Teun Koopmeiners

Teun Koopmeiners (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtøːn ˈkoːpmɛi̯nərs]; born 28 February 1998) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club AZ Alkmaar and the Netherlands national team.

Teun Koopmeiners
Personal information
Full name Teun Koopmeiners
Date of birth (1998-02-28) 28 February 1998
Place of birth Castricum, Netherlands
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Midfielder, centre-back
Club information
Current team
 AZ
Number 8
Youth career
Vitesse '22
2009–2016 AZ
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 Jong AZ 25 (3)
2017– AZ 103 (31)
National team‡
2015 Netherlands U17 4 (0)
2015–2016 Netherlands U18 3 (0)
2016–2017 Netherlands U19 13 (0)
2017–2018 Netherlands U20 5 (0)
2018–[1] Netherlands U21 17 (4)
2020– Netherlands 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 February 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:26, 7 October 2020 (UTC)

Having represented the Netherlands at various youth levels, he was called up to the senior team's preliminary UEFA Nations League squad in August 2020.[2]

Club career

AZ

Koopmeiners grew up in Castricum, North Holland, and took his first steps in football as a youth player for the local club, Vitesse '22.[3] In 2009, he joined the AZ youth academy at under-12 level.[4] He eventually progressed through the ranks, and as part of the club's reserve team, Jong AZ, he became champion of the Dutch third division in the 2016–17 season, reaching promotion to the Eerste Divisie.[5]

On 18 August 2017, Koopmeiners made his professional debut for Jong AZ in a 3–1 away win over FC Den Bosch.[6] He made his first team-debut on 1 October, coming on as a substitute for Alireza Jahanbakhsh for the final 30 minutes of a 4–0 home loss to Feyenoord.[7] At the end of the 2017–18 season, AZ ended in third place, and thereby qualified for Europa League. In his first professional season, he made 26 league appearances in which he scored one goal.[8]

On 1 March 2020, Koopmeiners played a 70-metre pass to set up Oussama Idrissi for AZ's second goal in a 2–0 win against Ajax which put his side level on points with Ajax.[9] During the 2019–20 AZ Alkmaar season Koopmeiners scored 16 goals in all competitions in 42 appearances,[10] helping his side finish second in the Eredivisie on goal difference behind the Champions AFC Ajax.[11]

He scored his first goal of the 2020–21 season against Viktoria Plzen on 26 August 2020 in the UEFA Champions League qualifier 3–1 victory.[12] On 14 January 2021, Koopmeiners scored two goals, including an audacious backheel flick, to help his side clinch an 3–1 away victory against PSV Eindhoven.[13]

International career

Koopmeiners made four appearances for the Netherlands national under-17 team,[14] as well as two appearances for the national under-18 team. As part of the under-19s, he played at the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, reaching the semi-finals and only losing to Portugal. At under-19 level, Koopmeiners made 13 appearances.[14] After five appearances for the Netherlands Under-20 team,[14] he made his debut for the national under-21 team on 22 March 2018 in a 1–4 loss in Doetinchem to the Belgium under-21 team.[15]

On 19 August 2020, Koopmeiners was called up to the senior Netherlands national team by caretaker manager Dwight Lodeweges in the preliminary squad for the UEFA Nations League fixtures against Poland national team and Italy national team.[2] In October, he made his debut in a friendly match against Mexico.[16]

Style of play

Koopmeiners can play as a defensive midfielder or central midfielder. He can also play as a centre-back.[17] Koopmeiners is known for his leadership qualities, and captains AZ Alkmaar despite his young age.[18]

Personal life

His younger brother Peer plays for Jong AZ.[19]

Career statistics

Club
As of 4 February 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Jong AZ2016–17[8]Tweede Divisie192–––192
2017–18[8]Eerste Divisie61–––61
Total253–––253
AZ2017–18[8]Eredivisie2615000–311
2018–19[8]Eredivisie328401[lower-alpha 1]1–379
2019–20[8]Eredivisie25113116[lower-alpha 1]4–4416
2020–21[8]Eredivisie2011108[lower-alpha 2]2–2813
Total10331131257–14139
Career total12834131257–16642
  1. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  2. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League

References
  1. "OnsOranje". onsoranje.nl. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  2. "PRELIMINARY ORANGE SELECTION CONSISTS OF 32 PLAYERS". KNVB Media. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  3. "Teun Koopmeiners maakt competitiedebuut bij AZ". vitesse22.nl (in Dutch). 3 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  4. "Spelerspagina van AZ". az.nl. AZ Alkmaar. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  5. "Jong AZ promoveert naar Jupiler League dankzij titel in Tweede Divisie". nu.nl (in Dutch). 1 April 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  6. "FC Den Bosch vs. Jong AZ – Football Match Report". ESPN. 18 August 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  7. "AZ vs. Feyenoord – 1 October 2017 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
  8. "T. Koopmeiners – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
  9. "Dank 70-Meter-Pass: Alkmaar holt Ajax in der Eredivisie ein". kicker (in German). 1 March 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  10. "Games played by Teun Koopmeiners in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  11. "AZ Alkmaar's title chase is over but is this Europe's best academy?". Sky Sports. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  12. "Champions League qualifiers round-up: AZ Alkmaar survive scare to progress". Sky Sports. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  13. "AZ verslaat PSV in Eindhoven: 1-3". RTL Nieuws. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  14. "Koopmeiners – Profiel – OnsOranje". onsoranje.nl.
  15. "Matchdata – OnsOranje". onsoranje.nl.
  16. "Mexico spoil De Boer debut with deserved win". Reuters. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  17. "The 50 Eredivisie U21 Stars To Watch 2018/19: Teun Koopmeiners". KNVB Media. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  18. "Teun Koopmeiners, de geboren leider van AZ". De Volkskrant. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  19. Koopmeiners grapt over broertje: 'Door jou heb ik straks een voorletter op m'n rug!' - Voetbal International (in Dutch)
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