Thomas Buitink (born 14 June 2000) 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

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 ...

for Vitesse.

Club career

Vitesse

Buitink first joined Vitesse in 2010, from local side Veensche Boys. He made his first-team debut during Vitesse's 3–1 home victory against

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...

on 11 February 2018, replacing

Luc Castaignos Luc Castaignos (born 27 September 1992) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a forward for club 1. FC Magdeburg. Club career Early career The roots of Castaignos' family are located in the département of Landes, one hundred kil ...

in the 80th minute. On 31 October 2018, Buitink scored his first goal in professional football. In the last minute of a

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

match against

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 decided the 0–2 end result. His first goal 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 ...

followed on 2 March 2019. On that day, manager Leonid Slutsky allowed him to come on for Mohammed Dauda against

NAC Breda NAC Breda (), often simply known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Eerste Divi ...

after thirty-three minutes, as NAC were leading 0–1 after a goal by Giovanni Korte. Buitink scored the equaliser nine minutes after the break and Vitesse ultimately won 4–1 thanks to goals from

Maikel van der Werff Maikel van der Werff (born 22 April 1989) is a Dutch professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, centre-back. He has formerly played for FC Volendam, SBV Vitesse, Vitesse, FC Cincinna ...

Alexander Büttner Alexander Büttner (; born 11 February 1989) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Eerste Divisie club De Graafschap. Club career Vitesse Born in Doetinchem, Büttner began his career with local club VV Doetinchem, but ...

and

Matúš Bero Matúš Bero (born 6 September 1995) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club Vitesse and the Slovakia national team. Club career Bero made his professional debut for AS Trenčín senior side on 21 Jul ...

. Buitink was allowed to start in for the first time in an Eredivisie match against

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 ...

on 30 March 2019. ADO managed to score three goals in total via

Sheraldo Becker Sheraldo Becker (born 9 February 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Bundesliga club Union Berlin. He has played in both the Netherlands and Germany. Born in the Netherlands, he represents the Suriname national team. ...

and

Lex Immers Lex Immers (born 8 June 1986) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and forward for Scheveningen. Club career Early career Born in The Hague, Immers played for several local clubs in his youth, including amateurs LENS and ...

twice, but Buitink saved a 3–3 draw with a hat-trick.

PEC Zwolle (loan)

In January 2021, he sent on a six-month loan to

PEC Zwolle PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a total ...

. Four days after his move, he was allowed to start against Heracles Almelo. That team went into halftime with a lead thanks to goals from Lucas Schoofs and

Delano Burgzorg Delano Burgzorg (born 7 November 1998) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays on loan as a forward for French club USL Dunkerque. Club career On 31 January 2020, Burgzorg was loaned to Heracles Almelo with an option to buy. On 29 January ...

. Five minutes after the break, Buitink assisted

Virgil Misidjan Virgil Roy Misidjan (born 24 July 1993), nicknamed Vura as worn on his shirt, is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger for FC Twente in the Eredivisie. Career Early career Born in Goirle, part of the suburban area of the city ...

's goal. Coach John Stegeman substituted Buitink in favour of

Reza Ghoochannejhad Reza Ghoochannejhad Nournia ( fa, رضا قوچان‌نژاد نورنیا; born 20 September 1987) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is also known as Gucci in Belgium and Netherlands. Having played for the Netherl ...

, who would eventually take care of the 2–2, which also turned out to be the final score.

Fortuna Sittard (loan)

For the second half of the 2022–23 season, Buitink was sent on loan to

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 ...

. He made his Fortuna debut on 7 January 2023, coming on as a half-time substitute for

Umaro Embaló Úmaro Embaló (born 6 May 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Primeira Liga club Rio Ave, on loan from Eredivisie club Fortuna Sittard. Born in Guinea-Bissau, he was a youth international for Portugal. Club career Be ...

in a 2–0 home loss to

Go Ahead Eagles Go Ahead Eagles () are a Dutch professional football club from the city of Deventer. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, having achieved promotion from the second tier Eerste Divisie in the 2020-21 season. The club's h ...

Career statistics

Honours

Jong Vitesse * Derde Divisie – Sunday: 2017–18

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buitink, Thomas 2000 births Living people People from Nijkerk Men's association football forwards Dutch men's footballers Netherlands men's youth international footballers Eredivisie players Tweede Divisie players Derde Divisie players SBV Vitesse players PEC Zwolle players Fortuna Sittard players Footballers from Gelderland