Jan Vertonghen

Jan Bert Lieve Vertonghen (born 24 April 1987) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays for Pro League club Anderlecht and the Belgium national team.

Mainly a central defender, he can also play as a left-back.

Vertonghen began his senior career at Dutch club Ajax in 2006 and totalled 220 games and 28 goals for them across all competitions, serving as their captain from 2011 to 2012.

During his time in the reserves, he became known for an incident in a 2006 KNVB Cup game against Cambuur Leeuwarden, his first home game at the Amsterdam Arena, where he scored a goal to put Ajax 3–0 up.

He had attempted a back pass to the Cambuur goalkeeper while a teammate was receiving treatment but instead the ball went into the goal.

Since it was unintentional, Ajax allowed Cambuur to score a goal in return.

On 23 August 2006, Vertonghen made his first team debut in the Champions League third qualifying round against Copenhagen.

He made his first start and Eredivisie debut in a 6–0 win over Willem II at the Amsterdam Arena and would play another two matches for the first half of the season.

After the winter break of the 2006–07 season, he was sent on loan to struggling RKC Waalwijk for the remainder of the season.

At RKC, he would play 12 matches in which he scored three times, but he was unable to help the team avoid relegation to the Eerste Divisie.

One of his goals with RKC Waalwijk was against his parent club, Ajax, in a 2–2 draw, which eventually let Ajax finish second in the league on only one goal difference with PSV.

Vertonghen made his international debut for Belgium in 2007 and his 153 caps (including three unofficial games, according to FIFA rules) are the most in the history of the national team.

Vertonghen returned to Ajax for the 2007–08 season, where he was tipped for stardom, but was unable to break through due to a severe injury and the presence of central defenders John Heitinga and Thomas Vermaelen.

He was part of Belgian squads that came fourth at the 2008 Olympics, finishing third at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the quarter-finals at UEFA Euro 2016 and Euro 2020.

Vertonghen was born in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium, to Ria Mattheeuws and Paul Vertonghen.

He has two brothers, Ward and Lode; both have played football.

After spending time at VK Tielrode and Germinal Beerschot, Vertonghen moved to the Netherlands and signed a contract with the youth academy of Eredivisie side AFC Ajax.

He began as a midfielder but then became a regular at centre-back for Ajax.

Johan Cruyff had made no secret of his admiration for the left-footed youngster who can handle any left-sided position in defence and midfield, opting, on 26 September 2008, to extend his contract to 30 June 2013.

The 2008–09 season was a breakthrough season for the young defender.

After John Heitinga left for Atlético Madrid, Vertonghen became Thomas Vermaelen's first-choice partner in central defence; the former started 23 of the 26 games he played in and scored four goals.

On 28 September, he scored a rare double against Vitesse in a 3–0 win.

Although sustaining an injury from training during the week, he played in the match against Groningen on 24 January, billed as a "must-win" match by coach Marco van Basten; Vertonghen was unfortunate enough to be sent off for two yellow cards as Ajax lost 1–0.

He was out for a month after sustaining a hamstring injury in an away win on 1 March against Utrecht, but his return lasted only several games after his season was prematurely ended after aggravating another injury.

Under new coach Martin Jol, Vertonghen retained his place in the starting line-up for the 2009–10 season.

Despite injuring his toe while on international duty against Spain the previous week, he scored his first goal of the season, a free kick, in a 6–0 thrashing of NAC Breda on 13 September.

With the departure of Thomas Vermaelen to Arsenal, he and fellow Belgian Toby Alderweireld become the first choice centre-back pairing and soon became a firm fans' favourite.

Despite Ajax's erratic form in the latter weeks leading up to the winter break, he turned in some strong performances and attracted the interest of a number of clubs, including Barcelona, but he played down the rumours, stating his intent to at least see out his contract with Ajax.

After the winter break, Ajax went on a nine-game unbeaten streak in the league, with Vertonghen playing a key role.

Their run of six consecutive clean sheets was ended in a 4–1 home win over PSV when the visiting side were awarded a penalty.

Vertonghen was linked with a move to Newcastle United, and later he was also linked with Milan, stating, "I've heard Milan Director Adriano Galliani talk about me after the Champions League match in San Siro and his words were very flattering."

Vertonghen stated on numerous occasions late in the 2010–11 season that he was considering leaving Ajax at the end of that season.

In May 2011, Frank de Boer confirmed Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini was present at the 2011 KNVB Cup Final held on 7 May 2011, where Vertonghen's side lost 3–2 to Twente.

Mancini was reportedly scouting Vertonghen to strengthen his side after they had qualified for the UEFA Champions League 2011–12 campaign.

During the 2011–12 Eredivisie season, Vertonghen emerged as one of Ajax's best players, demonstrating his versatility to cover multiple positions after Ajax had let several regular players out on long-term loans.

After an impressive season, including a performance for which he was singled out for praise against Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League Round of 16, he was named the 2011–12 Eredivisie Player of the Year.

He won two Eredivisie and two KNVB Cup titles during his time at the club, and in 2012 he was named Dutch Footballer of the Year.

Vertonghen transferred to Tottenham Hotspur in July 2012, and made the PFA Team of the Year in his first Premier League season.

He made 315 appearances for Spurs over eight years, as well as reaching the 2019 UEFA Champions League final, and was named the club's Player of the Year in 2018.

After spending two seasons with Portuguese club Benfica, he joined Anderlecht in 2022.