Serginho "Sergio" van Dijk (born 6 August 1982) is a former 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 played as a striker. He was the top goal scorer in the

2010–11 A-League The 2010–11 A-League was the 34th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the sixth season of the Australian A-League soccer competition since its establishment in 2004. The home and away season began on 5 August 2010 and concluded on 13 ...

regular season and made a name for himself in Australian football for his prolific scoring tally. Born in the Netherlands, he represented the Indonesia national team.

Early life

Van Dijk was named after the Brazilian star,

Serginho Chulapa Sérgio Bernardino (born 23 December 1953), known as Serginho Chulapa or simply Serginho, is a Brazilian football coach and retired professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career São Paulo Born in São Paulo, Serginho was a Sã ...

, who played for Brazil during the

1982 World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 i ...

. His mother was a big fan of Brazil at the time. Van Dijk is of

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 ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. In ...

n parentage.

Club career

Netherlands

Van Dijk started his career at local club ''LTC'' in Assen before he was drafted into the

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 ...

youth academy. In the 2000–01 season he played two matches (one goal) for Groningen 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 ...

, helping them to gain promotion. 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 ...

he did not play for Groningen and he moved back to the Eerste Divisie with

Helmond Sport Helmond Sport is a professional association football club based in the city of Helmond, North Brabant, Netherlands, that competes in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of the Dutch football league system. The club was founded on 27 June 1967, a ...

in 2002. In 2005, he moved to

FC Emmen FC Emmen is a Dutch football club based in Emmen, Drenthe. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, after winning the 2021–22 Eerste Divisie title. Founded in 1925, the club entered the professional Eerste Divisie in 1985. I ...

, where he scored 18 and 12 goals in his first two seasons. In the 2007–08 season he played at Emmen alongside his brother Danny.

Brisbane Roar

On 16 June 2008, Van Dijk signed a two-year contract with

Queensland Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Bri ...

(now operating as Brisbane Roar) after impressing the Roar scouts with his technique at the end of May against Redlands United and a Gold Coast Select XI. Van Dijk started off the season slowly, only scoring one goal in his first ten matches although managing six assists at the time. However he then silenced the critics by scoring nine goals in as many matches (including a brace against the

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Ma ...

). On 17 January 2009, van Dijk was the Roar's first ever player to score a hat-trick in their 3–1 win over Sydney FC.

Adelaide United

On 11 February 2010, Van Dijk signed for

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was founded in 2003 to fil ...

on a six-month contract for the club's

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

campaign, and made his debut against defending Asian champions,

Pohang Steelers The Pohang Steelers (Hangul: 포항 스틸러스) are a South Korean professional football club based in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province that compete in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. The Steelers were founded on 1 A ...

on 24 February 2010, in a 1–0 win at Hindmarsh Stadium. Van Dijk made his scoring debut for the Reds in their 2–0 away win against Shandong Luneng on matchday 2 of the Champions League campaign. Serginho van Dijk

On 14 March 2010, van Dijk agreed to a three-year contract with Adelaide United. On 21 January 2011, he scored a hat-trick in the team's 8–1 win over North Queensland Fury. He won the Golden Boot award for the 2010–11 season with 16 goals. Van Dijk was released from Adelaide United in January 2013.

Persib Bandung

In February 2013 van Dijk signed for

Indonesian Super League Liga 1 ( en, League 1), also known as BRI Liga 1 for sponsorship reasons with Bank Rakyat Indonesia, is the men's top professional football division of the Indonesian football league system. Administered by the PT Liga Indonesia Baru (), Liga 1 ...

club

Persib Bandung Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Bandung ( 'Indonesian Football Association of Bandung'), commonly referred to as Persib Bandung, or simply Persib, is a professional football club based in Bandung, West Java, which competes in Liga 1, the top ...

. He scored on his debut in a 2–1 loss to Persisam Samarinda. On 3 March, he scored again twice, in a 3–1 win over

Persija Jakarta Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Jakarta ( 'Indonesian Football Association of Jakarta'; abbreviated as Persija), is an Indonesian professional football club based in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta. Persija Jakarta is one of the most suc ...

Sepahan

Van Dijk signed a contract with

Sepahan Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan Sport Club ( fa, باشگاه فرهنگی ورزشی فولاد مبارکه سپاهان اصفهان, ''Bâšgâh-è Varzeši-ye Fulâd-è Mobârake-ye Sepâhân''), commonly known as Sepahan S.C., are an Iranian spor ...

in December 2013, effective from 1 January 2014 to play for the team in the

Iran Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League ( fa, لیگ برتر خلیج فارس, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Pro League ( fa, links=no, لیگ برتر ایران, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is the highest division of profe ...

and

Suphanburi

On 30 June 2014, van Dijk signed for

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 ...

club

Suphanburi Suphan Buri () is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand. It covers ''tambon'' Tha Philiang and parts of ''tambons'' Rua Yai and Tha Rahat, all within the Mueang Suphan Buri District. As of 2006 it had a population of 26,656. The town ...

, for a two-year contract.

Adelaide United

After two productive seasons with

, van Dijk returned to former club

as their Asian player for the

2016 AFC Champions League The 2016 AFC Champions League was the 35th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 14th under the current AFC Champions League title. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors defeated Al-Ain ...

campaign. On 9 February 2016, he made his sole appearance for Adelaide in their short-lived campaign, coming off the bench as a substitute against Shandong Luneng, in the third qualifying round play-off at

Hindmarsh Stadium Hindmarsh Stadium (currently known as Coopers Stadium due to sponsorship from Adelaide-based company Coopers Brewery) is a multi-purpose stadium in Hindmarsh, an inner western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is the home of the Austra ...

. Despite receiving a raucous reception from the home crowd, and producing a strong performance reminiscent of his previous spell with Adelaide, van Dijk and the Reds were barrelled out of the competition, 2–1, bringing van Dijk's contract to an end.

Persib Bandung

After being clubless and trained with his former club FC Emmen, he finally decided to come back to Persib Bandung and was re-united with former Adelaide United colleague Marcos Flores. Due to an injury he made only four league appearances.

VV-Pelikaan-S

Van Dijk joined the Dutch league amateur club VV-Pelikaan-S.

International career

On 19 July 2010, it was reported that van Dijk was to declare for

, the country of origin of one of his grandparents. However, upon meeting with the Indonesian football authorities, he learned that in order to be able to represent Indonesia, he must earn Indonesian citizenship and give up his Dutch citizenship, as Indonesia does not allow

dual citizenship Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on t ...

. He refused to decide his international future, citing that it is difficult for him to give up his Dutch citizenship because his wife and their families are Dutch. He eventually decided to revoke his Dutch citizenship in order to play for

. The

Football Association of Indonesia The Football Association of Indonesia ( id, Persatuan Sepakbola Seluruh Indonesia; 'All-Indonesian Football Association'; abbreviated as PSSI) is the governing body of football in Indonesia. It was founded on 19 April 1930, fifteen years before ...

announced that van Dijk was being

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

, so that he could play in the

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil. The remaining 31 places were determined b ...

campaign. On 4 March 2013, he was called up for the first time, in a 2015 Asia Cup qualifier. He made his debut against

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...

on 23 March 2013.

Personal life

Van Dijk has a young son, who lives with family in the Netherlands. Regarding his future in football, van Dijk has said, "...after all these years of being overseas, it’s my eighth year now, I think it’s also time to let the family choose what the future plans are." Van Dijk also operates a clothing label with his brother Danny, called ''Sixlovesnine''.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Indonesia' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each van Dijk goal.''

Honours

Individual *

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

Golden Boot:

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dijk, Sergio van 1982 births Living people People from Assen Indonesian footballers Indonesia international footballers Dutch footballers Dutch people of Indonesian descent Indonesian people of Dutch descent Indo people Naturalised citizens of Indonesia Dutch emigrants to Indonesia Association football forwards Marquee players (A-League Men) Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Van Dijk, Sergio Liga 1 (Indonesia) players Sergio van Dijk FC Groningen players Helmond Sport players FC Emmen players Van Dijk, Sergio Van Dijk, Sergio Persib Bandung players Sepahan S.C. footballers Sergio van Dijk Indonesian expatriate footballers Dutch expatriate footballers Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Australia Indonesian expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate soccer players in Australia Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Thailand Indonesian expatriate sportspeople in Thailand Expatriate footballers in Thailand Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Iran Expatriate footballers in Iran Dutch fashion designers Footballers from Drenthe