.jpg) Chery withNEC in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tjaronn Inteff Chefren Chery[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1988-06-04)4 June 1988 (age 36) | ||
| Place of birth | Enschede, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Antwerp | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| UDI Enschede | |||
| Victoria '28 | |||
| 2002–2008 | Twente | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2010 | Twente | 1 | (0) |
| 2009 | →Cambuur (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | →RBC (loan) | 30 | (1) |
| 2010–2011 | Emmen | 33 | (9) |
| 2011–2014 | ADO Den Haag | 66 | (10) |
| 2013–2014 | →Groningen (loan) | 35 | (10) |
| 2014–2015 | Groningen | 34 | (15) |
| 2015–2017 | Queens Park Rangers | 61 | (14) |
| 2017–2019 | Guizhou Zhicheng | 27 | (1) |
| 2018–2019 | →Kayserispor (loan) | 33 | (9) |
| 2019–2024 | Maccabi Haifa | 153 | (43) |
| 2024 | →NEC (loan) | 15 | (5) |
| 2024– | Antwerp | 13 | (7) |
| International career | |||
| 2021–2023 | Suriname | 5 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:47, 9 November 2024 (UTC) | |||
Tjaronn Inteff Chefren Chery (born 4 June 1988) is a professionalfootballer who plays as anattacking midfielder forBelgian Pro League clubAntwerp. Born in the Netherlands, he represents theSuriname national team.
Chery was born in the Netherlands and is ofSurinamese descent.[2] However, when he was three, his father left his wife and they have not seen him since.[3] Because of this, his mother raised him and his two brothers, Ronny and Tjarck, whom Tjaronn considers his heroes.[3]
Before signing a youth contract withFC Twente, Chery played for amateur side U.D.I. Enschede until he left for Twente when he was fourteen in 2002.[4] A fantastic season with the A-Juniors (highest youth level) culminated in winning the national championship in 2007.[5] That year, he played 21 matches and scored 2 goals. Chery was mainly used as a substitute, playing in the same position asQays Shayesteh.[6]
On 16 January 2008, first team coachFred Rutten picked Chery for the main squad.[7] On 5 May 2008, Chery won the national reserves championship,captaining his team to the victory. That meant that he received the winner's plate.[8] For his performance, Chery was rewarded with his first professional contract at Twente, keeping him until 2011.[9]
On 26 October 2008, Chery made his professional debut in theEredivisie, substitutingMarko Arnautović in extra time in the away match againstVitesse. At the time he entered the pitch, the score was 0–2 to Twente which the match also ended. This turns out to be his only appearance for the club.[10] After this, Chery was loaned out toCambuur for the rest of the 2008–09 season.[11] Chery then made his Cambuur debut on 16 January 2009, where he started and played the whole game, in a 1–0 win overHaarlem.[12] Chery played a role in a match againstEindhoven on 1 May 2009 when he set up two goals, in a 3–1 win.[13] Chery finished the season at Cambuur, making fifteen appearances.
In the 2009–10 season, Chery was loaned out again when he signed forRBC Roosendaal on a season long loan deal.[14] Chery made his RBC Roosendaal debut, in the opening game of the season, where he set up one of the goals, in a 4–0 win over Emmen.[15] Chery established himself in the first team, and scored his first goal on 8 March 2010 in a 1–1 draw against Emmen in their second meeting of the season.[16] Chery went on to finish the season, making thirty–two appearances and scoring once in all competitions. During his time at Twente, Chery said that he suffered from a lot of setbacks; these were the reasons that he struggled to make a breakthrough there.[17]
Chery signed forEmmen on 29 July 2010.[18] Two days later, Chery played his first Emmen match in a friendly match against his former club, Twente, which saw Emmen win 2–1.[19] Chery started in his league debut for Emmen in the opening game of the season, a 3–0 loss againstPEC Zwolle.[20] On 27 August 2010, he scored his first Emmen goal, in a 3–2 loss againstMVV Maastricht,[21] and scored his second on 17 September in a 3–1 loss againstHelmond Sport.[22] Chery then scored two more goals by the end of 2010 and finished the first half of the season with 16 appearances and four league goals.
At the start of 2011, Chery scored two goals in two matches on 14 and 17 January 2011 against Zwolle[23] andDordrecht.[24] He scored twice, in a 6–0 win over AGOVV on 25 February and scored in the next game, a 3–1 win over RBC Roosendaal.[25][26] He finished his first season with 34 appearances and ten goals in all competitions, and was voted the club's player of the year.[27][28]
Chery's performance at Emmen attracted interests from clubs around Netherlands.[29] Among interested wasEredivisie sideADO Den Haag, who made a bid for him in April.[30] Eventually, Emmen accepted a bid for him and on 6 June 2011, Chery signed for ADO Den Haag for an undisclosed fee and signing a two–year contract, with an option of extending for two years.[31]
Chery made his ADO Den Haag debut in the second round of UEFA Europa League first leg, where he set up one of the goals, in a 3–0 win overTauras Tauragė.[32] In the second round against them, Chery scored his first ADO Den Haag goal, in a 2–0 win to send them through to the next round.[33] Chery then made his league debut for the club, in the opening game of the season, where he played 56 minutes, in a 0–0 draw againstVitesse.[34] Chery then went on a score four goals in six games in all competitions between 21 September 2011 and 26 October 2011 againstScheveningen,[35]Feyenoord,[36]Roda JC[37] and Vitesse[38] His goal against Roda JC on 16 October 2011 almost broke the record ofKoos Waslander's goal for the fastest goal in the game, just one second away.[39] Throughout the 2011–12 season, Chery established himself in the first team and was ever present in the league, playing thirty–four times and scoring two times.
In the 2012–13 season, Chery started the opening game of the season well when he scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–2 draw against Vitesse.[40] Two weeks later, on 25 August 2012, Chery scored twice, in a 4–2 win againstVVV-Venlo.[41] By the end of 2012, he scored two more goals before receiving a straight red card on 1 December 2012, in a 2–0 against Twente.[42] After the match, he was suspended for three matches following Chery's refusal to serve a five match ban, initially imposed by the FA.[43][44] After appealing against his suspension, Chery played against Feyenoord on 16 December 2012, where he set up one of the goals, in a 3–2 loss.[45][46] As a result, his three match suspension was reduced to two instead.[47] Later in the 2012–13 season, Chery scored three more goals againstNAC Breda,[48]Ajax[49] and Heracles.[50] Chery went on to finish the season, making thirty–four appearances and scoring eight times in all competitions
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During and after the 2012–13 season, Chery began to attract interests from clubs abroad and doubted his future at ADO Den Haag.[51] Chances of Chery leaving the club, leading them to keen on selling him, as long as, it involves a transfer fee.[52]
Instead, on 23 July 2013, Chery joinedGroningen on a season long loan deal until the end of the 2013–14 season.[53] It came after when Groningen expressed interests signing him.[54] Upon joining the club, Chery was presented and was given a number ten shirt ahead of the new season.[55]
Chery made an immediate impact for Groningen when he scored and set up one of the goals, in a 4–1 win overNEC[56] and was named Team of the Week byAlgemeen Dagblad.[57] His second goal came on 25 August 2013, in a 3–3 draw againstGo Ahead Eagles[58] and scored one more goal by the end of 2013 against Vitesse on 27 October 2013.[59] He scored his first goal on 16 February 2014 in a 1–0 win over Go Ahead Eagles.[60] Chery later scored later in the 2013–14 season againstCambuur,[61]PSV Eindhoven,[62] Vitesse[63] andAZ (twice).[64] Despite being faced with suspensions[65][66] and injury,[67] Chery finished the 2013–14 season, making thirty–eight appearances and scoring ten times in all competitions, just finishing second as the club's top scorer behindRichairo Zivkovic by one.
During the 2013–14 season, Chery joined Groningen on a permanent basis, with Emmen earning profit as a result of Chery's transfer.[68] In the summer transfer, Chery almost joined Saudi Arabia sideAl-Ahli Saudi, but the move was collapsed and stayed at the club throughout the season.[69][70] Chery then started the 2014–15 season well when he scored two goals in the two games against Go Ahead Eagles and Heracles.[71][72] Chery later scored three more goals by the end of 2014 for the side. Between January and April, he scored six times in twelve appearances in all competitions, including a goal against Vitesse in the quarter–finals of KNVB Cup.[73] Chery went on to score against Cambuur,[74]Willem II (twice),[75] Feyenoord[76] and NAC Breda.[77] Chery also scored againstExcelsior, as well as, setting up a goal, in a 3–0 in the semi–finals of KNVB Cup and helped the club win the KNVB Cup.[78][79] It was the club's first major trophy and they qualified for theUEFA Europa League.[80] Chery was ever present for the club in the 2014–15 season and finished the season as the club's top scorer with seventeen goals in forty–two appearances in all competitions. For his performance, Chery was voted the club's Player of the Year for the 2014–15 season.[81]
During his time at Groningen, Chery began to play as a playmaker.[82] With his impressive display at Groningen, Chery's future at the club became uncertain, as continuous interests from Europe increased.[83] Chery was linked with a move toGalatasaray andSeattle Sounders FC, but ruled out a move to America, insisting on remain playing in Europe.[84][85] In mid-July, Groningen accepted a bid from Queens Park Rangers for Chery and the move was proceed to medical.[86] Following his departure, Chery departed Groningen on good terms, and he was given a farewell sendoff after a Groningen game against Cambuur in February 2016.[87]
On 20 July 2015, Chery moved fromFC Groningen toChampionship sideQueens Park Rangers for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal.[88] Upon joining the club, Chery describe the move as "a dream come true" to play in England[89] and was given a number eight shirt ahead of the season.[90] Prior to the season, Chery was named bySky Sports as one of the six players to watch.[91]
Chery made his competitive QPR debut in the first game of the2015–16 Championship season, a 2–0 defeat againstCharlton Athletic; he started the game and was replaced byJay Emmanuel-Thomas in the 71st minute.[92] He scored his first goals for the club when he scored twice againstRotherham United on 22 August 2015, followed up in the next game by scoring a winner againstHuddersfield Town.[93][94] He scored his fourth goal of the season and set up another, in a 4–3 win overBolton Wanderers on 3 October.[95] Chery then ended four months drought without a goal when he scored in a 3–1 loss againstrival'sFulham on 13 February 2016.[96] Chery went on to score six more goals, againstBirmingham City,[97]Derby County,[98]Brentford,[99]Middlesbrough[100] andLeeds United.[101] Chery made 41 appearances and scored ten goals, finishing joint top–scorer withCharlie Austin, who left Queens Park Rangers during the season. His performance this season earned him both the Ray Jones Players' Player of the Year and Junior Hoops' Player of the Year awards.[102] He reflected favourably on his first season at the club.[103]
The 2016–17 season saw Chery switching shirt to number ten, with new signingJordan Cousins taking over number eight shirt.[104] Chery started the season well when he scored three goals in five matches against Leeds United,[105]Cardiff City[106] andBarnsley.[107] His free kick on 10 September 2016 in a 1–1 draw againstBlackburn Rovers was nominated for September's Goal of the Month.[108][109] Chery continued in the first team but lost form, rejected a new contract in late December,[110][111][112] and announced his desire to leave in the January transfer window.[113] He made 25 appearances and scored four times in the first half of the season.
On 13 January 2017, it was reported that Chery had transferred toChinese Super League newcomersGuizhou Zhicheng,[114] with the transfer being officially completed on 24 January.[115] Ironically, Chery ruled out a move to China two years ago when he turned a down a move to Chinese sideJiangsu Suning.[116] He made his debut for Guizhou on 3 March 2017 in a 1–1 home draw againstLiaoning FC.[117]
On 8 August 2019, it was reported that Chery had signed a two-year deal withMaccabi Haifa of theIsraeli Premier League. Chery was expected to make €420,000 plus bonuses for each of the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons.[118]
Chery was one of Maccabi Haifa best players in the 2019-20 season scoring 10 goals and assisting 11. Chery continued to excel in the 2020-21 season, in which Maccabi Haifa won the championship, scoring 12 goals and assisting 5.
On 25 January 2024, Chery returned toEredivisie and joinedNEC on loan.[119]
On 26 May 2024, Chery was announced asBelgian Pro League clubAntwerp's first signing ahead of the2024–25 season, joining on a two-year contract.[120] He made his competitive debut on 28 July, starting in a 1–0 away victory overSporting Charleroi on the opening matchday.[121] On 11 August, he scored his first goal for the club, opening the score in a 6–1 home win overSint-Truiden.[122] Chery enjoyed a strong start to his tenure at Antwerp and was named Belgian Pro League Player of the Month for October, having recorded nine goals and five assists in 14 appearances by that point.[123][124]
In May 2015, Chery was called up to the seniorNetherlands squad.[125] Two years later, Chery was invited again to train with the national side with then managerLouis van Gaal.[126]
Previously, Chery was eligible to play forSuriname and was called up in late-December, but Groningen rejected the call-up.[127]
Chery was given the green light by theFIFA to become selected for the Suriname national team in October 2020.[128] He debuted with Suriname in a 6–0 win overAruba on 28 March 2021.[129]
In March 2015, Chery was given a leave over personal circumstances.[130] It was later revealed that Chery lost his friend, Rico, and played againstDordrecht on 8 March 2015, in which he was in tears after scoring against them, with a 2–0 win for Groningen.[131]
Chery has a brother, Ron, who is Chery's agent.[132] Chery has two boys, Shane and Chez and a daughter, Jayllin.[4]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| FC Twente | 2008–09 | Eredivisie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| Cambuur (loan) | 2008–09 | Eerste Divisie | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2[c] | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||
| RBC (loan) | 2009–10 | Eerste Divisie | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 31 | 1 | |||
| FC Emmen | 2010–11 | Eerste Divisie | 33 | 9 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 34 | 10 | |||
| ADO Den Haag | 2011–12 | Eredivisie | 34 | 2 | 2 | 2 | – | 4[d] | 1 | – | 40 | 5 | ||
| 2012–13 | 32 | 8 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 34 | 8 | |||||
| Total | 66 | 10 | 4 | 2 | – | 4 | 1 | – | 74 | 13 | ||||
| Groningen | 2013–14 | Eredivisie | 35 | 10 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | 38 | 10 | |||
| 2014–15 | 34 | 15 | 6 | 2 | – | 2[d] | 0 | – | 42 | 17 | ||||
| Total | 69 | 25 | 9 | 2 | – | 2 | 0 | – | 80 | 27 | ||||
| QPR | 2015–16 | Championship | 37 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 39 | 10 | ||
| 2016–17 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 25 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 59 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 64 | 14 | ||||
| Guizhou Zhicheng | 2017 | Chinese Super League | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 19 | 1 | |||
| 2018 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 10 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 27 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | 29 | 2 | |||||
| Kayserispor | 2018–19 | Süper Lig | 33 | 9 | 4 | 1 | – | – | – | 37 | 10 | |||
| Maccabi Haifa | 2019–20 | Israeli Premier League | 36 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 40 | 10 | ||
| 2020–21 | 34 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4[d] | 2 | – | 45 | 14 | |||
| 2021–22 | 33 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 13[e] | 2 | 1[f] | 0 | 53 | 13 | ||
| 2022–23 | 33 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11[g] | 4 | 1[f] | 0 | 49 | 15 | ||
| 2023–24 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11[h] | 2 | 1[f] | 1 | 28 | 8 | ||
| Total | 151 | 46 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 39 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 215 | 60 | ||
| Career total | 484 | 115 | 35 | 9 | 13 | 1 | 45 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 583 | 137 | ||
Groningen
Maccabi Haifa
Individual
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Maccabi Haifa F.C. captain 2023–2024 | Succeeded by |