Daniël de Ridder
Personal information
Full name	Daniël de Ridder
Date of birth	March 6, 1984 (1984-03-06) (age 25)
Place of birth	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Winger/Attacking Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Wigan Athletic
Number	18
Youth career
	Ajax
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2004–2005 2005–2007 2007–2008 2008–	Ajax Celta Vigo Birmingham City Wigan Athletic	30 (3) 20 (1) 10 (0) 18 (0)
National team2
2004-2007	Netherlands U21	30 (2)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11:45, 24 May 2009 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 09:41, 3 July 2007 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Daniël de Ridder born 6 March 1984) is a Dutch footballer, who currently plays for Wigan Athletic in the Premier League. He has previously played for Ajax, Celta Vigo and Birmingham City as a forward winger or attacking midfielder.

De Ridder made his first-team breakthrough at Ajax on 21 January 2004 against Roda JC. He was a regular throughout the second half of the campaign, featuring in the UEFA Champions League, only to seek a fresh start in Spain with Celta de Vigo in August 2005, having joined on a five-year contract.^{[citation needed]}

He made his official debut for Celta de Vigo in the match against Sevilla in September 2005, and played as a regular after the winter break in matches against Osasuna, Barcelona and other Spanish clubs in the Primera Division.

For Birmingham City he made his Premier League debut on 12 August 2007 as a substitute in the opening match of the season against Chelsea. De Ridder was a key player in Birmingham's 3–2 win against Wigan Athletic on 27 October 2007 in which he made his full home debut.

Contents 1 Club career 1.1 Ajax 1.2 Celta Vigo 1.3 Birmingham City 1.4 Wigan Athletic 2 International career 3 Statistics 4 Awards 5 Notes 6 External links

[edit] Club career

[edit] Ajax

Born in Amsterdam to a Dutch father and an Israeli mother, he plays as a forward/midfield player who operates either on the right or left side but can also play in a more advanced role. De Ridder worked his way up to first-team selection from Ajax's youth department, making his full debut in an away game against Roda JC on 21 January 2004, and scored his first goal against Willem II on 16 May.

De Ridder was a regular throughout the second half of the campaign, starting nine games and appearing a further six times as a substitute. De Ridder made his UEFA Champions League debut in September 2004, coming on as a 69th-minute substitute in a 4–0 defeat at Bayern Munich. In December 2004, he was offered a improved contact until June 2007.^[1]

Part of the Netherlands side that reached the second qualifying round of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship in 2002–03, De Ridder stepped up to the U21s as the 2006 UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign kicked off.

De Ridder was told prior to the 2005–2006 season that there would be no room for him in the squad and he could expect little playing time if he decided to stay.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Celta Vigo

Ajax and Celta reached an agreement for De Ridder to the Spanish club on 31 August 2005.^[2]

On 25 September 2005, De Ridder made his official debut for Celta when they beat Sevilla, allowing the Galician club to temporarily top the Primera División. On 3 April 2006, De Ridder scored his first official goal for Celta against Atlético Madrid. Throughout the second half of the campaign he was a regular for Celta against Barcelona, Valencia, Osasuna and other clubs.

Celta were relegated from the Spanish Primera Division at the end of the 2006–2007 season. De Ridder returned to Ajax, as Celta Vigo had decided not to excise their option to buy him, where he was allowed to leave on a free transfer.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Birmingham City

De Ridder signed for Birmingham City on a free transfer on 3 July 2007.^[3][4] He made his Premier League debut on 12 August 2007 as a substitute in the opening match of the season against Chelsea, but injured his ankle within minutes of coming on^[5] and was unable to complete the match. Though starting the League Cup defeat at Blackburn Rovers, he was not considered fit enough for League games^[6] until after the October international break, when he made a substitute appearance against Manchester City. He was a key player in Birmingham's 3–2 win against Wigan Athletic on 27 October 2007 in which he made his full home debut.^[7] De Ridder's last game for the club was in January 2008 in the FA Cup, manager Alex McLeish considering him better suited to a style of play which placed more emphasis on passing than did Birmingham's.^[8] His contract was cancelled by mutual consent at the end of the season.^[9][10]

[edit] Wigan Athletic

He joined Wigan Athletic the next day on a free transfer and signed a three year deal.^[11] De Ridder got his first assist against Newcastle coming off the bench and swinging in a 89th minute corner for a dramatic Titus Bramble equalizer.^[12]

[edit] International career

Ever present in the qualification games of the Netherlands U-21 team along with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, the Amsterdam-born attacker entered the finals as the most experienced member of the Netherlands' U-21 squad with 18 caps. De Ridder scored the decisive goal in the match against Italy which ensured qualification for the semifinals. The Netherlands went on to win the UEFA U-21 Championship 2006.

In 2007 De Ridder was called up by Jong Oranje coach Foppe de Haan to be part of his squad for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship held in the Netherlands. De Ridder participated in their first round group match against Israel (1–0 win) and after the match against Portugal (2–1 win) they secured a semi final spot and qualification for the 2008 Summer Olympics. In the semi finals against England (1–1, 13–12 after 32 penalty kicks) De Ridder scored and missed one of the penalty kicks. In the final against Serbia (4–1), De Ridder provided the pass from which Otman Bakkal made it 1–0. In the second half De Ridder created the opportunity for Ryan Babel to put the Netherlands 2–0 up, and in the 87th minute Luigi Bruins scored a tap-in from a De Ridder move to make it 4–1. The Netherlands won the UEFA U-21 Championship 2007.

Despite being an ever present figure in the Dutch youth teams, he is yet to receive a call-up for the senior side.

[edit] Statistics

Season	Club	Country	Competition	Matches	Goals
2003–04	AFC Ajax	Netherlands	Eredivisie	15	1
2004–05	AFC Ajax	Netherlands	Eredivisie	15	2
2005–06	Celta de Vigo	Spain	Primera División	17	1
2006–07	Celta de Vigo	Spain	Primera División	3	0
2007–08	Birmingham City	England	Premier League	10	0
2008–09	Wigan Athletic	England	Premier League	18	0

[edit] Awards

• Individual Award: 2004 – Talent of the Year (NOS Award)
• Eredivisie: National Championschip 2004 (Ajax Amsterdam)
• 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
• 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
• Best Looking Player in the Premiership (PeaceandPout.co.uk)

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Daniel De Ridder - Info & News
• FootballDatabase.com Profile
• Daniël de Ridder career stats at Soccerbase
• Profile at bcfc.com
• Footballclips.net Video

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