Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
former professional footballer who played as a
right-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
.
Van Zanten was born in Ireland to a Dutch father and an Irish mother. Despite being born in Ireland, van Zanten has played his entire senior career in Scotland after signing for
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
in 1999 from
Tolka Rovers
Tolka Rovers F.C. are an amateur Irish football club based in Glasnevin, Dublin. They play in the Leinster Senior League. They play at Frank Cooke Park and wear red shirts with white sleeves. The club's junior teams play at Johnstown Park.
...
. After leaving Celtic at the age of 21, van Zanten signed for St Mirren; he made almost 200 appearances for the Paisley side. He subsequently played for Hibernian,
Greenock Morton
Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Green ...
and
Hamilton Academical
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scotti ...
, before returning to St Mirren in 2010. He made over 130 appearances in his second spell with the Buddies, before moving on to
Dumbarton
Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990.
Dumbarton was the ca ...
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, van Zanten began his career with
Tolka Rovers
Tolka Rovers F.C. are an amateur Irish football club based in Glasnevin, Dublin. They play in the Leinster Senior League. They play at Frank Cooke Park and wear red shirts with white sleeves. The club's junior teams play at Johnstown Park.
...
before joining
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
in 1999. He spent three seasons with Celtic but failed to make any first team appearances and he was freed in 2003.
Van Zanten joined St Mirren after impressing their
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
Easter Road
Easter Road is a association football, football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian F.C., Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity ...
Glasgow Evening Times
The ''Glasgow Times'' is an evening tabloid newspaper published Monday to Saturday in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Called ''The Evening Times'' from 1876, it was rebranded as the ''Glasgow Times'' on 4 December 2019.Hibernian in the summer of 2008. Van Zanten struggled for form during his first season with Hibs, and was frequently replaced at
right back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
by
Sol Bamba
Souleymane Bamba (born 13 January 1985) is a professional footballer who last played for club Middlesbrough and the Ivorian national team as a centre-back.
Bamba started his career in his native France with Paris Saint-Germain, but failed to ...
centre back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...
. Towards the end of the season, van Zanten admitted that he had been "disappointed with my performances" and went on to say that it was probably the worst time to lose form, as he had just joined a new club. He was released by Hibs on 1 September 2009.
After his release from Hibs, van Zanten (along with another former Hibee Alan Reid) appeared on trial for
Greenock Morton
Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Green ...
against Partick Thistle in November 2009. After the game, he was signed on a permanent contract until January 2010. He scored his first goal for Morton in a 4–2 win over Airdrieonians.
It was confirmed on 8 January 2010 that van Zanten had signed a contract with
SPL
SPL may refer to:
Association football
* Saudi Professional League
* Scottish Premier League
* SportPesa Premier League, Kenya
* Singapore Premier League
* RoboCup Standard Platform League, matches between autonomous robots
Computing Program ...
side
Hamilton Academical
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scotti ...
.
Van Zanten made his début against former club Hibernian in a 5–1 defeat, providing an assist for his team's only goal. After the 2009–10 SPL season, Van Zanten was released from his contract.
Hamilton, St Mirren, Dumbarton & Airdrie
Van Zanten returned to St Mirren in June 2010, becoming
Danny Lennon
Danny Lennon (born 6 April 1969) is a Scottish football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Scottish League One club Clyde.
In his playing career he is best known for his spells at Raith Rovers and Partick Thistle. ...
's first signing as Saints
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
. He signed a one-year extension to this contract in April 2012. After appearing regularly during the 2012–13 season, van Zanten exercised an option to extend his contract for another year. He scored his first and only goal for the club in a 4–3 win at
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...
.
On 19 May 2014 it was announced that van Zanten would not be offered a new contract, and would be leaving the club after making 332 appearances and scoring 8 goals in all competitions. On 24 June Van Zanten joined Dumbarton. He left the club in May the following year having made 23 appearances in an injury ravaged season. After leaving Dumbarton, van Zanten signed for
Scottish League One
The Scottish League One, known as cinch League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League One was ...
side Airdrieonians. After only 12 appearances for the Diamonds, van Zanten left Airdrieonians by mutual consent in February 2016.
Honours
;St Mirren
*
Scottish Football League First Division
The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013.
History
The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as t ...
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...
:
2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
*
Renfrewshire Cup
The Renfrewshire Cup was an annual association football competition between teams in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The final was generally a Renfrewshire derby contested between the two largest team ...