Biography of Jonathan De Guzman

About

Background

Jonathan de Guzmán is a Canadian-born Dutch midfielder playing for Feyenoord of the Eredivisie. He is of Jamaican and Filipino descent and is the younger brother of Julián de Guzmán, who plays for the Canadian national team and Deportivo La Coruña in Spain.

Club Football

Jonathan joined the Feyenoord Rotterdam youth side at 12. He was not allowed to play for the first team until he turned 18, but on his birthday, he had his debut against SC Heerenveen. Jonathan scored his first professional goal in the 9th minute against Willem II on September 30, 2005. In April, he signed a contract extension with Feyenoord until 2010.

International Football

After much speculation on which country De Guzmán would choose to represent internationally, Jonathan made himself available for selection by the Dutch national team, immediately after receiving his Dutch citizenship in February 2008, having applied for it the previous year. His decision was met with disappointment in Canada, which witnessed a similar situation when top soccer prospect Owen Hargreaves chose to play for the English national team. Controversially, De Guzmán appeared in a nationally televised sports show on Canada a week before this announcement and claimed that he had not made up his mind on his international status, and was focusing on his club career in the Netherlands.[1]

After failing to make the final cut in a senior call up, De Guzmán made his international debut for the Netherlands U21 squad on March 26, 2008, in a European Championship qualification match against Estonia. He played a significant role, scoring the first and third goal and providing the assist for the second in a 3-0 victory.

International Goals

Awards and Honours

Personal Awards

Career Statistics

M = Matches, G = Goals, A = Assists

Personal Info

Wife / Girlfriend

Sponsors

Important Links

References