Mike Jarno Maria te Wierik (born 8 June 1992) 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 ...

for club Emmen.

Club career

Early career

Te Wierik started his career with

Heracles Almelo Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to th ...

. He scored his first professional goal in a memorable 3–3 draw with

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

on 20 October 2012.

FC Groningen

He 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 ...

in 2017, signing a three-year deal. In 2018, he became the captain at the

Euroborg The Euroborg () is the stadium in Groningen, Netherlands. It is the home of football club FC Groningen, with a capacity of 22,525 seats. The stadium site houses a casino, movie theater, school, supermarket, and a fitness centre. A temporary railwa ...

. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–3 draw against PSV on 13 December 2017.

Derby County

On 6 February 2020 it was announced that te Wierik had signed a pre-contract agreement to join

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

in the summer of 2020 when his contract with FC Groningen expires. Te Wierik agreed a three-year deal which will run until the summer of 2023. Upon signing with the club, Derby County boss

Phillip Cocu Phillip John-William Cocu (born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player, he is the manager of Vitesse. Cocu was born in Eindhoven but raised in Zevenaar, playing youth football for local clubs DCS and De Graa ...

described him as "a good defender and a leader, which is demonstrated by the fact he is FC Groningen’s captain, and he will be a very good signing for us.” Te Wierik made his Derby debut in an EFL cup penalty-victory over Barrow Town and his league debut in a 0–2 defeat to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. He was later dropped from the first team, with Derby boss Cocu explaining the decision because te Wierik needed some time to "get used" to Championship football. After the sacking of Cocu, te Wierik failed to make a match day squad under new interim manager

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while als ...

, being behind a number of other players for first-team places. Ahead of the reopening of the January 2021 transfer window it was reported that te Wieirk had been told he was free to find another club. Te Wierik was linked with five clubs in the January 2021 transfer window, with four Dutch clubs (former club

Fortuna Sittard Fortuna Sittard (; li, Fortuna Zitterd ) is a football club in Sittard, Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Fortuna Sittard Stadion and features in the Eredivisie. The club was established through a merger ...

FC Utrecht Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion Galgenwaard. The club was formed in 1970 as a merge ...

and

) and German 2. Bundesliga side

FC St. Pauli Fußball-Club St Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St Pauli (), is a German professional football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga. The football department is part of a larger sp ...

expressing an interest. Te Wierik agreed a deal to return to FC Groningen and, when discussing his time at Derby, admitted that he had not played well enough.

Return to Groningen

On 19 January 2021, he rejoined

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

, signing a three-and-a-half year deal. Te Wierik started his first game for them against Vitesse in a 1–0 away defeat on 23 January 2021.

Emmen

On 1 February 2023, te Wierik signed a two-and-a-half-year conract with Emmen.

International career

Te Wierik represented the Netherlands at under-20 and under-21 youth levels in 2013-14.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wierik, Mike Te 1992 births People from Hof van Twente Footballers from Overijssel Living people Dutch men's footballers Netherlands men's under-21 international footballers Netherlands men's youth international footballers Men's association football defenders Heracles Almelo players FC Groningen players Eredivisie players English Football League players Derby County F.C. players FC Emmen players Dutch expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Dutch expatriate sportspeople in England