Daylon Kayton Claasen (born 28 January 1990) is a South African international

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who last played for

Maritzburg United Maritzburg United is a South African football club based in the city of Pietermaritzburg that currently plays in the Premier Soccer League. Honours *First Division Coastal Stream champions: 2007–08 *First Division Championship Play-offs: 200 ...

, as a winger.

Club career

Born in Klerksdorp, Claasen played youth football with Leicester City Klerksdorp and

Vasco Da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

. He has played professionally in South Africa, the Netherlands and Belgium for

Ajax Cape Town Cape Town Spurs F.C. (formerly known as Ajax Cape Town) is a South African professional football club based in Parow in the city of Cape Town that plays in the National First Division. Dutch Eredivisie club AFC Ajax was their parent club and ...

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 Gree ...

and

Lierse Koninklijke Lierse Sportkring (), often simply known as Lierse, was a Belgian professional football club from the city of Lier in the Antwerp province. Lierse have won four championship titles and two Belgian Cups. Lierse was one of the six ...

. Claasen was released by Lierse in April 2013, and subsequently went on trial with

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 Fo ...

club Everton the same month. Claasen then went on trial with newly promoted

club

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

in July 2013, initially under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

of "James Armstrong" for a match against Winterton Rangers, where he scored one goal, before his actual identity was revealed two days later. On 21 August 2013, he signed a one-year contract with Polish club

Lech Poznań Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional association football, football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation' ...

. In June 2014 he signed a contract with German 2. Bundesliga club 1860 Munich. He scored his first goal for 1860 Munich on 8 August 2015 in the first round of the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...

against

Hoffenheim Hoffenheim () is a village in Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It belongs to the municipality of Sinsheim and, as of 2020, it has a population of 3,191. History The village, settled since prehistoric times, and first mentioned ...

, when he brought his team to a 1–0 lead in the 51st minute.

International career

Claasen made his international debut for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Claasen, Daylon 1990 births Living people People from Klerksdorp Association football midfielders South African soccer players South Africa international soccer players Vasco da Gama (South Africa) players Cape Town Spurs F.C. players AFC Ajax players Lierse S.K. players Lech Poznań players TSV 1860 Munich players Bidvest Wits F.C. players Maritzburg United F.C. players Belgian Pro League players Ekstraklasa players 2. Bundesliga players South African Premier Division players South African expatriate soccer players South African expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands South African expatriate sportspeople in Belgium South African expatriate sportspeople in Poland South African expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in Poland Expatriate footballers in Germany