Paul de la Cruz Mulders (born 16 January 1981) is a
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
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 an
attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...
. He was last signed by
Ceres–Negros of the
Philippines Football League
The Philippines Football League, commonly known as PFL, is a Filipino professional football league sanctioned by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF). It is the Philippines' highest level of men's club football, supplanting the United Footb ...
. Mulders is also a member of the
Philippines national team. He previously played for
HFC Haarlem
HFC Haarlem was a Dutch football club from the city of Haarlem, established in 1889 and dissolved in 2010. The club won the Eredivisie in 1946 and reached five Cup finals, winning in 1902 and 1912. Haarlem reached the second round of the 1982 ...
,
FC Omniworld
Almere City Football Club is a Dutch professional football club based in Almere, Flevoland. Founded in 2001, plays in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, and hosts home matches at the Yanmar Stadion.
The club builds on former c ...
,
AGOVV Apeldoorn
AGOVV () is a Dutch association football club based in Apeldoorn. It was established on 25 February 1913. The club played in professional football from 1954 to 1971 and from 2003 to 2013. AGOVV's male first squad plays in 2022–23 in the Tweede ...
,
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 ...
,
Global Cebu and
Cambuur
SC Cambuur, also known as Cambuur Leeuwarden, or simply Cambuur, () is a Dutch Association football, football club from the city of Leeuwarden formed on 19 June 1964. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league sy ...
.
Club career
Early years
Born in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, Mulders is the youngest son of
Dutchman Leo Mulders and Filipina mother Ofelia de la Cruz from
Isabela, Ilagan.
Mulders started youth football at
A.V.V. Zeeburgia at age four until he was scouted by
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 ...
at age eight and trained at the
Ajax Academy
The Ajax Youth Academy (Dutch: ''Ajax Jeugdopleiding'') is a football youth academy based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, from where the organization manages a total of 13 youth teams (ages 7–18). The academy is the primary youth clinic of Dutch fo ...
until he was 16.
HFC Haarlem
Mulders continued on to
HFC Haarlem
HFC Haarlem was a Dutch football club from the city of Haarlem, established in 1889 and dissolved in 2010. The club won the Eredivisie in 1946 and reached five Cup finals, winning in 1902 and 1912. Haarlem reached the second round of the 1982 ...
in 1997 where many former Ajax youth players have gone to continue their football pursuits.
He made his professional debut in the
Eerste Divisie
The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the ...
at the age of 19 on 14 October 2000 against
BV Veendam
Sportclub Veendam () was a Dutch professional association football club based in Veendam, province of Groningen. Founded on 4 September 1894 as Look-Out, it became P.J. Veendam in 1909, Veendam in 1910, SC Veendam in 1974, BV Veendam in 1997 a ...
. Notably, on 6 August 2003, Mulders netted a goal against the opposition team consisting of
Zlatan Ibrahimović
Zlatan Ibrahimović (, ; born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a striker for club AC Milan and the Sweden national team. Ibrahimović is renowned for his acrobatic strikes and volleys, powerful long-range sho ...
and
Wamberto during a friendly match against Ajax at the
Amsterdam Arena
The Johan Cruyff Arena ( nl, Johan Cruijff Arena ; officially stylised as Johan Cruijff ArenA) is the main stadium of the Dutch capital city of Amsterdam and the home stadium of football club AFC Ajax since its opening. Built from 1993 to 1996 ...
.
He won 114 appearances and scored 20 goals for Haarlem as a
winger from 2000–2005 and impressed upon head trainer,
Roy Wesseling.
Cambuur
As a free agent after the 2005 season, Wesseling brought Mulders and co-Haarlem teammate
Rick Hooijboer
Rick Hooijboer (born 3 August 1974 in Venhuizen) is a Dutch footballer currently playing for Cambuur Leeuwarden.
Career
Amateur career: until 1998
Hooijboer started out playing for local team ''De Valken''. He was discovered by FC Volendam and p ...
with him to
Cambuur
SC Cambuur, also known as Cambuur Leeuwarden, or simply Cambuur, () is a Dutch Association football, football club from the city of Leeuwarden formed on 19 June 1964. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league sy ...
. The then 24-year-old Mulders signed a two-year contract with the
Frisia
Frisia is a cross-border cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. The region is traditionally inhabited by the Frisians, a West Ger ...
n club.
[ He would make sixty appearances for the Leeuwarders and score five goals as a ]forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
. Cambuur, bogged by financial problems had failed expectations to climb the Jupiler League rankings in Mulders' second season with the club. As a result, he and six other players' contracts were not renewed.
FC Omniworld
Before the 2007–08 season got underway, Mulders had a brief failed pro-adventure in Austria during the summer break before finally signing with FC Omniworld
Almere City Football Club is a Dutch professional football club based in Almere, Flevoland. Founded in 2001, plays in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, and hosts home matches at the Yanmar Stadion.
The club builds on former c ...
in his backyard of Almere
Almere () is a Planned community, planned List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Flevoland, Netherlands, located about 20 km ...
for two seasons. Poised to play his naturally preferred position as an attacking midfielder or as a shadow striker, he scored eleven goals in sixty appearances. In Omniworld, he met and clicked with assistant trainer Peter van Vossen
Peter Jacobus van Vossen (; born 21 April 1968) is a Dutch former professional football player and manager.
Club career
Van Vossen was born in Zierikzee. As a footballer, he played for Beveren, Anderlecht, Ajax, Istanbulspor, Rangers, Feyenoor ...
who he would later meet again at AGOVV
AGOVV () is a Dutch association football club based in Apeldoorn. It was established on 25 February 1913. The club played in professional football from 1954 to 1971 and from 2003 to 2013. AGOVV's male first squad plays in 2022–23 in the Tweede ...
.[
]
AGOVV Apeldoorn
On 3 February 2009, it was announced that Mulders had signed with AGOVV in Apeldoorn
Apeldoorn (; Dutch Low Saxon: ) is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland in the centre of the Netherlands. It is located about 60 km east of Utrecht, 60 km west of Enschede, 25 km north of Arnhem and 35 km south of Zwolle. The ...
for two seasons and began his training in earnest in the summer of that same year with coaches John van den Brom
Joseph Anthonius ''John ''van den Brom (born 4 October 1966) is a Dutch former professional footballer and the current manager of Ekstraklasa side Lech Poznań. As a player, he played for Vitesse, Ajax, De Graafschap and Istanbulspor. After h ...
and Peter van Vossen. It was while under the tutelage of Van den Brom that Mulders flourished with the team and in tandem played his best season yet in 2009–10 with the likes of teammates Nacer Chadli
Nacer Chadli (born 2 August 1989) is a Belgian professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for Belgian First Division A club K.V.C. Westerlo on loan from Turkish Super Lig club İstanbul Başakşehir and the Belgium national footbal ...
, Ramon Leeuwin, Chiró N'Toko, Jeremy Bokila
Jeremy Loteteka Bokila (born 14 November 1988) is a Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Willem II (football club), Willem II. He for ...
, where AGOVV reached the promotion play-offs. In late April 2011, it was announced that he signed a two-year deal with an option for another year with ADO Den Haag.
ADO Den Haag
It was widely reported in August 2010, that Mulders' former coach at AGOVV Apeldoorn, John van den Brom, wanted to bring him to his new club ADO Den Haag, but talks for a transfer fell through. During the end of the winter transfer window, in January 2011 Zwolle
Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...
was reportedly pursuing Mulders for a last minute mid-season transfer. In late April 2011, it was announced that he signed a two-year deal with an option for another year with ADO Den Haag.
Mulders made his 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. It ...
debut for Den Haag on 4 August 2011, appearing as a substitute for Ahmed Ammi
Ahmed Ammi ( ar, أحمد عمي; born 19 January 1981) is a Dutch- Moroccan footballer who plays as a right defender. He currently plays for Dutch amateur outfit SC Irene.
Club career
Ammi was born in Temsamane, Morocco, but moved to the Nethe ...
in the 32nd minute against Cypriot club Omonia in the third qualifying round. Den Haag won 1–0 but lost 3–1 on aggregate.
After 11 seasons in the Eerste Divisie, Mulders made his debut in the 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 ...
on 7 August 2011 against Vitesse.[
]
Chiangrai United
In January 2013, it has been reported that Mulders had received an offer from Chiangrai United in the Thai Premier League
The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from August ...
, but both parties did not reach a final agreement before the winter transfer window closed.
Prior to the end of Mulders' contract with ADO Den Haag, and with the support of former teammate Adnan Barakat
Adnan Barakat (born 3 September 1982) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right winger for Dutch sides Ajax Amsterdam, NAC Breda, FC Eindhoven, Cambuur Leeuwarden, FK Baku, FC Den Bosch and Muangthong United among other ...
from Cambuur, Mulders travelled to Thailand in July 2013 to play a test match for Chiangrai United. Chiangrai's new head coach, however, did not extend him an offer to join the team.
Global FC
As a free agent, in July 2013 Mulders lent his services to Global FC
Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to:
Entertainment
* Global (Paul van Dyk album), ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003
* Global (Bunji Garlin album), ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007
* Global (Humanoid album), ''Gl ...
ahead their campaign for the Singapore Cup.
Cambuur
On 20 January 2014, Mulders signed an amateur deal with Dutch Eredivisie side Cambuur until the end of the 2013–14 season.
Ceres Negros and Global Cebu
Mulders moved to Ceres Negros, then playing as Ceres in the United Football League, in 2014 after his second Cambuur stint. He later had a second stint with Global (now Global Cebu) and played for them for the first half of the 2018 Philippines Football League season before returning to Ceres in July 2018.
International career
Shortly after the announcement of Mulders' transfer to ADO Den Haag, his friends and a cousin set up a Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
fanpage for him. The page was then forwarded to the Philippine Football Federation
The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) is the governing body of association football in the Philippines. Established as the Philippine Amateur Football Association (PAFA) in 1907, the PFF is one of the oldest national football associations in ...
and within a week he was invited to come to Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
to join the national team. Mulders cited that based on his football resume, video compilations and the fact that he had signed with ADO that he made the selection.[
In early June 2011, he arrived in Manila and obtained his Philippine passport. He was named into the final squad for their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification first round match against ]Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. On 29 June 2011, Mulders made his debut for the Philippines in Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
, as they drew 1–1 with Sri Lanka. Philippines wins the return match in Manila at 4–0 and advances to the second round qualifiers against Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
. He would miss the Kuwait matches due to a leg wound infection incurred from a sliding tackle in Colombo.
On 7 October 2011, Mulders would again reprise his role in a friendly match against Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
with a 2–0 loss for the Philippines. Following a friendly match against Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
on 11 October 2011, the Philippines won 4–0 where Mulders played an instrumental role providing an assist to Phil Younghusband
Philip James Younghusband Jr. (born 4 August 1987) is a former professional footballer who played mostly as a striker and sometimes as a midfielder.
Younghusband is best known for his performances with the Philippines national team, playing ...
's goal in the 17th minute.
Retirement
On 16 March 2016, Azkals team manager Dan Palami
Dan Stephen Castillo Palami (born June 9, 1970) is the general manager of the Philippine men's national football team since 2009. He is credited for his contributions to the revival of football in the Philippines due to the national team's perf ...
confirmed that Mulders has retired from playing at international level. He has since returned to play again for the Azkals.
International goals
:''Scores and results list the Philippines' goal tally first.''
References
External links
Paul Mulders career stats
at Voetbal International
*
at UEFA Europa League
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulders, Paul
1981 births
Living people
Footballers from Amsterdam
Citizens of the Philippines through descent
Dutch people of Filipino descent
Dutch footballers
Filipino footballers
Filipino expatriate footballers
Filipino people of Dutch descent
Philippines international footballers
Association football midfielders
ADO Den Haag players
AFC Ajax players
AGOVV Apeldoorn players
SC Cambuur players
HFC Haarlem players
Almere City FC players
Eredivisie players
Eerste Divisie players
Global Makati F.C. players
Ceres–Negros F.C. players