Jan Kromkamp (born 17 August 1980) is a Dutch 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 ...
CSV Apeldoorn
Christelijke Sportvereniging Apeldoorn is a Dutch association football club from Apeldoorn, Gelderland. They are currently members of the Eerste Klasse, the sixth tier of the Dutch football league system. The club was founded in 1946.
History
I ...
.
Kromkamp played a total of 201 games in the Eredivisie and scored eight goals in nine seasons, playing for both AZ and PSV. He also played in England and Spain, and started and finished his career at
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 ...
2006 World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
.
Club career
Early years; AZ
Born in Makkinga, Friesland, Kromkamp made his professional debut for
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 ...
in Eerste Divisie, his first appearance in the competition being on 12 September 1998 in a 3–0 home win against FC Top Oss. He went on to play two full seasons with the team, scoring four goals in 33 games in his second.
Kromkamp moved to the Eredivisie with AZ for the 2000–01 campaign, being a regular first-team starter right away. In his fourth year he appeared in 34 league matches as the
Alkmaar
Alkmaar () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland, about 30 km north of Amsterdam. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination. The ...
side finished fourth, thus
qualifying
Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to:
* Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...
for the UEFA Cup and going on to reach the semifinals in the continental competition.
Villarreal; Liverpool
At the start of the 2005–06 season, Kromkamp signed with Villarreal of Spain. On 29 December 2005, however, the La Liga club agreed on an exchange deal with Liverpool, with Josemi going in the opposite direction.
Kromkamp made his debut for the ''Reds'' on 7 January 2006, in a 5–3 win over Luton Town in the third round of the FA Cup. During his stint at Anfield, however, he was unable to dislodge Irish international
Steve Finnan
Stephen John Finnan (born 24 April 1976) is an Irish former international footballer who played as a right back.
He is the only player to have played in the World Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, Intertoto Cup, all four levels of the Engl ...
from the starting lineup, but did make a number of appearances from the bench, most notably in the domestic cup final; he was described as being a fair crosser of the ball with a lack of pace, who had difficulty in stopping opposition wingers getting crosses in.
PSV; Late career
Kromkamp played one league game for Liverpool in the 2006–07 season. On 31 August 2006, he was sold to PSV Eindhoven, taking over the number 2 jersey from André Ooijer who left for Blackburn Rovers. He appeared in 54 league games in his first two seasons combined, both ending in League championship wins, and also faced former club Liverpool in two UEFA Champions League matches, managing only one draw in four games.
From 2008 to 2010, Kromkamp featured rarely for the
Eindhoven
Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,
Kromkamp was first called up by the
Dutch national team
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 ...
under coach
Marco van Basten
Marcel "Marco" van Basten (; born 31 October 1964) is a Dutch football manager and retired professional player, who played for Ajax and AC Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team, as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pl ...
, alongside the likes of
Dirk Kuyt
Dirk Kuijt (anglicised to Kuyt, ; born 22 July 1980) is a Dutch former professional footballer and was the head coach of Eerste Divisie side ADO Den Haag. Originally starting out as a striker, he played much of his career as a winger.
Kuyt beg ...
,
Khalid Boulahrouz
Khalid Boulahrouz (born 28 December 1981) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a defender. His nickname is "The Cannibal" for his ability to "eat up" the opposition. He was noted for his tackling and versatility at the back.
...
Barry Opdam
Barry Opdam (born 27 February 1976) is a Dutch retired footballer who played as a central defender.
He spent most of his 16-year professional career with AZ, amassing Eredivisie totals of 316 games and 13 goals over the course of 11 seasons, al ...
friendly
Friendly may refer to:
Places
* Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England
* Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States
* Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States
* ...
against
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and in the following year he established himself as the first-choice right-back.
Shortly after Kromkamp's move to Liverpool, however, van Basten admitted that he would rather see the player appear more regularly for his club – labelling the transfer as a bad move. Kromkamp hit back at this criticism by saying that he was very pleased to have joined Liverpool and that he would work hard to make it into van Basten's
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
squad; in May 2006 the manager announced his final list of 23, which included Kromkamp, although he was not used during the tournament itself.