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Andy van der Meijde, anglicised to van der Meyde (; born 30 September 1979) is a Dutch former professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who played as a winger. After making a name for himself at
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...
, he went on to represent
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...
and Everton, his spell at the latter club being cut short due to several problems, both on and off the pitch. A full international between 2002 and 2004, he won 17
caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
and scored one goal for the Dutch national team. He represented his country at
UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...
.


Club career


Ajax

Born in
Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...
,
Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...
, Van der Meyde signed for
AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...
as a youngster, and made his first-team debut aged just 18, helping to a 1–0 win against
FC Twente Football Club Twente () is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, sometimes known internationally as Twente Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub Enschede with Enschedese Bo ...
on 12 November 1997. In 1999, in order to gain experience, he was loaned to Twente for one season, and was an undisputed starter for a side that finished sixth in the
Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...
. It would be in 2001–02 that Van der Meyde established himself as first-choice at Ajax. After a turbulent start,
Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is the younger brother of his former international teammate Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman. Koeman was cap ...
was instated as head coach, and the player became an integral part in the rebuilding of the team, making the right-winger position his own. The campaign ended in huge success as the
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
club conquered the double, with him scoring five times in the league. In 2002–03 Van der Meyde – playing alongside the likes of youngsters as Mido,
Zlatan Ibrahimović Zlatan Ibrahimović (, ; born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a striker for club AC Milan and the Sweden national team. Ibrahimović is renowned for his acrobatic strikes and volleys, powerful long-range sho ...
,
Rafael van der Vaart Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart (born 11 February 1983) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, and is currently the assistant manager of Danish 2nd Division club Esbjerg fB. Van der Vaart began his c ...
,
Wesley Sneijder Wesley Sneijder (; born 9 June 1984) is a Dutch retired professional footballer. Due to his elite playmaking ability, Sneijder was considered one of the best midfielders in the world during his prime. A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, he st ...
,
Steven Pienaar Steven Jerome Pienaar (; born 17 March 1982) is a South African former professional footballer and current assistant coach of the U18 team of the Ajax Youth Academy. He was a captain of the South African national team. He primarily played as ...
and
Cristian Chivu Cristian Eugen Chivu (; born 26 October 1980) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Inter Milan's under-19 side. A defender, he began his career with hometown club CSM Reșița before moving to ...
– scored a career-best 11 goals, while also helping Ajax to the quarterfinals in the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
, netting in a crucial 1–1 away draw against
A.S. Roma ' (''Rome Sport Association''), commonly referred to as Roma (), is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its existence, except for ...
which certified the team's qualification for the knockout stages.


Inter Milan

In the 2003 off-season, 24-year-old Van der Meyde was acquired by
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...
from Italy, for £4 million. However, he managed only 14
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
appearances in his first season, appearing slightly more in the following campaign. Van der Meyde scored a spectacular goal against
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
on 17 September 2003, in the Champions League group stage 3–0 away win at
Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was situ ...
, as Inter were eventually ousted in the group stages.


Everton

After leaving Inter, strong speculation suggested Van der Meyde would return to Ajax, with additional reported interest from French club
AS Monaco FC Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Fre ...
and
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
in England. However, on 31 August 2005, he agreed a contract with another
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
team, Everton, for £2 million; on 25 March 2006, in his first
Merseyside derby The Merseyside derby is the football matches between Everton and Liverpool, the two primary clubs in Liverpool, England. Named after the county of Merseyside, in which Liverpool is located, it is the longest running top-flight derby in England ...
against
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, he received a straight
red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...
for his challenge on Liverpool's
Xabi Alonso Xabier Alonso Olano (, ; born 25 November 1981) is a Spanish football coach and former professional player who is currently the head coach of Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. Alonso began his career at Real Sociedad, the main team of his hom ...
, in a 1–3 away loss. In the summer of 2006, Van der Meyde proved once again to be the centre of much speculation regarding his future, having failed to properly settle at Everton and making only ten appearances in his first season thanks to a combination of injuries and rumours of alcoholism. He staunchly denied any such allegations and reaffirmed his commitment in June 2006, stating
"I want to stay, I am desperate to stay. I love it here. Everything suits my game. I'm happy in England and I want to show everyone that I can really play football. If I get the chance next season, I will do it."
Van der Meyde was admitted to hospital in the early hours of 7 August 2006, with breathing problems. It was claimed that his drink had been spiked whilst in a bar in Liverpool. He was fined by Everton for breach of discipline and, to further add to a miserable week, his house was burgled during a friendly with
Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...
five days later: his
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
,
Mini Cooper Mini Cooper may refer to: *Cars of the original Mini series called the "Mini Cooper", made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors 1961–1971, and 1990–2000 *Cars of the Mini (marque), including a number of different models produced ...
, and dog were amongst the items stolen. The cars and pet dog were later found, although the Ferrari had its windscreen smashed. In March 2007, the player accused manager
David Moyes David William Moyes ( ; born 25 April 1963) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. He is currently the manager of Premier League club West Ham United. He was previously the manager of Preston North End, Everton, Manches ...
of telling 'downright lies' in regard to his fitness, but apologised afterwards. In July 2007, Van der Meyde played a full 90 minutes in
Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. In arguably his most successful pre-season at the club, he went on to complete several friendly matches in an attempt to gain fitness ahead of the new domestic league campaign. However, he further cast a doubt over his Everton future by failing to turn up for a scheduled training session. On 17 August 2007, Van der Meyde was suspended following a 'breach of club discipline' because he had failed to appear at training, being fined two weeks' wages for a total of £50,000. The player appealed for "understanding from the club and fans" due to the personal situation he was facing, with his five-month-old daughter Dolce not being allowed to leave the hospital since her birth due to illness; following this, he did not make an appearance for the main squad for over a year, being limited to just
reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...
football. Van der Meyde returned to first-team football on 7 December 2008, playing five minutes for an injury-hit Everton side in a 2–3 home defeat to
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
. The following month, he was brought on as a substitute in the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
fourth round replay against Liverpool, providing the
assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...
to
Dan Gosling Daniel Gosling (born 1 February 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder, right midfielder or right fullback for EFL Championship club Watford. Gosling is a versatile player, having operated as a box-to-box ...
's winning strike in the 118th minute; he was released in June 2009, after his contract expired.


Later years

Van der Meyde spent six months unattached before agreeing a short-term deal with
PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, whi ...
in March 2010. On 23 April he made his debut for the club in a 3–0 friendly win over
VVV-Venlo VVV-Venlo (, ''VVV'' stands for ''Venlose Voetbal Vereniging'' meaning "Venlo Football Club") is a Dutch football club from Venlo, a city on the border with Germany. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following ...
, but failed to appear officially during his stint. In late February 2011, Van der Meyde retired from professional football at the age of 31. However, in December, he returned to action and joined
Topklasse The Derde Divisie (; en, Third Division), formerly known as Topklasse (; en, Top Class), is the fourth tier of football in the Netherlands, which had its inaugural season as a third tier in 2010–11 and as a fourth tier in 2016–17. The league ...
amateurs
WKE WKE (Woonwagenkamp Emmen ( en, Emmen Trailer Park)) is a association football, football club from Emmen, Netherlands, Emmen, Netherlands. WKE was founded on June 14, 1966 by residents of the local trailer park. The club won promotion to the Hoo ...
based in Emmen, until the end of the season.


International career

On 19 May 2002, Van der Meyde was handed his debut for
Dick Advocaat Dirk Nicolaas Advocaat (; born 27 September 1947) is a Dutch former football player and coach who is currently the head coach of Eerste Divisie side ADO Den Haag. Advocaat was successful as a football player and as a coach, including three sti ...
's Dutch national team against the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, which he marked with a goal in a 2–0 win. He helped the country reach the semi-finals of
UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...
, featuring in four games – all starts – and assisting
Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (anglicised to Van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of PSV Eindhoven. A former footballer, Van Nistelrooy is often consi ...
in the 1–1 group stage draw to
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, but being overlooked for the last-four match against
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. After the tournament, following
Marco van Basten Marcel "Marco" van Basten (; born 31 October 1964) is a Dutch football manager and retired professional player, who played for Ajax and AC Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team, as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pl ...
's appointment as national team manager and the emergence of youngsters as
Arjen Robben Arjen Robben (; born 23 January 1984) is a Dutch former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Winger (football), winger. He was known for his Dribbling#Association football, dribbling skills, speed, ball control and long ...
,
Robin van Persie Robin van Persie (; born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former professional footballer who played as a striker. Regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, Van Persie was known for his excellent technique and ball co ...
and
Rafael van der Vaart Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart (born 11 February 1983) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, and is currently the assistant manager of Danish 2nd Division club Esbjerg fB. Van der Vaart began his c ...
, Van der Meyde failed to receive another callup, finishing his international career with 17
caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
.


Personal life

Van der Meyde was married, a relationship from which he had two daughters. In November 2012, following the publication of his biography ''Geen genade'' (English: ''No Mercy''), Van der Meyde gave a series of media interviews, including with ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' in England, in which he admitted to a long term series of personal problems: after a difficult first year in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
he spent a long time on the bench in his second year, and began drinking. Offered the chance to join AS Monaco at the end of the season his wife, who liked to keep animals, rejected the prospect of living in an apartment, so he moved to Everton. Injured upon arriving, he played regularly for a period after regaining fitness, before getting injured against
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
; in rehabilitation for six months, after his newly born daughter was hospitalised for an equal period, he again turned to alcohol. In his second year at Everton, Van der Meyde's wife and daughters returned to the Netherlands to enable his youngest child to have access to hospital treatment and to maintain close ties with family members. Van der Meyde began an affair, which his wife discovered after she paid a private detective to follow his activities; this resultantly lead to his divorce, and also a break-up with his girlfriend. After his contract with Everton was terminated at the end of the fourth season due to recurring injuries, personal problems, and falling out with manager
David Moyes David William Moyes ( ; born 25 April 1963) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. He is currently the manager of Premier League club West Ham United. He was previously the manager of Preston North End, Everton, Manches ...
, Van der Meyde remained as a resident of Liverpool for a year. Moving in with a friend he began a downward spiral of drink, excessive gambling and drug taking, including
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
. Realising his now depressive state, Van der Meyde agreed with his agent to return to Amsterdam, who negotiated a training agreement with former club Ajax. This allowed him to turn around his life, and regain contact with his ex-wife and daughters. On 24 May 2014, Van der Meyde refereed the Lingerie World Cup, which the Netherlands won on home soil.


Career statistics


Club

:Source:


International

International goals


Honours

Ajax *
Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...
: 1997–98, 2001–02 *
KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...
: 1997–98, 1998–99, 2001–02 *
Johan Cruijff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer 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 footbal ...
: 2002; Runner-up 1998, 1999 Inter *
Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
: 2004–05


References


External links


Beijen profile


* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meyde, Andy van der 1979 births Living people Footballers from Arnhem Dutch footballers Association football wingers Eredivisie players Derde Divisie players AFC Ajax players FC Twente players PSV Eindhoven players WKE players Serie A players Inter Milan players Premier League players Everton F.C. players Netherlands international footballers UEFA Euro 2004 players Dutch expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in England Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Italy Dutch expatriate sportspeople in England