Thomas Vermaelen

Thomas Vermaelen

Personal information
Full name	Thomas Vermaelen
Date of birth	14 November 1985 (1985-11-14)
Place of birth	Kapellen, Belgium
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Centre back / Left back
Club information
Current club	Arsenal
Number	5
Youth career
0000–1999	Germinal Ekeren
1999–2000	Germinal Beerschot
2000–2003	Ajax
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2009	Ajax	98	(8)
2004–2005	→ RKC Waalwijk (loan)	13	(2)
2009–	Arsenal	40	(7)
National team‡
2008	Belgium U23	5	(0)
2006–	Belgium	32	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:56, 20 August 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 07:17, 4 June 2011 (UTC)

Thomas Vermaelen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtoː.mɑs ˌvər.ˈmaː.lə(n)]) (born 14 November 1985) is a Belgian footballer who plays for the Premier League club Arsenal and the Belgian national team. Prior to his joining Arsenal he played for Dutch clubs Ajax and RKC Waalwijk. Being left-footed, he usually plays as a left-sided centre back and can play at left back as well. Following Cesc Fabregas's transfer to Barcelona in August 2011, Thomas was named as vice captain of Arsenal, with Robin van Persie named captain.

Club career

Early career

Vermaelen start his career in his home country at Germinal Ekeren, which later changed its name to Germinal Beerschot after a merger. In his younger days, he enjoyed shed-spotting and loved dogs. In an interview with fourfourtwo Magazine Thomas stated that a lot of his early footballing inspiration came from his young step brother Nicholas Church-Burton who saw his promising career shatter at an early age due to a knee injury.

Vermaelen was with Ajax from 2000 - 2009.

Ajax

Vermaelen joined the academy of Dutch club Ajax. He made his professional debut on 15 February 2004 in a 2–0 away win over Volendam. It was however the only match he played during the season in which Ajax won the Eredivisie championship. He was sent on loan to RKC Waalwijk for the 2004–05 season. At RKC he was not a first team regular, but made thirteen appearances in which he scored three goals.

His breakthrough came when he returned to Ajax and won the KNVB Cup. Performances that season resulted in a call-up to the Belgium national football team. Ajax won the Johan Cruijff Shield and another KNVB Cup the following season and in 2007, they won the Johan Cruijff Shield for the second consecutive time. He forged a partnership with fellow academy graduate John Heitinga and later Jan Vertonghen when Heitinga left for Spain. Following the departure of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in mid-season, Vermaelen served as captain of Ajax for the remainder of the 2008–09 season.

Arsenal

Vermaelen (right) with Arsenal

Vermaelen joined Arsenal from Ajax for an initial fee of €10 million (rising to €12 million) on 19 June 2009, signing a four-year contract. After Kolo Touré surrendered the number 5 jersey to him upon joining Manchester City, Vermaelen, with William Gallas, formed Arsenal's central defence pairing. Vermaelen made his Premier League debut on 15 August 2009 in a game against Everton, and scored in the 37th minute. He became the 84th Arsenal player to score on their debut. He then scored a brace against Wigan in a 4-0 victory. Arsenal fans voted him as their player of the month twice in a row on arsenal.com, and affectionately nicknamed him the 'Verminator'. However, he scored an own goal in a home match against Chelsea when a cross came in from Ashley Cole. The game finished 3-0 to Chelsea. He became notable for being a goal scoring defender, due to his spectacular 25 yard left footed goal against Blackburn Rovers and many headed goals during the first half of Arsenal's 2009-10 season. In recognition for his contributions, he was nominated for the Belgian Sportsman of the year award and was also included in the PFA team of the season. Vermaelen finished the season with 45 games and 8 goals in all competitions under his belt.

In the pre-season of the 2010-2011 season, Vermaelen captained Arsenal in an Emirates Cup match against A.C. Milan with regular captain Cesc Fabregas and vice captains Manuel Almunia and Robin van Persie not in the squad.

In the beginning of the 2010-2011 season, Vermaelen made his 50th appearance for Arsenal in the space of just over a season, playing the full 90 minutes alongside Laurent Koscielny in Arsenal's 2-1 win against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on 28 August 2010. He started all of the first three Arsenal matches of the season before suffering an Achilles injury on international duty with Belgium. He had a new injury setback when Arsène Wenger reported that the achilles problem would keep him out of action until 2011. On 17 March 2011, Arsene Wenger confirmed that Vermaelen would miss the remainder of the season with a new injury setback., but on 26 April, Vermaelen played 90 minutes in his first competitive game after 8 months in a reserves game against Manchester United at Old Trafford on 28 April. On 8 May, he was included in Arsenal's 18-man squad travelling to Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium, however, Vermaelen was an unused sub, but on 15 May, he finally returned, in Arsenal's 2–1 defeat to Aston Villa and played the full 90 minutes. Following Cesc Fabregas's transfer to Barcelona in August 2011, Thomas was named as vice captain of Arsenal, with Robin van Persie named captain. On 6 September 2011 he had treatment on his Achilles tendon which could rule Vermaelan out for at least six weeks. On 18 October 2011 he signed a contract extension to keep him at the club for an additional 4 years.

International career

A former youth international, Vermaelen had participated in the U-19 Championships and the 2007 U-21 European Championships. He made his senior debut for Belgium at age 20 against Luxembourg in March 2006. On 8 October 2009, he was named Belgium captain prior to the games against Turkey and Estonia in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers but could not prevent the Belgians from finishing fourth in their group. He was recalled to squad for the 14 November friendly against Hungary and scored his first goal for his country by tapping in a Eden Hazard cross. Vermaelen is regarded as one of the best Belgian defenders of his generation.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	14 November 2009	Jules Ottenstadion, Ghent, Belgium	Hungary	2–0	3–0	Friendly

Career statistics

Club

Statistics accurate as of 20 August 2011

Club	Season	League	Cup	Europe	Total
Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Ajax	2003–04	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Waalwijk (loan)	2004–05	13	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	2	0
Ajax	2005–06	24	3	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	29	3	0
2006–07	23	0	0	3	0	0	7	0	0	33	0	0
2007–08	19	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	21	1	0
2008–09	31	4	0	0	0	0	9	1	0	40	5	0
Total	111	10	0	3	0	0	23	1	0	137	11	0
Arsenal	2009–10	33	7	1	1	0	0	11	1	1	45	8	2
2010–11	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	1
2011-12	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	4	0	0
Total	40	7	2	1	0	0	13	1	1	54	8	3
Career total	151	17	2	4	0	0	36	2	1	191	19	3

Honours

Vermaelen (left) with Jan Vertonghen at Ajax.

Club

Ajax

• Eredivisie: 2003–04
• KNVB Cup (2): 2005–06, 2006–07
• Johan Cruijff Shield (2): 2006, 2007

Individual

• PFA Premier League Team of the Year (1): 2009–10

External links

• Official Arsenal.com profile
• Goal.com profile
• Thomas Vermaelen career stats at Soccerbase

Sporting positions
Preceded by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar	Captain of AFC Ajax 2009	Succeeded by Luis Suárez