Merel Didi van Dongen (, born 11 February 1993) 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 defender for Spanish Primera División club

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

and the Netherlands women's national team.

Club career

She played for

Ter Leede Ter Leede is a football club based in Sassenheim, Netherlands. The club was established on 30 April 1930, as a merger of the clubs ''Poellaan'' and ''Roda''. The men's team is currently playing in the Dutch Hoofdklasse, after being relegated from ...

and

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 ...

before going to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

where she played for

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

. She returned to the Netherlands in 2015 and signed with

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...

College career

In Van Dongen's two years at

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

she managed to become the Tide's single season assists leader registering 10 in 2014. She is No. 1 on Alabama's career assists per game list with 0.30 through 44 games, and her 10 assists in 2014 allowed her to take the No. 1 spot on the single season assists per game list with 0.53 through 19 games. Van Dongen converted four penalty kicks during her career with Alabama, which ranks fourth on the career penalty kicks made list. In her last season with the Crimson Tide, she was selected to the CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-American team and All-District 4 First Team and named a member of the All-SEC Second Team.

International career

As a junior international she played the

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and 2011 U-19 European Championships. Van Dongen made her senior

Netherlands women's national football team The Netherlands women's national football team ( nl, Nederlands vrouwenvoetbalelftal) is directed by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), which is a member of UEFA and FIFA. In 1971, the team played the first women's international foo ...

debut in a 7–0 friendly win over

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

on 7 February 2015. She was one of the last three players to be cut from national team

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Roger Reijners Roger Reijners (born 10 February 1964) is a Dutch football coach and former player. He is currently assistant manager of MVV Maastricht. Playing career Reijners turned professional with Fortuna Sittard and played in the 1–0 KNVB Cup Final defea ...

' final squad for

UEFA Women's Euro 2013 The 2013 UEFA Women's Championship, commonly referred to as Women's Euro 2013, was the 11th European Championship for List of women's national association football teams#UEFA, women's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. When

Mandy van den Berg Mandy van den Berg (; born 26 August 1990) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for PSV (women), PSV and formerly for the Netherlands women's national football team, Netherlands women's national team. ...

subsequently suffered knee ligament damage, Van Dongen was called up as a late replacement. She was also part of the Dutch squad at the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...

International goals

:''Scores and results list the Netherlands goal tally first.''

Personal life

She is in a relationship with

Ana Romero Ana María Romero Moreno (born 14 June 1987), commonly known as Willy, is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a midfielder. She previously represented several teams in Spain's Primera División, including Valencia CF, FC Barcelona, Sevill ...

. They are engaged since December 2021.

Honours

Club

ADO Den Haag

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 ...

(1): 2011–12 *

KNVB Women's Cup The KNVB Women's Cup ( nl, KNVB Beker voor Vrouwen) is the cup competition for women's football in the Netherlands. The competition was established in 1980, along with the KNVB Amateur Cup. From the 2007-08 season onwards, the first round of th ...

(1): 2011–12

Ajax

(2): 2016–17 2017-2018 *

(2): 2016–17 2017-18

International

Algarve Cup The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious and ...

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FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), the sport's international governing bo ...

runners-up:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

References

External links

Profile
at Onsoranje.nl (in Dutch)
Profile
at vrouwenvoetbalnederland.nl (in Dutch)

at uefa.com

at

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dongen, Merel van 1993 births Living people Dutch women's footballers Expatriate women's footballers in Spain Netherlands women's international footballers Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Footballers from Amsterdam 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players Women's association football midfielders Van Dongen, Merel AFC Ajax (women) players ADO Den Haag (women) players Eredivisie (women) players 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players Dutch LGBT sportspeople LGBT association football players Lesbian sportswomen Real Betis Féminas players Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Spain Dutch expatriate women's footballers Ter Leede players Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of the Netherlands Atlético Madrid Femenino players UEFA Women's Euro 2022 players