Wesley Sneijder (born June 9, 1984 in Utrecht) is football
player for Ajax Amsterdam and the Dutch national team. He is
1.70 meters tall and weighs 67 kg. Sneijder previously played
for DOS Utrecht.
Although small in stature, Sneijder is extremely strong on the
ball. His two-footed passing ability makes him a lethal weapon
in space. Sneijder is a dead ball specialist. He is fast
becoming one of Holland’s best players.
At the beginning of his football career, Wesley Sneijder was
just another promising young AFC Ajax midfield player dreaming
of his first-team debut. With Christmas approaching, he was
still dreaming when his former Ajax coach Ronald Koeman,
troubled by injuries, suddenly gave him his chance. He has not
looked back - just over four months on he is a full Dutch
international.
While Sneijder has come through the Ajax school, he is not a
native of Amsterdam. He was born in Utrecht, the town that
produced Jan Wouters and Marco van Basten. He comes from a
football family: his father was a talented player and his older
brother Jeffrey plays for Stormvogels Telstar. There is even a
younger Sneijder brother who is likely to turn professional.
These fraternal rivalries no doubt fuelled Wesley's competitive
spirit - a tenacity which has seen Dutch journalists christen
him the 'pitbull with patience'. Coming through the Ajax youth
set-up, he found himself playing for Ajax legend Danny Blind in
the reserves. Blind helped him work on his positional sense
before recommending that Koeman take him into the first team.
Sneijder made his debut in a 2-0 win at SC Excelsior on 22
December 2002 and rapidly established himself in the role of
midfield general. Despite his slight stature, he is deceptively
strong on the ball and his passing range is enhanced by his two-footedness.
Plus he has a secret weapon up his sleeve - free-kicks. |
