Mike Zonneveld

Mike Zonneveld
Personal information
Date of birth (1980-10-27) 27 October 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth Leiden, Netherlands
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Left back
Youth career
1986–1990 SJC
1991–1997 Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2000 Go Ahead Eagles 18 (2)
2000–2004 NEC 94 (8)
2004–2007 NAC Breda 55 (11)
2007–2010 PSV 26 (2)
2009–2010 → Groningen (loan) 21 (0)
2010–2011 AEL Limassol 18 (1)
2011–2013 NAC Breda 2 (0)
Total 234 (24)
International career
1999–2001 Netherlands U21 9 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mike Zonneveld (born 27 October 1980) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a left back.

Career

Early years

Zonneveld started playing football with the amateurs of SJC in Noordwijk at the age of five. He soon caught the attention of the scouts of Ajax and at a young age he joined their academy, where he was considered a promising talent.[2] In 1999, he decided to move to Go Ahead Eagles. There, he made his professional debut in professional on 11 November 1999 in the home game against Dordrecht '90 in a 4–4 draw.[3] He soon grew into a key player at the club.[4]

NEC

In 2000 he signed a four-year contract with NEC.[5] He had a promising start, but in September 2001, however, he tore a cruciate ligament in his knee in a match for the Netherlands under-21 team against England.[6] Ultimately, he would struggle with this injury for two years, until he had a final surgery on his knee on 3 December 2003.[7]

NAC Breda

In February 2004, Zonneveld signed a four-year contract with NAC Breda.[7] He struggled to break into the starting lineup during the first months of his stint, but then managed to become a starter from the onset of the 2004–05 season. In the second half of the season, he was once again sidelined for a considerable amount of time, partly due to using the banned substance salbutamol in relation to his asthma.[8] The 2005–06 season was also lost for the left midfielder. Once again he struggled with a serious injury, which meant he only made four appearances and scored one goal.[9] Zonneveld was able to return to form in the 2006–07 season. Fully recovered from his injury, he managed to return to the starting lineup of NAC. With his refined technique and efficient free kicks, he became an important player for the team, making 31 league appearances in which he scored six times.[1][10][11]

PSV

On 23 May 2007, after having played 55 games and scored 11 goals for NAC, Zonneveld signed a four-year contract with PSV for the 2007–08 season.[12] Zonneveld scored twice for PSV, against Heracles Almelo and Sparta Rotterdam.[13] In his first season at PSV, Zonneveld immediately won the national championship,[14] yet he lost his starting place in his second season and was allowed to leave the club afterwards.[15] Before the start of the 2009–10 season, he was sent on loan to Groningen.[16]

AEL Limassol

Ahead of the 2010–11 season, it became clear that Zonneveld again could count on little playing time with PSV. For this reason, he signed a two-year contract with the Cypriot AEL Limassol on 9 July 2010.[17] After one season he was sidelined alongside fellow Dutchman Nicky Hofs at the club. In June 2011, Hofs stated that he and Zonneveld had not received their salary for four months, and that he would file a lawsuit with FIFA.[18] This case ended in February 2014, where Hofs and Zonneveld reached a settlement with the club for a "considerable sum", after having taken the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).[19][20]

Return to NAC

On 7 June 2011, Zonneveld returned to NAC Breda after his period in Cyprus, where he signed a contract for two years.[21] At NAC, Zonneveld was mostly sidelined due to recurring injuries, and announced his retirement in January 2013.[22] He remained with the club in a different role until the summer of 2013.[23]

From the summer of 2014, Zonneveld became an assistant coach at VV Noordwijk.[24]

Honours

PSV

References

  1. ^ a b Mike Zonneveld at Soccerway
  2. ^ "'Ik deed de afwas in het hotel van mijn zus'". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 10 July 2007.
  3. ^ "Go Ahead Eagles - Dordrecht '90 4:4 (Eerste Divisie 1999/2000, 13. Ronde)". voetbal.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  4. ^ Arentsen, Dennis (15 February 2019). "Banden tussen Go Ahead en NEC nog verder aangehaald". De Stentor (in Dutch).
  5. ^ "Zonneveld en Gentenaar langer bij NEC". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 19 June 2002.
  6. ^ "Mike Zonneveld langdurig uitgeschakeld". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 15 November 2001.
  7. ^ a b "Mike Zonneveld nu wel naar NAC Breda". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 5 February 2003.
  8. ^ "Geen straf voor 'dopingzondaar' Zonneveld". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 6 July 2005.
  9. ^ "Mike Zonneveld: 'Laat de topclubs de gok maar eens wagen met mij'". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 11 April 2007.
  10. ^ "Zonneveld: "Mensen krijgen oude Zonneveld weer te zien"". www.bsiderats.nl (in Dutch). 11 November 2011.
  11. ^ "...En de andere wedstrijden". Het Parool (in Dutch). 9 May 2007.
  12. ^ "Mike Zonneveld stapt over naar PSV". Trouw (in Dutch). 23 May 2007.
  13. ^ "28 Oktober 2007 Sparta - PSV 0-2 Zonneveld - video Dailymotion". Dailymotion. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  14. ^ a b "2007/2008: PSV kampioen". nos.nl (in Dutch).
  15. ^ "Zonneveld mag PSV voor 'juiste prijs' verlaten". FCUpdate.nl (in Dutch). 23 December 2008.
  16. ^ "Mike Zonneveld naar FC Groningen". RTV Noord (in Dutch). 4 August 2009.
  17. ^ "Zonneveld van PSV naar AEL Limassol". NU (in Dutch). 9 July 2010.
  18. ^ Kemperman, P. (14 June 2011). "Hofs (ex-Vitesse) naar FIFA voor salaris". De Gelderlander (in Dutch).
  19. ^ Knipping, Tom (7 November 2013). "Hofs en Zonneveld naar CAS voor salaris van AEL Limassol". Voetbal International (in Dutch).
  20. ^ "Hofs en Zonneveld kunnen flink bedrag toucheren na gelijk rechter". Soccernews (in Dutch). 11 February 2014.
  21. ^ "NAC legt 'brok routine' Zonneveld vast". Het Parool (in Dutch). 7 June 2011.
  22. ^ "Zonneveld stopt als voetballer; gaat verder in andere rol bij NAC". Elfvoetbal.nl (in Dutch). 25 January 2013.
  23. ^ "Andere rol Zonneveld bij NAC". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 25 January 2013.
  24. ^ "Marcel Akerboom stopt met voetballen bij vv Noordwijk". Omroep West (in Dutch). 18 March 2014.
  25. ^ "Eerste prijsje voor PSV in laatste 'oefenwedstrijd'". NRC (in Dutch). 24 August 2008.