Michel Kuipers (born 26 June 1974) is a Dutch retired

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 goalkeeper. Prior to football he served with the Dutch Marine Corps. He became a football agent after finishing his playing career.

Life and career

Born in Amsterdam, Kuipers started his footballing career with ''Sterk Door Wilskracht'' (SDW), before moving to England in 1999 to join Bristol Rovers, where he spent 16 months. In June 2000 he joined Brighton & Hove Albion on a free transfer, and quickly established himself as number one and became a firm fans' favourite because of his quick reactions, shot-stopping abilities and outgoing style. Kuipers suffered several career-threatening injuries during his time at

Withdean Withdean is a former village, now part of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. Overview The area was originally named in the 12th century, when it was called Wictedene. The area was historically farm land but has been developed, mainly in the 1920s ...

, being injured in a car crash in 2003, and a severe shoulder injury in 2005. Kuipers twice left the club on loan during his time at

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. He joined Hull City on loan during the 2003–04 season (before his return to Albion and subsequent car crash) and joined

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is known ...

on loan during the 2005–06 season, to regain match fitness after recovering from his shoulder injury. In 2008, he played a big part in Brighton's upset victory against

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 ...

in the League Cup, saving Michael Ball's effort in the penalty shoot-out. The following month he saved another decisive penalty in a shoot-out; this time from Leyton Orient's

Luke Ashworth Luke Alexander Ashworth (born 4 December 1989) is an English footballer who plays as a centre-back. Career Early career Born in Bolton, Greater Manchester, Ashworth made his professional debut during a loan period at Leyton Orient from his ...

in the Football League Trophy. In the 2007/08 season he was ever present in the goal playing all 46 league matches. This good form led to a new two-year contract that expired in June 2010. On 19 May 2010, he signed for fellow Sussex club Crawley Town. Kuipers' career with Crawley did not start well, being sent off twice during the first month of the season against Grimsby Town and Forest Green Rovers. He started in Crawley's match against

Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd), or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, ...

On 25 January 2013, his contract at Crawley was terminated by mutual consent. On 28 March 2013, Kuipers signed a short-term deal with

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

until the end of the season. He featured on the bench for all the remaining games that season as cover for first choice keeper Graham Stack. He was released at the end of the season.2013/14 Retained List

References

External links

Michael Kuipers profile
at the Crawley Town website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuipers, Michel 1974 births Living people Footballers from Amsterdam Dutch footballers Dutch expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Association football goalkeepers Bristol Rovers F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Boston United F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players Barnet F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players