Ajax won the match 3–1.-Match details:...

    , 2005
    Johan Cruijff-schaal X
    The match for the Johan Cruijff-schaal X was held on 5 August 2005 between Eredivisie 2004-05 champions and KNVB Cup 2004-05 winners PSV and Eredivisie runners-up Ajax. Ajax won the match 2–1.-Match details:...

    , 2006
    Johan Cruijff-schaal XI
    The match for the Johan Cruijff-schaal XI was held on 13 August 2006 between Eredivisie 2005-06 champions PSV and KNVB Cup 2005-06 winners AFC Ajax. Ajax won the match 3–1.-Match details:...

    , 2007
    Johan Cruijff-schaal XII
    The match for the Johan Cruijff-schaal XII was held on 11 August 2007 between Eredivisie 2006-07 champions PSV and KNVB Cup 2006-07 winners AFC Ajax. Ajax won the match 1–0.-Match details:...


  • International

    Netherlands
    Netherlands national football team
    The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...

    • FIFA World Cup
      FIFA World Cup
      The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

       Runner-up: 2010
      2010 FIFA World Cup
      The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...


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