Arjan_van_Heusden
Arjan van Heusden
Dutch footballer
Arjan van Heusden (born 11 December 1972) is a Dutch former professional football goalkeeper who played much of his career in the English Football League.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Arjan van Heusden[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1972-12-11) 11 December 1972 (age 51)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands[2] | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1993–1994 | VV Noordwijk | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1994–1998 | Port Vale | 27 | (0) |
| 1997 | → Oxford United (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 1998–2000 | Cambridge United | 42 | (0) |
| 2000–2002 | Exeter City | 74 | (0) |
| 2002 | Mansfield Town | 5 | (0) |
| 2002–2005 | Torquay United | 47 | (0) |
| Total | 206 | (0) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Van Heusden began his career in his native Netherlands with VV Noordwijk, moving to England in December 1993 for a trial with Port Vale, signing permanently in May 1994 for a fee of £4,500.[4] He joined up with fellow Dutchman Robin van der Laan, who had already established himself in John Rudge's squad. However, Van Heusden failed to dislodge the ever-reliable Paul Musselwhite and so joined Oxford United on loan in September 1997, playing 11 league games.
In August 1998, he moved to Cambridge United on a free transfer.[2] He played 42 league games in two seasons before moving to Exeter City in August 2000.[2] He missed just five league games of the 2000–01 campaign.[2] After stalling on Exeter's offer of a fresh contract in April 2002[5] he signed within the club's ten-day limit,[6] though this failed to put an end to speculation over his future.[7]
In August 2002 he joined Scottish side Clyde on a short-term deal, before returning to England to play for Mansfield Town the following month as Mansfield were in the midst of a goalkeeping injury crisis.[8] In November 2002 he joined Torquay United, initially on non-contract terms, later signing a longer contract after establishing himself as the first choice keeper.[9] He struggled with injury in the 2004–05 season and subsequently retired from professional football and returned to the Netherlands where he resumed his playing career with FC Lisse.[2]
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Port Vale | 1994–95 | First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1995–96 | First Division | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| 1996–97 | First Division | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
| 1997–98 | First Division | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 33 | 0 | ||
| Oxford United (loan) | 1997–98 | First Division | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Cambridge United | 1998–99 | Third Division | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
| 1999–2000 | Second Division | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
| Total | 42 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 53 | 0 | ||
| Exeter City | 2000–01 | Third Division | 41 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 0 |
| 2001–02 | Third Division | 33 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| Total | 74 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 81 | 0 | ||
| Mansfield Town | 2002–03 | Second Division | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Torquay United | 2002–03 | Third Division | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| 2003–04 | Third Division | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 0 | |
| 2004–05 | League One | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Total | 47 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 52 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 206 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 237 | 0 | ||
- "Arjan van Heusden". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- "Van Heusden, Arjan". grecianarchive.exeter.ac.uk. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
- Rothmans football yearbook 2002-03. London : Headline. 2002. ISBN 978-0-7553-1099-9. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 297. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
- "Grecians begin clear-out". BBC Sport. 27 April 2002. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- "Van Heusden stays". BBC Sport. 14 May 2002. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- "Van Heusden eyes exit". BBC Sport. 20 August 2002. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- Oliver, Pete (26 September 2002). "Van Heusden joins Stags". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- "Boardley earns Gulls deal". BBC Sport. 30 September 2004. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- Arjan van Heusden at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
- Arjan van Heusden at Soccerbase
