Kelvin Leerdam
Leerdam with the Seattle Sounders FC in 2017
Personal information
Full name Kelvin Walther Gianini Leerdam
Date of birth (1990-06-24) 24 June 1990 (age 33)
Place of birth Paramaribo, Suriname
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
 LA Galaxy
Number 18
Youth career
USV Elinkwijk
2005–2008 Feyenoord
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2013 Feyenoord 97 (5)
2013–2017 Vitesse 89 (12)
2017–2020 Seattle Sounders FC 92 (9)
2021 Inter Miami 29 (0)
2022– LA Galaxy 29 (1)
International career‡
2009 Netherlands U19 3 (0)
2010–2013 Netherlands U21 19 (1)
2021– Suriname 11 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 December 2022

Kelvin Leerdam (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkɛlvɪn leːrˈdɑm]; born 24 June 1990) is a Surinamese professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy and the Suriname national team.

Club career

Early career

Leerdam was born in Paramaribo, the capital and largest city of Suriname. Leerdam has a close relationship with his mother and has one younger sister.[2]

Leerdam started his career at local Utrecht club USV Elinkwijk. Feyenoord followed the midfielder for many years and Leerdam eventually joined the Feyenoord youth academy in the season 2005–06.

Coming from an amateur side, Leerdam had a difficult start in the Feyenoord youth. The first two seasons he was mainly used as a substitute. Leerdam joined a successful generation in Feyenoord U17, where he had to compete with players like Leroy Fer, Georginio Wijnaldum and Kevin Wattamaleo for a place on the midfield. After two years, when other players took their chance on a higher level, Leerdam became a regular starter in the U19 team. Thanks to his hard work and dedication, Leerdam eventually made it to Feyenoord's first team squad as well. In January 2007, Leerdam was invited to the first team's training camp in Belek, Turkey, by Feyenoord manager Erwin Koeman.[3] On 6 June 2008, Leerdam signed his first professional contract until 2011.[4]

Feyenoord

Leerdam had his breakthrough in the season 2008–09. On 13 November 2008, Leerdam made his official debut in Feyenoord's first team. Leerdam replaced Karim El Ahmadi in the 69th minute of the KNVB Cup 5–1 away win against HHC Hardenberg.[5] Leerdam made his Eredivisie debut on 16 November 2008. Leerdam replaced Georginio Wijnaldum in the 87th minute in the away match against FC Twente (1–1).[6] On 27 November 2008, Leerdam also made his European debut. In the UEFA Cup away match against Deportivo la Coruña (3–0), Leerdam replaced Karim El Ahmadi in the 56th minute.[7]

On 1 February 2009, Leerdam had a place in the starting line-up for the first time. When Giovanni van Bronckhorst got injured during the warm-up before the Eredivisie match against N.E.C., Leerdam replaced him as left-back.[8] On 12 April 2009, Leerdam made his first and only goal for Feyenoord, in the home match against Heracles Almelo.[9]

In the season 2009–10, Leerdam was candidate to leave Feyenoord on loan for Excelsior. Because of the departure of the right-backs Theo Lucius, Serginho Greene and Dwight Tiendalli, Leerdam remained at Feyenoord and is mainly used as the stand-in for first team right-back Dani Fernández.[10]

Vitesse

Leerdam with Vitesse Arnhem in 2015
Leerdam with Vitesse Arnhem in 2015

On 14 January 2013, he signed a pre-contract deal with Vitesse.[11] On 2 July, it was announced that Leerdam signed a three-year deal with the Arnhem club.[12] On 1 August 2013, Leerdam made his Vitesse debut in their UEFA Europa League qualifier tie against Petrolul Ploiești, in which Leerdam featured for the entire 90 minutes during the 1–1 draw.[13] Three days later, Leerdam scored on his league debut for Vitesse in their 3–1 home victory over Heracles Almelo, netting the opener in the 27th minute.[14] Leerdam went onto score eight times in total during the 2013–14 campaign and started to attract interest from Vitesse's feeder club, Chelsea during January 2014.[15]

During the 2015–16 campaign, Leerdam was dropped by interim-manager Rob Maas for the foreseeable future after the full-back discredited Vitesse in a recent interview.[16] Leerdam therefore, failed to feature again for Vitesse until the following campaign, when Rob Maas was replaced by Henk Fraser. On 31 March 2017, it was announced that Leerdam would leave Vitesse along with Arshak Koryan, Wouter Dronkers and Ewout Gouw at the end of their current deals in June 2017.[17]

He played as Vitesse won the final of the KNVB Beker 2–0 against AZ Alkmaar on 30 April 2017 to lead the club, three-time runners up, to the title for the first time in its 125-year history.[18][19]

Seattle Sounders FC

On 1 July 2017, Leerdam joined American side Seattle Sounders FC preceding his release from Vitesse.[20]

On 10 November 2019, Leerdam scored the opening goal for Seattle in a 3–1 home win over Toronto FC in the 2019 MLS Cup Final, after his shot was deflected by Toronto defender Justin Morrow.[21]

Inter Miami

On 23 March 2021, Leerdam joined fellow Major League Soccer club Inter Miami.[22] Following the 2021 season, Leerdam's contract option was declined by Miami.[23]

LA Galaxy

On 6 January 2022, Leerdamn signed with MLS side LA Galaxy on a two-year deal.[24]

International career

Leerdam made his first appearance on international level in the Netherlands U19. The Dutch team missed out on a place at the 2009 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship in Ukraine by the narrowest of margins. The Netherlands U19 finished second in the qualifying elite round behind Slovenia U19, with one goal difference.[25]

Leerdam decided to represent Suriname, the country of his birth, at the senior level. He was called up to the Suriname national team for the first time in November 2019.[26] He made his debut on 24 March 2021 in a World Cup qualifier against the Cayman Islands.[27] On 25 June 2021 Leerdam was called up to the Suriname squad for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[28]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 2 December 2020[29]
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Feyenoord 2008–09 Eredivisie 16 1 1 0 2[a] 0 2[b] 0 21 1
2009–10 Eredivisie 17 0 3 0 — — 20 0
2010–11 Eredivisie 22 3 1 0 1[c] 0 — 24 3
2011–12 Eredivisie 31 1 1 0 — — 32 1
2012–13 Eredivisie 11 0 1 0 4[d] 0 — 16 0
Total 97 5 7 0 7 0 2 0 107 5
Vitesse 2013–14 Eredivisie 26 8 2 0 2[c] 0 2[b] 0 32 8
2014–15 Eredivisie 20 2 3 0 — — 23 2
2015–16 Eredivisie 15 1 1 0 2[c] 0 — 18 1
2016–17 Eredivisie 28 1 5 1 — — 33 2
Total 89 12 11 1 4 0 2 0 106 13
Seattle Sounders FC 2017 Major League Soccer 15 1 — — 5 0 20 1
2018 Major League Soccer 26 0 — 1 0 2 0 29 0
2019 Major League Soccer 29 5 1 0 — 4[e] 1 34 6
2020 Major League Soccer 22 3 — 2 0 1[e] 0 25 3
Total 92 9 1 0 3 0 12 1 103 10
Career total 278 26 19 1 14 0 16 1 327 28
  1. ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Cup
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Eredivisie European play-offs
  3. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ a b Appearance(s) in MLS Cup

International

As of match played 25 March 2021[30]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Suriname 2021 1 0
Total 0 0


Honours

Vitesse

Seattle Sounders FC

References

  1. ^ "Kelvin Leerdam". LA Galaxy. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  2. ^ Feyenoord TV (13 January 2009). Kelvin Leerdam interview (Television production). Belek, Turkey. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Talent in Turkije (3): Kelvin Leerdam" [Talent in Turkey (3): Kelvin Leerdam]. Feyenoord.nl (in Dutch). 9 January 2009. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  4. ^ "Feyenoord contracteert talenten" [Feyenoord contracts talents]. Feyenoord.nl (in Dutch). 10 June 2008. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
  5. ^ "Feyenoord bekert verder na zege op HHC: 1–5" [Feyenoord in next round after victory on HHC: 1–5]. Feyenoord.nl (in Dutch). 13 November 2008. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  6. ^ "FC Twente en Feyenoord in evenwicht: 1–1" [FC Twente and Feyenoord in balance: 1–1]. Feyenoord.nl (in Dutch). 16 November 2008. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  7. ^ "Feyenoord uitgeschakeld in UEFA Cup" [Feyenoord eliminated in UEFA Cup]. Feyenoord.nl (in Dutch). 27 November 2008. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  8. ^ "Gemengde gevoelens voor Nieveld en Leerdam" [Mixed feelings for Nieveld and Leerdam]. Feyenoord.nl (in Dutch). 1 February 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  9. ^ "Leerdam blij met eerste goal in Feyenoord één" [Leerdam happy with first goal in Feyenoord one]. Feyenoord.nl (in Dutch). 12 April 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  10. ^ "Leerdam: "Zorgen dat we in De Kuip niets verliezen"" [Leerdam: "We have to ensure we lose nothing in De Kuip"]. Feyenoord.nl (in Dutch). 20 August 2009. Archived from the original on 21 August 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  11. ^ "Transfervrije Leerdam verruilt Feyenoord voor Vitesse". vi.nl (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 14 January 2013. Archived from the original on 20 March 2013.
  12. ^ "Vitesse trots: Kelvin Leerdam Vitessenaar" [Vitesse challenge: Kevin Leerdam to Vitesse]. vitesse.nl (in Dutch). Vitesse. 2 July 2013. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013.
  13. ^ "Petrolul Ploiești vs. Vitesse". Soccerway. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  14. ^ "Vitesse vs. Heracles". Soccerway. 4 August 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  15. ^ "Chelsea watching Vitesse dynamo Kelvin Leerdam". Tribal Football. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  16. ^ "Vitesse traveling without punished Leerdam to Groningen". FC Update. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  17. ^ "Expiring contracts at Vitesse". Vitesse Official Site. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  18. ^ "Vitesse claim first major trophy with Cup triumph". Reuters. 30 April 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  19. ^ "AZ Alkmaar vs. Vitesse Arnhem - Football Match Lineups". espn.com. ESPN. 30 April 2017. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018.
  20. ^ Krasnoo, Ryan (1 July 2017). "Seattle Sounders sign 27-year-old Dutch fullback Kelvin Leerdam". SoundersFC.com. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  21. ^ Armstrong, Laura (10 November 2019). "Toronto FC cries foul after MLS Cup letdown". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  22. ^ "Inter Miami CF Signs Defender Kelvin Leerdam". Inter Miami. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  23. ^ "Inter Miami CF Announces 2021 Roster Decisions | Inter Miami CF". intermiamicf.
  24. ^ "LA Galaxy sign defender Kelvin Leerdam | LA Galaxy". lagalaxy.
  25. ^ "Slender victory not enough for Netherlands". UEFA. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2009.[dead link]
  26. ^ "Eleven Sounders FC players called into international duty". soundersfc.com. Seattle Sounders FC. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  27. ^ "Suriname v Cayman Islands game report". FIFA. 24 March 2021. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021.
  28. ^ Surinamese Football Federation [@OfficialSVB1920] (25 June 2021). "The 23 That Will Represent Us At The CONCACAF Gold Cup" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 July 2021 – via Twitter.
  29. ^ "K. Leerdam". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  30. ^ "Kelvin Leerdam". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  31. ^ "Seattle Sounders are 2019 MLS Cup champions: Rave Green win second MLS title". Major League Soccer. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.

External links

LA Galaxy – current squad
Suriname squad – 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup
Categories