Piet Velthuizen (born 3 November 1986 in Nijmegen, Gelderland), is a Dutch goalkeeper who plays for Eredivisie club Vitesse and the Dutch national team. He is widely considered by fans and experts to be one of the greatest goalkeepers in his own country. He has participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

[edit] Club career

Velthuizen made his first first team debut on 31 December 2006, in the 2-2 away match against Willem II. His career developed rapidly, and according to Sky Sports, he is, as of 2008, among the most promising goalkeepers in Europe.^[2] He broke into the Vitesse first team in the 2007-08 season, when he signed a contract extension until 2011.^[3] His displays brought him to the attention of an Arsenal scout, who watched him in a league game.^[2]

[edit] International career

Velthuizen received his first call-up to the Dutch squad on 21 March 2008 for the friendly match against Austria.^[4] On 5 September 2009, he made his debut for the national team in a friendly match against Japan after coming on as a half time substitute for Michel Vorm. He managed to keep a clean sheet in the 1:0 win.^[5]

[edit] 2008 Summer Olympics

He was selected by Foppe de Haan to be in the squad for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Although being first choice in most of the run-up to the Olympics, he was told by De Haan he would be second choice after the other Dutch goalie in the squad; Kenneth Vermeer. This was a big blow for Velthuizen. De Haan said he preferred Vermeer because of his experience at the previous U-21 European Championship squads and also because he thought Vermeer was a better goalkeeper in play.

[edit] References

v • d • e Netherlands squad – 2008 Summer Olympics 1 Velthuizen • 2 Zuiverloon • 3 Marcellis • 4 Jaliens • 5 Pieters • 6 Luyckx • 7 De Guzmán • 8 Emanuelson • 9 Makaay • 10 Sibon • 11 Babel • 12 Maduro • 13 Jong-a-Pin • 14 Sno • 15 Drenthe • 16 Beerens • 17 Bakkal • 18 Vermeer • Coach: de Haan

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