Dwight Tiendalli

Dwight Marciano Tiendalli (born 21 October 1985) is a Surinamese-born Dutch former professional footballer.

He generally played as a full-back.

He began his football career at Ajax and spent eleven years there before joining Utrecht in 2004.

After progressing through the ranks at the club, Tiendalli was called up to the first team for the first time in December 2004.

He made his debut as a 75th-minute substitute in a 1–0 win over Den Bosch on 19 December 2004.

Tiendalli found himself in and out of the starting line-up, also playing in the reserve team.

By the end of the 2004–05 season, he had made eleven appearances and scored once in all competitions.

Following this, the club began talks over a new contract.

Tiendalli scored his first senior goal for FC Utrecht, having come on as a 73rd-minute substitute, in a 1–0 win against RBC Roosendaal on 12 February 2005.

In the 2005–06 season, Tiendalli appeared more often for FC Utrecht, featuring in the first seven league matches, until he was sent off for a professional foul in the 65th minute of a 3–1 win against Feyenoord on 2 October 2005.

After serving a one-match suspension, he returned to the starting line-up against SC Heerenveen on 23 October 2005, as the club drew 1–1.

On 27 November he scored his first goal of the season, in a 1–0 win against Ajax.

Despite being sidelined during the 2005–06 season, Tiendalli continued to remain involved in the first team, making twenty-nine appearances, scoring twice, in all competitions.

His second goal of the season came in a 3–2 victory over ADO Den Haag on 15 January 2006.

Ahead of the 2006–07 season, Tiendalli was linked to a move away from Utrecht, with Feyenoord and Real Betis interested in signing him.

Amid the transfer speculation, he made one further appearance for Utrecht in the opening game of the season, a 2–1 defeat to Willem II.

In the summer of 2006, Tiendalli moved to Feyenoord on a four-year contract, for a fee of €2 million.

He made his debut five days later on 27 August 2006, in the starting eleven in a 0–0 draw against Heracles Almelo.

In a match against Willem II on 12 November 2006, he was sent off after handling the ball on the goal-line in the 78th minute, as Feyenoord won 5–3.

Following the match, however, video evidence showed that Tiendalli had not committed an offence; referee Jack van Hulten admitted his mistake and the red card was rescinded.

He became a first-team regular for Feyenoord in the first half of the season, but was later sidelined with injuries, including a groin injury meaning he was expected to miss the entire season.

By March, he was sufficiently recovered to resume training, and returned to the starting line-up on 22 April 2007 in a 1–1 draw with NEC Nijmegen.

In his first season at Feyenoord, Tiendalli made nineteen appearances in all competitions.

Tiendalli's return was short-lived as he fractured his lower leg, which kept him out for the rest of the year.

On recovering from his injury, he was told by Feyenoord that he would be loaned out.

Feyenoord loaned Tiendalli to city rivals Sparta Rotterdam on 25 January 2008, where he was re-united with his former Utrecht coach Foeke Booy.

Tiendalli made his debut for Sparta Rotterdam on 26 January 2008 as a member of the starting line-up, setting up the second goal in a 2–1 win over FC Twente.

He became a first-team regular, helping them avoid relegation and making thirteen appearances in all competitions.

After his loan spell ended, Tiendalli was told by Feyenoord that he could leave the club despite his being keen to stay and take his chance.

Tiendalli ended up staying at Feyenoord over the summer, because of the club's asking price.

At the start of the 2008–09 season, he found himself playing for the reserve side.

A month later, on 26 October 2008, Tiendalli made his first senior appearance of the season, in a 2–2 draw with SC Heerenveen.

Tiendalli is a former Dutch under-21 international, and was part of the FC Twente team that won the 2009–10 Eredivisie.

After his first season with Swansea City, in which the team won the League Cup, Tiendalli was capped twice by the Netherlands national team.

Born in Paramaribo, Suriname, Tiendalli moved to the Netherlands at a young age.

Following his return to the first team, he was involved more often by the club, until he was sent off for a second bookable offence in a 2–0 defeat in De Klassieker, Feyenoord's highly contested match with Ajax, on 15 February 2009.

Following his return, Tiendalli failed to make his hoped-for breakthrough into regular first-team contention.

In his second appearance against Sparta Rotterdam on 10 September 2016, he suffered a hamstring injury and was substituted in the 68th minute, as the club won 4–1.

However, he recovered quickly and made his European debut as a starter in the first round of the UEFA Cup, a 2–2 draw against Lokomotiv Sofia.

The club reached the Group Stage after drawing 0–0, going through on away goals.