| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1997-01-25)25 January 1997 (age 28) | ||
| Place of birth | Amsterdam, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | AC Oulu | ||
| Number | 38 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Blauw-Wit | |||
| –2005 | RKSV Pancratius | ||
| 2005–2015 | Ajax | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2018 | Jong Ajax | 61 | (1) |
| 2018–2020 | Jong AZ | 34 | (1) |
| 2018–2020 | AZ | 2 | (0) |
| 2020 | →Den Bosch (loan) | 4 | (1) |
| 2020–2022 | FC Aarau | 72 | (5) |
| 2022–2024 | Cambuur | 52 | (0) |
| 2024– | AC Oulu | 6 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2012 | Netherlands U15 | 3 | (1) |
| 2014 | Netherlands U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 2016–2018 | Netherlands U20 | 8 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 October 2024 | |||
Léon Bergsma (born 25 January 1997) is a Dutch professionalfootballer who plays as acentre-back forVeikkausliiga clubAC Oulu.[2]
Bergsma is a product of the youth system atAjax, having joined the club at the age of eight after initially playing youth football forBlauw-Wit and RKSV Pancratius.[3] On 8 May 2015, he made his professional debut forJong Ajax in anEerste Divisie match againstTOP Oss, replacingLeeroy Owusu in the 88th minute.[4] In April 2016, Bergsma signed his first contract with Ajax, which tied him to the club until 2018.[5] Ahead of the2016–17 season, Bergsma officially moved up from the under-19 team to the squad of Jong Ajax. He scored his first professional goal on 14 April 2017, heading homeNoa Lang's corner-kick as Jong Ajax beatDordrecht 1–0.[6] With Bergsma ascaptain, Jong Ajax won theEerste Divisie title in the2017–18 season.[7]
On 21 June 2018, Bergsma moved toAZ on a free transfer, and signed a four-year deal.[8] He made his debut for the club on 12 August in a 5–0 victory againstNAC Breda, replacingRon Vlaar in the 81st minute.[9][10] He made only three appearances for AZ's first team, as he primarily featured for their reserves,Jong AZ in theEerste Divisie.[2]
Bergsma joined Eerste Divisie clubDen Bosch on a six-month loan on 31 January 2020.[11] He made only four appearances for the club, as theRoyal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) decided to cancel the remainder of theseason due to effects of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[12]
In August 2020, Bergsma signed with Swiss clubFC Aarau.[13] The transfer came about in an unusual manner. During a chance meeting inFrankfurt, a stadium technician named Dany Bürge met the Dutch businessman Rob Been Jr., who had previously served as the director ofAjax. Several months later, Bürge visited Been in the Netherlands, where during a dinner conversation, he mentioned that FC Aarau was in need of acentre-back. Been, having an idea, immediately contacted Bergsma, who expressed interest. Bürge then facilitated a connection between Bergsma and FC Aarau's sports director,Sandro Burki. Following several trial training sessions, FC Aarau decided to sign Bergsma.[14][15]
Bergsma made his competitive debut for the club, starting in aSwiss Cup second-round match againstFC Wil on 12 September 2020, where Aarau advanced afterpenalty shoot-out.[16] One week later, he made his debut in theSwiss Challenge League, also against FC Wil, as Aarau lost 3–1 at home.[17] He remained a starter through two seasons with Aarau, scoring six goals in 78 total appearances.[2]
On 28 July 2022, Bergsma returned to the Netherlands and signed a three-year contract withEredivisie clubCambuur.[18] He made his debut for the club on 6 August, the first matchday of theseason, replacingFloris Smand in the second half of a 2–0 home loss toExcelsior.[19][20] He soon established himself as a starter atcentre-back, as Cambuur suffered relegation from the Eredivisie at the end of the season.[21]
On 27 August 2024, Bergsma signed withAC Oulu in Finnish top-tierVeikkausliiga, on a deal until June 2025, with an option to extend until the end of 2026.[22] He made his debut for the club on 1 September, starting in a 2–1 league loss toIFK Mariehamn.[23]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Jong Ajax | 2014–15 | Eerste Divisie | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16 | Eerste Divisie | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2016–17 | Eerste Divisie | 27 | 1 | — | — | — | 27 | 1 | ||||
| 2017–18 | Eerste Divisie | 33 | 0 | — | — | — | 33 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 61 | 1 | — | — | — | 61 | 1 | |||||
| AZ | 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| Jong AZ | 2018–19 | Eerste Divisie | 24 | 1 | — | — | — | 24 | 1 | |||
| 2019–20 | Eerste Divisie | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 34 | 1 | — | — | — | 34 | 1 | |||||
| Den Bosch (loan) | 2019–20 | Eerste Divisie | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| FC Aarau | 2020–21 | Swiss Challenge League | 35 | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 39 | 4 | ||
| 2021–22 | Swiss Challenge League | 35 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 2 | |||
| 2022–23 | Swiss Challenge League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 72 | 5 | 6 | 1 | — | — | 78 | 6 | ||||
| Cambuur | 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Eerste Divisie | 28 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 0 | |||
| Total | 52 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 56 | 6 | ||||
| AC Oulu | 2024 | Veikkausliiga | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2025 | Veikkausliiga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 5[b] | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Total | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 231 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 247 | 7 | ||
Jong Ajax