Daniel De Ridder

Daniël de Ridder born March 6, 1984) is a Netherlands football (soccer), who currently plays for Wigan Athletic F.C. in the Premier League. He has previously played for AFC Ajax, Celta de Vigo and Birmingham City F.C. as a forward winger or attacking midfielder.

De Ridder made his first-team breakthrough at AFC Ajax on 21 January 2004 against Roda JC. He was a regular throughout the second half of the campaign, featuring in the UEFA UEFA Champions League, only to seek a fresh start in Spain with Celta de Vigo in August 2005, having joined on a five-year contract.

He made his official debut for Celta de Vigo in the match against Sevilla FC in September 2005, and played as a regular after the winter break in matches against CA Osasuna, FC Barcelona and other Spanish clubs in the Primera Division.

For Birmingham City he made his Premier League debut on 12 August 2007 as a substitute in the opening match of the season against Chelsea F.C.. De Ridder was a key player in Birmingham's 3–2 win against Wigan Athletic F.C. on 27 October 2007 in which he made his full home debut.

Club career

Ajax

Born in Amsterdam to a Dutch father and an Israeli mother, he is a forward/midfield player who operates either on the right or left side but can also play in a more advanced role. De Ridder worked his way up to first-team selection from Ajax's youth department, making his full debut in an away game against Roda JC on 21 January 2004, and scored his first goal against Willem II on 16 May.

De Ridder was a regular throughout the second half of the campaign, starting nine games and appearing a further six times as a substitute (football). De Ridder made his UEFA Champions League debut in September 2004, coming on as a 69th-minute substitute in a 4–0 defeat at FC Bayern München.

Part of the Netherlands national football team side that reached the second qualifying round of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship in 2002–03, De Ridder stepped up to the U21s as the 2006 UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign kicked off.

De Ridder was told prior to the 2005–2006 season that there would be no room for him the squad and he could expect little playing time if he decided to stay.

In May 2005 newspapers reported that Olympique Lyonnais, Newcastle United F.C., Tottenham Hotspur F.C. and Olympique de Marseille showed interest in De Ridder. Local TV reports that some clubs from the Spanish La Liga also had De Ridder amongst their transfer targets.

Celta Vigo

Ajax and Celta reached an agreement on a two-year loan for De Ridder to the Spanish club, with the option to buy at the end of that period for €1 million.

On 25 September 2005, De Ridder made his official debut for Celta when they beat Sevilla FC, allowing the Galician club to temporarily top the Primera División. On 3 April 2006, De Ridder scored his first official goal for Celta against Atlético Madrid. Throughout the second half of the campaign he was a regular for Celta against FC Barcelona, Valencia CF, CA Osasuna and other clubs.

Celta were relegated from the Spanish Primera Division at the end of the 2006–2007 season. De Ridder returned to Ajax, as Celta Vigo had decided not to excise their option to buy him, where he was allowed to leave on a free transfer.

Birmingham City

De Ridder signed for Birmingham City F.C. on a free transfer on 3 July 2007. He made his Premier League debut on 12 August 2007 as a substitute in the opening match of the season against Chelsea F.C., but injured his ankle within minutes of coming on and was unable to complete the match. Though starting the Football League Cup defeat at Blackburn Rovers F.C., he was not considered fit enough for League games until after the October international break, when he made a substitute appearance against Manchester City F.C.. He was a key player in Birmingham's 3–2 win against Wigan Athletic F.C. on 27 October 2007 in which he made his full home debut.
De Ridder's last game for the club was in January 2008 in the FA Cup, manager Alex McLeish considering him better suited to a style of play which placed more emphasis on passing than did Birmingham's.
His contract was cancelled by mutual consent at the end of the season.

Wigan Athletic

He joined Wigan Athletic F.C. the next day on a free transfer and signed a three year deal.

International career

Ever present in the qualification games of the Netherlands national under-21 football team along with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, the Amsterdam-born attacker entered the finals as the most experienced member of the Netherlands' U-21 squad with 18 caps. De Ridder scored the decisive goal in the match against Italy national under-21 football team which ensured qualification for the semifinals. Holland went on to win the UEFA U-21 Championship 2006.

In 2007 De Ridder was called up by Netherlands national under-21 football team coach Foppe de Haan to be part of his squad for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship held in the Netherlands. De Ridder participated in their first round group match against Israel national under-21 football team (1–0 win) and after the match against Portugal national under-21 football team (2–1 win) they secured a semi final spot and qualification for the 2008 Summer Olympics. In the semi finals against England national under-21 football team (1–1, 13–12 after 32 penalty shootout (football)s) De Ridder scored and missed one of the penalty kicks. In the final against Serbia national under-21 football team (4–1), De Ridder provided the pass from which Otman Bakkal made it 1–0. In the second half De Ridder created the opportunity for Ryan Babel to put Holland 2–0 up, and in the 87th minute Luigi Bruins scored a tap-in from a De Ridder move to make it 4–1. Holland won the UEFA U-21 Championship 2007.

Despite being an ever present figure in the Dutch youth teams, he is yet to receive a call-up for the senior side.