Thomas Vermaelen

Thomas Vermaelen
Thomas-vermaelen-3.jpg
Personal information
Full name Thomas Vermaelen[1]
Date of birth 14 November 1985 (1985-11-14) (age 25)
Place of birth Kapellen, Belgium
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Playing position Centre back/Sweeper
Club information
Current club Arsenal
Number 5
Youth career
0000–1999 Germinal Ekeren
1999–2000 Germinal Beerschot
2000–2003 Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2003–2009 Ajax 94 (8)
2004–2005 → RKC Waalwijk (loan) 13 (3)
2009– Arsenal 36 (7)
National team‡
2008 Belgium U23 5 (0)
2006– Belgium 30 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:01, 21 August 2010 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:43, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

Thomas Vermaelen (born 14 November 1985) is a Belgian footballer, who currently plays for English club Arsenal and is captain of the Belgian national team as a defender. Prior to his joining Arsenal he played for Dutch clubs Ajax and RKC Waalwijk.

Contents

Club career

Early career

Vermaelen started his career in his home country at Germinal Ekeren, which later changed its name to Germinal Beerschot after a merger.

Vermaelen with Ajax

Ajax

In 2000 he joined the academy of Dutch club Ajax. He made his professional debut on 15 February 2004 in a 2–0 away win over Volendam. It was however the only match he played during the season in which Ajax won the Eredivisie championship. He was sent on loan to RKC Waalwijk for the 2004–05 season. At RKC he was not a first team regular, but made thirteen appearances in which he scored three goals.

His breakthrough came when he returned to Ajax and won the KNVB Cup. Performances that season resulted in a call-up to the Belgium national football team. Ajax won the Johan Cruijff Shield and another KNVB Cup the following season and in 2007, they won the Johan Cruijff Shield for the second consecutive time.[3] He forged a partnership with fellow academy graduate John Heitinga and later Jan Vertonghen when Heitinga left for Spain. Following the departure of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in mid-season, Vermaelen served as captain of Ajax for the remainder of the 2008–09 season.

Arsenal

Vermaelen with Andrei Arshavin in pre-season training

Vermaelen joined Arsenal from Ajax for an initial fee of €10 million, rising to €12 million on 19 June 2009.[4][5] After Kolo Touré surrendered the number 5 jersey to him upon joining Manchester City,[6] Vermaelen, with William Gallas, formed Arsenal's central defence pairing. Vermaelen made his Premier League debut on 15 August 2009 in a game against Everton, and scored in the 37th minute.[7] He then became the 84th Arsenal player to score on their debut.[8] Arsenal fans voted him as their player of the month twice in a row on arsenal.com,[9][10] and affectionately nicknamed him the 'Verminator'.[11] He became notable for being a goal scoring defender. [12] In recognition for his contributions, he was nominated for the Belgian Sportsman of the year award[13] and was also included in the PFA team of the season.[14]

In the pre-season of the 2010-2011 season, Vermaelen captained Arsenal in an Emirates Cup match against AC Milan with regular captain Cesc Fabregas and vice captains Manuel Almunia and Robin van Persie not in the squad.[15]

International career

A former youth international, Vermaelen had participated in the U-19 Championships and the 2007 U-21 European Championships. He made his senior debut for Belgium at age 20 against Luxembourg in March 2006. On 8 October 2009, he was named Belgium captain[16] prior to the games against Turkey and Estonia in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers but could not prevent the Belgians from finishing fourth in their group. He was recalled to squad for the 14 November friendly against Hungary and scored his first goal for his country by tapping in a Eden Hazard cross.[17]

Club career statistics

Vermaelen (top left), seen here with former team-mates Edgar Davids and Gregory van der Wiel, played for Ajax from 2000 to 2009.
(correct as of 14 April 2010)
Club Season League Cup[18] Europe Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
Ajax 2003–04 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
RKC Waalwijk (loan) 2004–05 13 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 3 0
Ajax 2005–06 29 2 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 34 2 0
2006–07 24 0 0 3 0 0 7 0 0 34 0 0
2007–08 20 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 22 1 0
2008–09 31 4 0 0 0 0 9 1 0 40 5 0
Total 118 10 0 3 0 0 23 1 0 144 11 0
Arsenal 2009–10 33 7 1 1 0 0 11 1 1 45 8 2
2010–11 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
Total 36 7 1 1 0 0 11 1 1 45 8 2
Career total 154 17 1 4 0 0 34 2 1 189 19 2
Thomas Vermaelen: International Goals
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 14 November 2009 Jules Ottenstadion, Ghent  Hungary 3 – 0 Won Friendly

Honours

Vermaelen (left) with Jan Vertonghen at Ajax.

Club

Ajax

Individual


References

  1. ↑ "Statistics" (PDF). Premier League. http://www.premierleague.com/staticFiles/7b/53/0,,12306~152443,00.pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-03. 
  2. ↑ "Factfile: Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen". bbc.com (BBC). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/shared/bsp/hi/football/statistics/players/v/vermaelen_285782.stm. Retrieved 2009-07-08. 
  3. ↑ "VZ: De transferobjecten van de Eredivisie". Voetbalzone.nl. Voetbalzone. 2009-06-08. http://www.voetbalzone.nl/doc.asp?uid=80130. Retrieved 2009-07-08. 
  4. ↑ "Thomas Vermaelen joins Arsenal". Ajax.nl. Ajax. 2009-06-19. http://english.ajax.nl/News/Archive/Article/Thomas-Vermaelen-joins-Arsenal.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-19. 
  5. ↑ "Thomas Vermaelen completes move to Arsenal". Arsenal.com. Arsenal. 2009-06-19. http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/thomas-vermaelen-completes-move-to-arsenal. Retrieved 2009-06-19. 
  6. ↑ Hytner, David (20 August 2009). "Thomas Vermaelen's seamless transition augurs well for Arsenal's defence". London: The Guardian newspaper. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/aug/20/thomas-vermaelen-arsenal-defender. Retrieved 31 October 2009. 
  7. ↑ Dawkes, Phil (2009-08-15). "Everton 1–6 Arsenal". BBC.co.uk (BBC). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8199120.stm. Retrieved 2009-08-16. 
  8. ↑ "Thomas Vermaelen is 84th debut goalscorer". Arsneal.com. Arsenal. 17 August 2009. http://www.arsenal.com/usa/sh/news/news-archive/debut-scorers. Retrieved 25 July 2010. 
  9. ↑ "Vermaelen is EA SPORTS Player of the Month!". Arsenal.com. Arsenal. 10 September 2009. http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/vermaelen-is-ea-sports-player-of-the-month-. Retrieved 25 July 2010. 
  10. ↑ "Vermaelen is EA SPORTS Player of the Month!". Arsenal.com. Arsenal. 14 October 2009. http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/30011/vermaelen-is-ea-sports-player-of-the-month-. Retrieved 25 July 2010. 
  11. ↑ "Arsenal's Thomas Vermaelen earns himself 'Verminator' nickname". Telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph. 24/10/2009. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/arsenal/6424578/Arsenals-Thomas-Vermaelen-earns-himself-Verminator-nickname.html. Retrieved 28/05/2010. 
  12. ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1218281/When-defenders-attack--Arsenal-star-Thomas-Vermaelen-follows-Steve-Bruce-Joleon-Lescott-Stuart-Pearce-unlikely-goal-heroes.html
  13. ↑ "65 nominés pour les 4 plus prestigieux prix du sport" (in French). lalibre.be. 9 November 2009. http://www.lalibre.be/sports/omnisports/article/541723/65-nomines-pour-les-4-plus-prestigieux-prix-du-sport.html. 
  14. ↑ . May 2010. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1268852/Wayne-Rooney-Manchester-United-dominate-PFA-Team-Year.html. 
  15. ↑ Grant Wilson (31 July 2010). "Arsenal Defender Thomas Vermaelen Impressed With New Defensive Partner Laurent Koscielny". Goal.com. http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2010/07/31/2050518/arsenal-defender-thomas-vermaelen-impressed-with-new. Retrieved 31 July 2010. 
  16. ↑ "Vermaelen is de nieuwe kapitein van de Rode Duivels" (in Dutch). De Morgen Voetbal. 8 October 2009. http://www.demorgen.be/dm/nl/998/Voetbal/article/detail/1012973/2009/10/08/Vermaelen-is-de-nieuwe-kapitein-van-de-Rode-Duivels.dhtml. 
  17. ↑ "Diables Rouges – Quelle équipe samedi contre la Hongrie?" (in French). lalibre.be. 13 November 2009. http://www.lalibre.be/sports/football/article/542531/diables-rouges-quelle-equipe-samedi-contre-la-hongrie.html. 
  18. ↑ Includes FA Cup, League Cup and FA Community Shield.

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar		 Captain of AFC Ajax
2009		 Succeeded by
Luis Suárez
2009–10 Premier League Team of the Year
GK: Joe Hart  · DF: Branislav Ivanović  · DF: Patrice Evra  · DF: Richard Dunne  · DF: Thomas Vermaelen  · MF: James Milner  · MF: Cesc Fàbregas  · MF: Darren Fletcher  · MF: Antonio Valencia  · FW: Didier Drogba  · FW: Wayne Rooney
Belgium squad – 2008 Summer Olympics Fourth Place
1 Bailly • 2 De Roover • 3 Kompany • 4 Vermaelen • 5 Pocognoli • 6 Fellaini • 7 De Mul • 8 Haroun • 9 Mirallas • 10 Vertonghen • 11 Martens • 12 Ma-Kalambay • 13 Ciman • 14 Mulemo • 15 Simaeys • 16 Vanden Borre • 17 De Smet • 18 Dembélé • 19 Odjidja-Ofoe • Coach: De Sart
 Belgium
Arsenal F.C. – current squad

1 Almunia · 2 Diaby · 3 Sagna · 4 Fàbregas (c) · 5 Vermaelen · 6 Koscielny · 7 Rosický · 8 Nasri · 10 van Persie · 11 Vela · 14 Walcott · 15 Denílson · 17 Song · 18 Squillaci · 19 Wilshere · 20 Djourou · 21 Fabiański · 22 Clichy · 23 Arshavin · 27 Eboué · 28 Gibbs · 29 Chamakh · 52 Bendtner · 53 Szczęsny · Manager: Wenger