Rick Hooijboer (born 3 August 1974 in

Venhuizen Venhuizen (; fy, Fenhúze) is a town in the north-western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia, in the municipality of Drechterland. Venhuizen was a separate municipality until 1 January 2006, when it was ...

) is a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

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 ...

currently playing for

Cambuur Leeuwarden SC Cambuur, also known as Cambuur Leeuwarden, or simply Cambuur, () is a Dutch football club from the city of Leeuwarden formed on 19 June 1964. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, after winning the 2020–21 Ee ...

Career

Amateur career: until 1998

Hooijboer started out playing for local team ''De Valken''. He was discovered by FC Volendam and played there for several years. He returned to his former home town club and before moving to ''Hollandia'' in Hoorn two years later. He did very well for the Hoofdklasse club.

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and host ...

noticed the 23-year-old West Frisian who at that point became a full pro. He was the first player

recruited for Eredivisie season 1998–99. Even though the AZ staff appeared to want him badly, the defender/

midfielder A midfielder is an 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 central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

was not given a chance to show his skills.

HFC Haarlem: 2000–2005

Cambuur Leeuwarden: 2005–present

Hooijboer left his club HFC Haarlem together with team mate Paul Mulders in 2005. Both men left Haarlem on a free transfer for

. The 30-year-old

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 ...

and captain wanted a new challenge after a five year stay in Haarlem. Former Haarlem

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Roy Wesseling (manager of Cambuur at the time) persuaded him to join his new club.

Statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooijboer, Rick 1974 births Living people Dutch footballers People from Venhuizen Association football defenders AZ Alkmaar players SC Cambuur players HFC Haarlem players Eerste Divisie players Eredivisie players Footballers from North Holland