Ajax (Italy), Twente (Italy), Ajax (Italy), Inter Milan (Italy),
Everton FC (England)
Honours
???
Biography
Andy van der Meyde, (born September 30, 1979 in Arnhem), is a
Dutch international footballer, he usually plays as a attacking
midfielder. He currently plays his club football for Everton of
the English Premiership. He is a right-footed winger, and can
play on either wing, although for the Netherlands national
football team and during his time at Ajax, he usually plays/played
on the right wing.
He was signed up to the famous Ajax youth academy as a youngster,
and impressed so much he made his debut for Ajax aged just 18,
helping his side beat FC Twente 1-0 on November 12th 1997. In
1999 he gained first team experience by joining Twente for a
season loan. Van der Meyde played 32 out of the 34 league games
and scored twice.
After this, he became a regular for Ajax, playing 86 league
games for them. His form earned him a call up to the Dutch
national squad, and he regularly played Champions League
football for Ajax. Meanwhile, van der Meyde was handed his debut
for the Dutch national squad for a match against USA May 2002
under Dick Advocaat which he marked with a memorable goal in a
2-0 victory.
In 2003, after scoring 11 goals from midfield, Inter Milan
signed van der Meyde from Ajax for £4m. However a disappointing
season saw Van der Meyde managing only 15 league appearances. In
the summer of 2004, van der Meyde helped Holland reach the semi
finals of Euro 2004. His inclusion into the squad was, however,
not endorsed by Johan Cruijff who declared that as long as the
winger is in the Dutch national team for Euro 2004, the team
would not stand a chance to win the coveted title. In spite of
such criticism, van der Meyde managed to feature in 4 matches in
the build-up to the semi-finals. van der Meyde was overlooked
for the semi-final game against Portugal and after EURO 2004,
when Marco van Basten took over as national team coach, he did
not receive a call-up to the Dutch team again.
After 29 appearances for Inter in the 2004/05 season, van der
Meyde was informed that he could find another club. Strong
speculation suggested van der Meyde would return to Ajax, but on
31 August 2005 he agreed to join English club Everton F.C for
£2m.
