- Dirk Marcellis
-
Dirk Marcellis Personal information Date of birth April 13, 1988 Place of birth Horst, Netherlands Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Playing position Center back/Right back Club information Current club AZ Number 3 Youth career Wittenhorst VVV-Venlo Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 2006–2010 PSV 68 (0) 2010– AZ 40 (0) National team‡ 2005 Netherlands U17 3 (1) 2008– Netherlands U21 4 (0) 2008– Netherlands 2 (0) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 15, 2011.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of October 11, 2008Dirk Marcellis (born April 13, 1988, Horst aan de Maas) is a Dutch footballer, currently playing for AZ. His preferred position is centre back, but if needed, he can play on every defensive position. After a non-playing period at PSV Marcellis fought back at AZ and became one of the more reliable defenders in the Eredivisie.
Contents
PSV Eindhoven
Despite being short for a central defender, Marcellis worked his way up the ladder at PSV Eindhoven, and eventually played his way in the starting line-up, forming a confident pair with Mexican defender Carlos Salcido. It was then that Marcellis was first really noticed by the bigger audience. He managed himself quite comfortably in the PSV defence, and almost effortlessly replaced the highly-rated Brazilian central defender Alex, who went back to Chelsea after being loaned by PSV for several seasons. On 30 July 2009, Marcellis scored a last-minute goal against Bulgarian side PFC Cherno More Varna to help his team to a 1:0 home win in a third qualifying round game of the UEFA Europa League.[1] He transferred to AZ after they sold their striker Jeremain Lens to PSV.
AZ
At the 21st of May he was involved with the deal with Lens. He goes to PSV and AZ contracted Marcellis. After a non-playing period at PSV Marcellis fought back at AZ and became one of the best defenders in the league.
International U21 career
After impressing with PSV both in the UEFA Cup against Tottenham Hotspur and Fiorentina, where he played solid games against Dimitar Berbatov and Adrian Mutu, Marcellis caught the eye of not only Dutch football fans but also the Netherlands U-21 coach Foppe de Haan. De Haan was quoted as saying, "Verrek, we hebben weer een echte verdediger", meaning: "Damn, we have a real defender again." De Haan almost immediately included Marcellis in the squad and let him make his debut for the Netherlands U-21. Marcellis didn't disappoint by playing very solidly in defence, game after game. Not only on his preferred place in central defence but at times also as a right back. He was a star on the rise, and the Dutch people recognised his great quality and potential. With the press and public often comparing him with his idol; former Dutch defender Jaap Stam, naming him as the biggest contender to fill the gap that the widely known Stam left in the Dutch defence. However, he has yet to live up to his promise.
2008 Beijing Summer Olympics
He was selected for the Netherlands Olympic squad and was absolute first choice central defender during the entire run-up to the Olympics, where he made a confident impression, seldom making a mistake. He played in all the group games, where the Dutch barely qualified for the quarter finals, coming second on points. He also played the quarter-final against Argentina, where they were eliminated. After the full 90 minutes and extra time had resulted in a 1–1 draw, they surprisingly lost 2–1.
National team
He received his first call-up under national team coach Bert van Marwijk for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Norway & Iceland. He made his debut on October 11, 2008, against Iceland.
Career statistics
Club performance League Cup Continental Total Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Netherlands League KNVB Cup Europe Total 2006–07 PSV Eindhoven Eredivisie 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2007–08 26 0 1 0 10 0 37 0 2008–09 31 0 0 0 6 0 37 0 2009–10 11 0 3 0 3 1 17 1 2010-11 AZ Eredivisie 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career total 68 0 4 0 20 1 92 1 References
- ^ "PSV secures late winner". UEFA com. July 30, 2009. http://www.uefa.com/competitions/uefacup/.../report=ev.html. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
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 HaanAZ – current squad 3 Marcellis · 4 Viergever · 6 Reijnen · 7 Guðmundsson · 8 Maher · 9 Boymans · 10 Falkenburg · 11 Martens · 14 Klavan · 15 Poulsen · 16 Wernbloom · 17 Altidore · 20 Elm · 21 Heijblok · 23 Beerens · 24 Schouten · 25 Moisander · 26 Ortiz · 27 Holman · 30 Holland · 31 Mäenpää · 32 Wijnaldum · 34 Esteban · 35 Benschop · 36 Messaoud · 37 Verhulst · 39 Hoek · 41 Van Huizen · Manager: Verbeek
Categories:- 1988 births
- Living people
- Dutch footballers
- Netherlands international footballers
- PSV Eindhoven players
- AZ Alkmaar players
- Eredivisie players
- People from Limburg (Netherlands)
- Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Olympic footballers of the Netherlands
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.