Full name
Gregory Kurtley van der Wiel
Date of birth 3 February 1988 (1988-02-03) (age 22)
Place of birth Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Weight 68 kg
Playing position Right back
Date of birth 3 February 1988 (1988-02-03) (age 22)
Place of birth Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Weight 68 kg
Playing position Right back
Gregory Kurtley van der Wiel (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɣrɛɣɔri vɐn dər ˈʋil]; born 3 February 1988 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch international footballer who plays professionally for Ajax and the Netherlands national football team.
A more recent product of the renowned Ajax youth system, he is an attacking right back known for his speedy runs down the flank. In 2010, Van der Wiel was awarded the Johan Cruijff Award for "Young Player of the Year" in the Netherlands.
He made his debut for the Dutch national team in February 2009, and participated in the Netherland's silver winning performance at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Dutch team-mate John Heitinga has labeled him the spiritual successor of Michael Reiziger for the Netherlands.
His father (of Dutch descent) is from Curaçao, while his mother is ethnic Dutch. Besides his native Dutch, Van der Wiel speaks English.
Career
Club career
Van der Wiel made his professional debut for Ajax on 11 March 2007 in a 4–1 away win against FC Twente. He would play three more matches that season. For the 2007–08 season he participated in the 1–0 victory over PSV Eindhoven in the battle for the Johan Cruijff-schaal, resulting in winning his first career trophy.
The 2008–09 season saw van der Wiel breaking into the starting lineup on a regular basis under new manager Marco van Basten. Originally a right-footed centre back, he was switched to right back by van Basten where he currently plays and has since flourished in this new role. On 17 December 2008, the young defender had an unfortunate incident in an UEFA Cup match against Slavia Prague when he scored an own goal in a match that eventually ended 2–2. Van der Wiel scored his first Eredivisie goal for Ajax on 1 March 2009 in a 0–2 away victory over FC Utrecht at Stadion Galgenwaard. He scored his second league goal for Ajax soon after, in a 0–3 away win over NAC Breda on 22 March 2009. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Van der Wiel was given the "Ajax Talent of the Year" award, having played 40 competitive matches for Ajax and having made his international debut.
Van der Wiel, seen here with former team-mates Edgar Davids and Thomas Vermaelen, has played for Ajax since 1996.
Van der Wiel started the 2009–10 season well under new Ajax manager Martin Jol, scoring his third league goal for Ajax on 8 August 2009.[9] The goal came in a 4–1 victory over RKC Waalwijk during which Ajax captain Luis Suárez scored a hat-trick and was van der Wiel's first goal at the Amsterdam ArenA. Van der Wiel's second league goal of the season came on 25 October 2009, in a 2–4 away victory over defending champions AZ. On 1 November 2009, van der Wiel scored in the "klassieker" against arch-rivals Feyenoord in a 5–1 thrashing of the Rotterdam side. On 6 May 2010, Van der Wiel played in the final of the 2009-10 Dutch Cup as Ajax beat Feyenoord 4-1. At the end of the season, Van der Wiel was awarded the Johan Cruijff Award for "Young Player of the Year".
Following the 2010 World Cup Van der Wiel was in talks to make a transfer to Louis van Gaal's Bayern Munich. However, Ajax was not able to a agree to a deal.
International career
Van der Wiel has been capped at the under-21 level and participated at the 2007 Toulon Tournament. He made his senior debut for the Netherlands on February 11, 2009, coming on as a substitute for former Ajax teammate John Heitinga in the friendly game against Tunisia. He made his first competitive debut on March 28, 2009, being in the starting lineup for the 3–0 2010 World Cup qualification victory over Scotland. He again played the whole match for the 4–0 World Cup qualification victory over Macedonia on April 1, 2009. Since them he has established himself as the first choice right-back in the Dutch squad.
Twitter incident
In October 2009, Van der Wiel became embroiled in a controversy after he was unable to travel with the Dutch squad to Australia for a friendly game due to a concussion obtained while playing for Ajax. The player went to a Lil' Wayne concert while his Dutch teammates were in Australia and posted a picture of himself with the rapper on his Twitter page. Several prominent figures in Dutch football criticised the player for his actions, including Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk who stated "It's rather strange that he was able to go to a concert, given that he told me that he was not allowed to fly by the Ajax medical staff." Ajax manager Martin Jol defended the player, stating that the incident was blown out of proportion by the media and that it should not be seen as a lack of respect on the part of the player for the Dutch national team. Van Marwijk has since forgiven Van der Wiel for the incident, stating that "he should not expect that this incident will have consequences for his place in the team".
2010 World Cup
Van der Wiel was part of the Dutch team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup managed by Bert van Marwijk. The player was in the starting line-up for their first two matches in the competition, 2–0 victory over Denmark and 1–0 victory over Japan.
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