14:00
30.12.2023
Last update: 14:52 30.12.2023
Young football players who are predicted to have a great future. It happens regularly. The world is their oyster and agents with dollar signs in their eyes ensure that these talents can move to dream clubs for millions. However, many of these growth stars do not live up to expectations for various reasons. Football zone delves into the history of missed opportunities. This time we focus on the career of Andy van der Meijde.
By Lars Verhage
Nowadays one footballer after another is in his car. It is one of the most viewed series on YouTube: With Andy in the car. Yet there could have been more for Van der Meijde. He emerged as one of the great talents at Ajax in the late 1990s. After a successful rental period at Twente, the wing attacker was given the opportunity at Ajax, and he grabbed it with both hands. Under the leadership of Co Adriaanse and then Ronald Koeman, the Arnhem native emerged as a regular right winger. A transfer to Inter seems to be the next step to success, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Ajax
Van der Meijde was scouted by Ajax at the age of fourteen. Before that, he played for his local football club Vitesse 1892. At Ajax, the attacker belonged to the so-called Golden Boys generation of the team from Amsterdam. After a few good years in the youth academy, the right winger makes his debut in Ajax 1 at the age of only eighteen. After a few substitute appearances, Van der Meijde does not deliver what is expected of him. His development is stagnating, so it is decided that a rental period is the best option.
The youth product is ultimately rented out to FC Twente, which is also active in the Eredivisie.
Here the right leg shows beautiful things. He played almost the entire season for the Tukkers, in which Van der Meijde scored twice. There is an upward trend again in his development, but the winger’s efficiency still needs to increase. The following year he took his chance in Ajax’s first team. Under the leadership of trainer Co Adriaanse, the fast right winger quickly conquers a starting position. With his beautiful passing actions and good crosses, Van der Meijde becomes an indispensable link in a well-run team with star players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Rafael Van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder. In his last season at Ajax, 2002/03, the club reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Van der Meijde has once again managed to leave a good impression. He seems to be ready for the next step.
Failed adventures
A top transfer to Inter follows. The Italian top club will pay approximately seven million euros to Ajax for his transfer. The expectations surrounding Van der Meijde are high. In Italy they hope that the winger will reach his level of the previous season, and specifically his Champions League level. The start in Milan is promising.
During his time at Inter, he also became a starter for the Dutch national team. During the 2004 European Championship, Van der Meijde even started four of the five matches. He also seems to be gaining a starting place in Milan, but he is soon referred to the bench again. The statistics don’t lie. In three seasons at Inter, Van der Meijde made 53 appearances, in which he only managed to score 4 times. However, the high expectations that people had at the start of his time in Italy were not met by the Dutchman. It should come as no surprise that his time at Inter is over after two years.
In 2005, the English team Everton was without a real right winger. After a short search they arrive at Van der Meijde. In England, the right winger wants to revive his career after a failed adventure in Italy. However, at Everton, everything that can go wrong for Van der Meijde goes wrong. He never fails to impress in the Premier League. In fact, he only played 24 matches over 4 seasons. In these matches he can’t even get on the scoreboard.
Van der Meijde had an extremely disappointing period at Everton.
Off the field, however, the Arnhem native knows how to draw attention to himself. He often receives publicity in England, but mainly negatively. There are plenty of disciplinary suspensions, hospitalization after a night out and there are rumors that Van der Meijde cannot keep away from alcohol. It creates too much negativity around the player and Everton, which is why it is decided not to renew his expiring contract. Another failed foreign adventure.
Return
After his spells at Inter and Everton did not provide the hoped-for success, Van der Meijde returns to the Netherlands. He decides to maintain his fitness at Ajax, after which he signs a contract with PSV a few months later. This turns out to be a mistake by the Eindhoven team, as Van der Meijde is a few kilos too heavy and cannot reach his previous level. The right winger eventually no longer plays a single professional match, causing his football career to fizzle out.
Yet Van der Meijde remains in the publicity. He released his biography in 2012, which highlights his difficult time as a football player. The urge for drink, drugs and sex during his career had a negative effect on his performance. His life is also followed with his own reality soap, Andy & Melisa. The former professional footballer is a popular personality these days, for every target group.
Van der Meijde starts a series on YouTube called Bij Andy in de car. Football players, celebrities and other well-known personalities ride with the former international. Since the 2022/23 TV season, Van der Meijde has also been a regular table guest on the Veronica Offside program. He knows how to score well, although he now does better off the field. If Van der Meijde had been able to avoid drinking, drugs and all kinds of other things during his football career, the outcome might have been much greater.
Van der Meijde at the table at Veronica Offside.
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2023-12-30 13:04:38
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