Jetro Danovich Sexer Willems (born 30 March 1994) is a Dutch 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 plays as a left wing-back or

left-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 ...

. Willems represented the Netherlands national team at

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

; he played in the Netherlands' opening match of the tournament at the age of 18 years and 71 days, making him the youngest player ever to play in the

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...

at the time. The record has since been broken by

Jude Bellingham Jude Victor William Bellingham (born 29 June 2003) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the England national team. Bellingham joined Birmingham City as an under-8, became t ...

, who represented England at

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europ ...

Club career

Sparta Rotterdam

Willems began his career with amateur side Spartaan '20 from whom he joined

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 ...

. During his time with Sparta he progressed through the club's youth academy and made his senior debut on 16 January 2011, in a match against

Go Ahead Eagles Go Ahead Eagles () are a Dutch professional football club from the city of Deventer. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, having achieved promotion from the second tier Eerste Divisie in the 2020-21 season. The club's ho ...

. He made 16 appearances in the Dutch second division.

PSV

On 31 August 2011, Willems joined

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 ...

on a three-year contract. He received the number 43 jersey and made his PSV debut on 23 October in a match against Vitesse. Willems became the youngest Dutchman to play in a

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs fo ...

competition when he started against

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv ( he, הפועל תל אביב) is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, suc ...

on 3 November in a

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. I ...

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match. That same month, he was permanently promoted to the first team squad. In December, Willems was targeted for a move to

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 Salford to the west. The two ...

, with then United manager

Sir Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all ti ...

looking for "the next

Patrice Evra Patrice Latyr Evra (; born 15 May 1981) is a French football coach and former professional player. Originally a forward, he primarily played as a left-back. Evra served as captain for both Manchester United and the France national team. His ...

". On 3 April 2012, Willems' contract was upgraded and extended until 2016. Willems scored his first professional – and PSV – goal on 22 April 2012 in a match against

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It provides IT and network solu ...

. With this goal, he became the youngest goalscorer in the

2011–12 Eredivisie The 2011–12 Eredivisie is the 56th season of Eredivisie since its establishment in 1955. It began in August 2011 with the first matches of the season and ended in June with the last matches of the European competition and relegation playoffs ...

. He experienced a great amount of playing time in the 2011–12 season because full-back

Erik Pieters Erik Pieters (; born 7 August 1988) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a left back for West Bromwich Albion. Pieters began his career with Utrecht and made his professional debut in August 2006. He impressed enough at the Stadion G ...

was injured. Although being young and quite inexperienced, Willems quickly showed evidence of his raw talent, especially his technique and attacking traits. On 15 July 2015, Willems suffered a serious injury and missed the first half of the 2015–16 season.

Eintracht Frankfurt

On 17 July 2017, Willems joined Bundesliga club

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...

to replace Bastian Oczipka, who, in turn joined

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhin ...

. The transfer fee paid to PSV was reported as between €5 million and €9 million, depending on the source. Willems made 29 appearances during the 2017–18 season, which included the surprise win over

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which play ...

in the German Cup final. Willems started the 2018–19 season by starting in the German Super Cup.

2019–20 season: Loan to Newcastle United

On 2 August 2019, Willems joined

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

of the

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 ...

on a season-long loan deal with an option to buy. Willems scored his first goal for Newcastle and in the

on 14 September, putting the Magpies into a shock lead at reigning

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 competiti ...

winners

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 populat ...

, but the side eventually fell to a 1–3 defeat. Willems then scored in a 2–2 draw with reigning

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

champions

Manchester City 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 Salford to the west. The tw ...

on 30 November. He was ever-present in the Newcastle side during the first half of the season and made 20 appearances for the Magpies, until he suffered a season ending injury when he tore his ACL in January 2020. He left the club when his loan expired on 1 July 2020. Consequently, Willems returned to Frankfurt for the 2020-21 Bundesliga season. During the first half of the season, he continued his recovery from his knee injury. After almost a year of rehabilitation, Willems re-joined the group training of Eintracht Frankfurt at the beginning of 2021, but did not make any appearances for the rest of the season. Willems left Eintracht Frankfurt after his contract expired at the end of the season. In total, he made 65 appearances for the club.

Greuther Fürth

In August 2021, Willems signed a two-year contract with newly promoted Bundesliga side Greuther Fürth and has been given the number 15 jersey. He left the club on 1 September 2022, after his contract was terminated.

International career

Dennis Rommedahl - Jetro Willems 20120609

In 2011, Willems won the

2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship The 2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the tenth edition of UEFA's European Under-17 Football Championship. Serbia hosted the tournament between the 3 and 15 May. 6 Teams also qualified for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Players born af ...

with the Netherlands under-17 team.UEFA European Under-17 Championship 2011

UEFA.com Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs foo ...

, Retrieved 1. 9. 2014 While being selected for the under-19 squad, on 7 May 2012 Willems was named in the provisional list of 36 players for

, one of nine uncapped players to be chosen by senior team manager

Bert van Marwijk Lambertus van Marwijk (; born 19 May 1952) is a Dutch football manager who was recently the head coach of the United Arab Emirates national team. As a player, he played for the Go Ahead Eagles, AZ, MVV and Fortuna Sittard amongst other clubs ...

as part of the preliminary squad. He was still in the ''Oranje'' squad for Euro 2012 after Van Marwijk had made a first cut to 27 players on 15 May 2012. Willems also made the final cut into the 23-man squad, being given the number 15 shirt. He made his first unofficial appearance for the senior national team on 22 May 2012 in a friendly match against

. On 26 May 2012, Willems made his first appearance with the senior Dutch side in a match against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Maced ...

. At the Euro 2012, Willems made his first start for the Netherlands, against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , established ...

, becoming the youngest ever player to play at the Euros and the fourth-youngest player to play for the Netherlands, at 18 years and 71 days of age. The record was previously held by Belgian

Enzo Scifo Vincenzo "Enzo" Daniele Scifo (; born 19 February 1966) is a retired Belgian football midfielder. He has also managed the Belgium national under-21 football team and several Belgian club sides. He played for clubs in Belgium, France and Italy, ...

, at 18 years and 115 days. He featured in all the group stage games, however the Netherlands were eliminated from the tournament after losing all three group stage matches.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

PSV *

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 ...

: 2014–15, 2015–16 *

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 ...

: 2011–12 *

Johan Cruyff 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 football ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gath ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh c ...

Eintracht Frankfurt *

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 ...

: 2017–18 Netherlands U17 *

UEFA European Under-17 Championship The UEFA European Under-17 Championship or simply UEFA Under-17 Championship, is an annual Association football, football competition contested by the European men's under-17 national teams of the member associations of UEFA. Spain national under ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

References

External links

* *
Jetro Willems
at ''

Voetbal International ''Voetbal International'' (VI) is a Dutch football magazine. It is the oldest Dutch football magazine that is still running. History and Profile ''Voetbal International'' was established in 1965. VI was one of the founding members of ESM but l ...

'' * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Willems, Jetro 1994 births Living people Footballers from Rotterdam Dutch footballers Netherlands youth international footballers Netherlands under-21 international footballers Netherlands international footballers Association football defenders Sparta Rotterdam players PSV Eindhoven players Eintracht Frankfurt players Newcastle United F.C. players SpVgg Greuther Fürth players Eerste Divisie players Eredivisie players Bundesliga players Premier League players UEFA Euro 2012 players Dutch expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Germany Dutch expatriate sportspeople in England Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Germany Dutch people of Curaçao descent