 Van der Meyde in 2008 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1979-09-30)30 September 1979 (age 46) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Arnhem, Netherlands | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Winger | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1993 | Vitesse 1892 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1998 | Ajax | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1997–2003 | Ajax | 91 | (18) | ||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | →Twente (loan) | 32 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003–2005 | Inter Milan | 32 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2009 | Everton | 20 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010 | PSV | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | WKE | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 181 | (21) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | Netherlands | 17 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Andy van der Meijde (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈɛndivɑndərˈmɛidə]; born 30 September 1979),anglicised tovan der Meyde, is a Dutch former professionalfootballer who played as awinger.
After making a name for himself atAjax, he went on to representInter Milan andEverton, his spell at the latter club being cut short due to several problems, both on and off the pitch.[1][2]
A full international between 2002 and 2004, he won 17caps and scored one goal for theDutch national team. He represented his country atUEFA Euro 2004.
Born inArnhem,Gelderland, Van der Meyde signed forAjax as a youngster, and made his first-team debut aged just 18, helping to a 1–0 win againstTwente on 12 November 1997. In 1999, in order to gain experience, he was loaned to Twente for one season, and was an undisputed starter for a side thatfinished sixth in theEredivisie.
It would be in2001–02 that Van der Meyde established himself as first-choice at Ajax. After a turbulent start,Ronald Koeman was instated as head coach, and the player became an integral part in the rebuilding of the team, making the right-winger position his own. The campaign ended in huge success as theAmsterdam club conqueredthe double, with him scoring five times in the league.
In2002–03 Van der Meyde – playing alongside the likes of youngsters asMido,Zlatan Ibrahimović,Rafael van der Vaart,Wesley Sneijder,Steven Pienaar andCristian Chivu – scored a career-best 11 goals, while also helping Ajax tothe quarterfinals in theUEFA Champions League, netting in a crucial 1–1 away draw againstRoma which certified the team's qualification for the knockout stages.[3]
In the 2003 off-season, 24-year-old Van der Meyde was acquired byInter Milan from Italy, for£4 million.[4] However, he managed only 14Serie A appearances inhis first season, appearing slightly more inthe following campaign.
Van der Meyde scored a spectacular goal againstArsenal on 17 September 2003, inthe Champions League group stage 3–0 away win atHighbury,[5] as Inter were eventually ousted in the group stages.
After leaving Inter, strong speculation suggested Van der Meyde would return to Ajax, with additional reported interest from French clubMonaco andTottenham Hotspur in England. However, on 31 August 2005, he agreed a contract with anotherPremier League team,Everton, for £2 million; on 25 March 2006, in his firstMerseyside derby againstLiverpool, he received a straightred card for his challenge on Liverpool'sXabi Alonso, in a 1–3 away loss.[6]
In the summer of 2006, Van der Meyde proved once again to be the centre of much speculation regarding his future, having failed to properly settle at Everton and making only ten appearances inhis first season thanks to a combination of injuries and rumours of alcoholism. He staunchly denied any such allegations and reaffirmed his commitment in June 2006, stating
"I want to stay, I am desperate to stay. I love it here. Everything suits my game. I'm happy in England and I want to show everyone that I can really play football. If I get the chance next season, I will do it."[7]
Van der Meyde was admitted to hospital in the early hours of 7 August 2006, with breathing problems. It was claimed that his drink had beenspiked whilst in a bar in Liverpool. He was fined by Everton for breach of discipline and, to further add to a miserable week, his house was burgled during afriendly withAthletic Bilbao five days later: hisFerrari,Mini Cooper, and dog were amongst the items stolen. The cars and pet dog were later found, although the Ferrari had its windscreen smashed.[8] In March 2007, the player accused managerDavid Moyes of telling 'downright lies' in regard to his fitness, but apologised afterwards.
In July 2007, Van der Meyde played a full 90 minutes inColeraine,Northern Ireland. In arguably his most successful pre-season at the club, he went on to complete several friendly matches in an attempt to gain fitness ahead ofthe new domestic league campaign. However, he further cast a doubt over his Everton future by failing to turn up for a scheduled training session.
On 17 August 2007, Van der Meyde was suspended following a 'breach of club discipline' because he had failed to appear at training, being fined two weeks' wages for a total of £50,000.[9][10] The player appealed for "understanding from the club and fans" due to the personal situation he was facing, with his five-month-old daughter Dolce not being allowed to leave the hospital since her birth due to illness;[11] following this, he did not make an appearance for the main squad for over a year, being limited to justreserve team football.
Van der Meyde returned to first-team football on 7 December 2008, playing five minutes for an injury-hit Everton side in a 2–3 home defeat toAston Villa. The following month, he was brought on as asubstitute in theFA Cupfourth round replay against Liverpool, providing theassist toDan Gosling's winning strike in the 118th minute;[12] he was released in June 2009, after his contract expired.
Van der Meyde spent six months unattached before agreeing a short-term deal withPSV Eindhoven in March 2010.[13] On 23 April he made his debut for the club in a 3–0 friendly win overVVV-Venlo, but failed to appear officially during his stint.
In late February 2011, Van der Meyde retired from professional football at the age of 31.[14] However, in December, he returned to action and joinedTopklasse amateursWKE based inEmmen, until the end of the season.[15]
On 19 May 2002, Van der Meyde was handed his debut forDick Advocaat'sDutch national team against theUnited States, which he marked with a goal in a 2–0 win. He helped the country reach the semi-finals ofUEFA Euro 2004, featuring in four games – all starts – and assistingRuud van Nistelrooy in the 1–1 group stage draw toGermany,[16] but being overlooked for the last-four match againstPortugal.
After the tournament, followingMarco van Basten's appointment as national team manager and the emergence of youngsters asArjen Robben,Robin van Persie andRafael van der Vaart, Van der Meyde failed to receive another callup, finishing his international career with 17caps.
Van der Meyde has two daughters from a previous marriage.[1][2][17]
In November 2012, following the publication of his biographyGeen genade (English:No Mercy),[1] Van der Meyde gave a series of media interviews, including withThe Times in England,[18] in which he admitted to a long term series of personal problems:[1][2] after a difficult first year inMilan he spent a long time on the bench in his second year, and began drinking. Offered the chance to join AS Monaco at the end of the season his wife, who liked to keep animals, rejected the prospect of living in an apartment, so he moved to Everton.[1][2] Injured upon arriving, he played regularly for a period after regaining fitness, before getting injured againstManchester United; in rehabilitation for six months, after his newly born daughter was hospitalised for an equal period, he again turned to alcohol.[1][2]
In his second year at Everton, Van der Meyde's wife and daughters returned to the Netherlands to enable his youngest child to have access to hospital treatment and to maintain close ties with family members.[1][2] Van der Meyde began an affair, which his wife discovered after she paid a private detective to follow his activities;[1][2] this led to his divorce, and also a break-up with his girlfriend.[1][2]
After his contract with Everton was terminated at the end of the fourth season due to recurring injuries, personal problems, and falling out with managerDavid Moyes, Van der Meyde remained as a resident of Liverpool for a year.[1][2] Moving in with a friend he began a downward spiral of drink, excessive gambling and drug taking, includingcocaine.[1][2]
Realising his nowdepressive state, Van der Meyde agreed with his agent to return to Amsterdam, who negotiated a training agreement with former club Ajax.[1][2] This allowed him to turn around his life, and regain contact with his ex-wife and daughters.[1][2]
On 24 May 2014, Van der Meyderefereed the Lingerie World Cup, which the Netherlands won on home soil.[citation needed]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ajax | 1997–98 | Eredivisie | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1998–99 | Eredivisie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Eredivisie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2000–01 | Eredivisie | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | 31 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02 | Eredivisie | 30 | 5 | 4 | 2 | – | 5 | 0 | 39 | 7 | ||
| 2002–03 | Eredivisie | 29 | 11 | 3 | 0 | – | 13 | 1 | 45 | 12 | ||
| Total | 91 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 122 | 21 | ||
| Twente (loan) | 1999–2000 | Eredivisie | 32 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 3 |
| Inter Milan | 2003–04 | Serie A | 14 | 1 | 4 | 1 | – | 7 | 1 | 25 | 3 | |
| 2004–05 | Serie A | 18 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | 6 | 1 | 29 | 1 | ||
| Total | 32 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 54 | 4 | ||
| Everton | 2005–06 | Premier League | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2007–08 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2008–09 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||
| PSV Eindhoven | 2009–10 | Eredivisie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WKE | 2011–12 | Topklasse | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 181 | 21 | 22 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 3 | 240 | 28 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 2002 | 3 | 1 |
| 2003 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 9 | 0 | |
| Total | 17 | 1 | |
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 19 May 2002 | CMGi Field,Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States |  United States | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
Ajax
Inter Milan
|  | |
