Gijs Luirink (, born 12 September 1983 in

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 ...

) is a Dutch former

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

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 s ...

. He is a former Dutch under-21 international.

Career

He began his career at

FC Volendam Football Club Volendam () is a professional Association football, football club based in Volendam, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football from the 2022–23 season following promotion ...

, making 57 league appearances for the club. In 2004, the club was relegated to the

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the ...

, and Luirink moved to

FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, province of Groningen. Founded on 16 June 1971 as the successor of GVAV, the team compete in the Eredivisie, the highest tier of Dutch football. G ...

FC Groningen

At Groningen, he earned himself a place in the starting line-up as central defender, playing 20 games in Eredivisie, often partnering with Gibril Sankoh or Arnold Kruiswijk. In the season of 05/06, Luirink helped Groningen surprisingly achieve a fifth place and in the following play-offs UEFA cup football. Halfway through the season, Groningen left the Oosterpark Stadium for a new home, the Euroborg. This quickly got the nickname of "the green hell", because it was very difficult for other teams to win there. In the league competition Groningen were unbeaten at their new stadium, only PSV won there in a cup match.

AZ

As he made a good impression at Groningen and for the Dutch U-21, AZ acted quickly and signed him. He started as a regular, but he appeared in only 16 matches for AZ in the season 06/07 because he picked up some severe injuries that kept him out most of the season. Having not made any appearances in the season 07/08 due to injury, Luirink played during the preparation of the following season but lightning struck again for Luirink, and he suffered another heavy knee injury, and during recovery things got worse as he had several setbacks and suffered from thrombosis in his leg. Despite all that, he recovered and was ready to return in the squad halfway through the season 08/09. Making his official return as a substitute on January twelfth, 2009 in a friendly match against AGOVV. Whilst at AZ he won the

2008–09 Eredivisie The Eredivisie 2008–09 is the 53rd 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 Arnhem and FC Groningen and ended on 10 May 2009. A tota ...

RKC Waalwijk

On 14 August 2009 left

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and ho ...

to play on loan for

RKC Waalwijk RKC Waalwijk () is a Dutch professional football club based in Waalwijk, that is currently competing in the Eredivisie. Its name is derived from 'Rooms Katholieke Combinatie' ('Roman Catholic Combination' in Dutch) and was established as a merger ...

, his contract ran over one year.

SC Cambuur

Due to many injuries Luirink was sent on loan to Cambuur until the end of the season. Then his contract will end and he his free to join a new team.

Sparta Rotterdam

On 21 June 2011, Luirink moved from AZ to the

side

Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently compete in the Eredivisie, the top flight ...

, signing a two-year contract.

FC Volendam

After he lost prospect of playing in the first eleven, Luirink made a transfer to

as a free agent.

Position

He is considered as a very talented, tall and strong central defender, first acknowledged by former U-21 coach Foppe de Haan for his strong performances at FC Groningen. However, he has been haunted by injury for several seasons. Preventing him from making his final breakthrough.

International career

He was the captain of the Dutch squad that won the

UEFA U-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the compe ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. He made the preselection of the Dutch squad for a match with Ireland in August 2006.

External links

Voetbal International profile

Profile & Statistics Gijs Luirink op footballdatabase.com

Profile on WereldVanOranje.nl
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Luirink, Gijs 1983 births Living people AZ Alkmaar players Dutch footballers Footballers from Amsterdam Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players FC Volendam players FC Groningen players RKC Waalwijk players SC Cambuur players Sparta Rotterdam players Association football defenders Netherlands under-21 international footballers