Maikel van der Werff (born 22 April 1989) 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

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 has formerly played for

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 ...

, Vitesse,

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The ...

and

PEC Zwolle PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a total ...

Club career

FC Volendam

Born in

Hoorn Hoorn () is a city and municipality in the northwest of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the largest town and the traditional capital of the region of West Friesland. Hoorn is located on the Markermeer, 20 kilometers ( ...

, van der Werff joined

at a young age, having played for

Hollandia Hollandia may refer to: * HVV Hollandia, Dutch football team * Hollandia Victoria Combinatie, defunct Dutch football team * ''Hollandia'' (1742 ship), a ship of the Dutch East India Company, wrecked in 1743 on her maiden voyage * Jayapura, a city ...

and Always Forward. On 12 November 2008, van der Werff made his FC Volendam debut in a 1–0 victory over Ajax in a

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 ...

third round tie, replacing

Marijn Sterk Marijn Sterk (born 11 July 1987 in The Hague) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a left-back for Always Forward Hoorn. Sterk played in the youth of VCS from The Hague, until he was scouted by Ajax at age 14. In Ajax he went through the youth dep ...

in the 87th minute. On 13 November 2009, van der Werff scored his first FC Volendam goal in a 5–2 defeat against

MVV Maatschappelijke Voetbal Vereniging Maastricht (), commonly known as MVV Maastricht (, ) or simply as MVV, is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Maastricht. Founded on 2 April 1902, MVV Maastricht currently compete in the Eers ...

, netting the equalizer.

PEC Zwolle

On 30 January 2013, after impressing at FC Volendam, van der Werff joined

on a two-and-a-half-year deal for a fee reported to be around the margin of £140,000. On 10 March 2013, one month after joining the club, van der Werff made his PEC Zwolle debut in a 3–0 defeat against Ajax. On 30 March 2014, van der Werff scored his first PEC Zwolle goal in a 1–1 draw against

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation f ...

, netting in the 21st minute. van der Werff was part of the squad that won the KNVB Cup in 2014, playing all but one game in their victorious campaign.

Vitesse

On 19 February 2015, it was announced that van der Werff would join Vitesse on the expiry of his contract at the end of the season. On 20 September 2015, van der Werff made his Vitesse debut in a 3–0 victory over local rivals

De Graafschap VBV De Graafschap () is a professional football club from Doetinchem, Netherlands, playing in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football. It was formed on 1 February 1954 and they play their home games at the De Vijverberg stadium. ...

, replacing

Kevin Diks Kevin Diks Bakarbessy (born 6 October 1996) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Danish Superliga club F.C. Copenhagen. Club career Vitesse Born in Apeldoorn, Diks joined Vitesse's youth setup in 2005, aged nine, a ...

in the 27th minute. He played as Vitesse won the final of the

2–0 against AZ Alkmaar on 30 April 2017 to help the club, 3-time runners up, to the title for the first time in its 125-year history.

FC Cincinnati

On 2 July 2019, it was announced that van der Werff would join

as a defender. His contract expired in December 2021 after a disappointing tenure in which he appeared in just 24 matches and spent the entire 2021 season rehabbing injuries. Van der Werff occupied a valuable international roster spot and was on $350,000 in base salary in 2021.

Return to PEC Zwolle

On 21 January 2022, van der Werff returned to

on a six-months deal.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

PEC Zwolle *

: 2013–14 Vitesse *KNVB Cup: 2016–17

References

External links

* 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Hoorn Men's association football central defenders Dutch footballers FC Volendam players PEC Zwolle players SBV Vitesse players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players FC Cincinnati players Major League Soccer players HVV Hollandia players Dutch expatriate footballers Dutch expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States Footballers from North Holland {{Netherlands-footy-defender-stub