John Heitinga

John Gijsbert Alan "Johnny" Heitinga (born 15 November 1983) is a Dutch football coach and a former player who played as a centre back.

He is currently an assistant first-team coach at Premier League club West Ham United.

A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, he played for their first squad from 2001 to 2008.

Heitinga was part of the AFC Ajax youth team before making his debut for the first team on 26 August 2001 against Feyenoord.

He was part a new wave of talent that fielded the likes of homegrown stars Rafael van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder, as well as Zlatan Ibrahimović and Cristian Chivu.

He was featured in a documentary entitled Ajax: Hark the Herald Angel Sings alongside Ajax academy pupils Gregory van der Wiel, Mitchell Donald, Jeffrey Sarpong, Donovan Slijngard, Nordin Amrabat, Evander Sno, and Jeremain Lens.

Heitinga quickly established himself as a strong addition to the team and became first-choice player under coach Co Adriaanse and later Ronald Koeman until he suffered a serious knee injury which kept him on the sidelines for over six months.

His comeback was short-lived, as he played only one game before suffering yet another injury which again sentenced him to a long period of recovery.

He made his second comeback at the start of the 2003–04 season and impressed in his first game since injury against FC Volendam, from where he went on to become a first choice central defender for the remainder of the season as well as a popular figure amongst the fans.

Since his debut for the Netherlands national team in February 2004, Heitinga had over 85 caps and represented his country at two World Cups (2006 and 2010) and three European Championships (2004, 2008, and 2012).

When it was announced that he would be leaving Ajax at the end of the 2007–08 season, the fans gave him a fitting send-off by displaying a mosaic of him on the stands.

Heitinga moved to Atlético Madrid at the end of the 2007–08 season for a fee of £8.8 million.

His first season in Spain ended with Heitinga making 32 appearances – 27 in La Liga – and scoring three goals for Atlético.

In 2008, Heitinga was named Dutch Footballer of the Year.

He is of mixed Dutch and Indo ancestry.

After a one-year spell at Atlético Madrid in Spain, he signed for Everton in 2009.

In September 2009, aged 25, Heitinga joined English Premier League club Everton on a five-year contract for a fee of around €7.04 million (£6.2 million).

He was given squad number 5, though he was not eligible to represent Everton in the UEFA Europa League, having already played for Atlético Madrid in the qualifying stage of the Champions League.

Heitinga made his debut for Everton on 13 September against Fulham after coming on for the injured Phil Neville.

In his first season for the club, Heitinga made 35 appearances in all competitions.

He played mostly as defensive midfielder, covering the absence of several players and showing great spirit and adaptability.

In the 2010–11 FA Cup, Everton held holders Chelsea 1–1 in a replay at Stamford Bridge, sending the tie to penalties.

Heitinga took Everton's fourth and scored.

Phil Neville went on to score the winning penalty for Everton.

Later that season, Heitinga scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw at home to Birmingham City.

Heitinga was voted Everton's Player of the Season for 2011–12 by the club's supporters.

He finally had an extended run of play as centre back, showing the passion and the commanding skills he always put on the field in the orange shirt.

He then scored against Newcastle on the final day of the season with an unmarked header which put Everton 3–0, his second Premier League goal and his first in over 14 months.

The 2012–13 season proved to be less successful for Heitinga as manager David Moyes opted to play Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin for much of Everton's season.

Heitinga had to wait until an injury to Jagielka gave him a sustained run in the team but poor performances which included him being culpable for all three goals in a 3–3 draw with Aston Villa led to him being criticised by fans.

However, in April Moyes praised Heitinga's mental strength for battling back after his earlier form in the season would have "broken" most players.

Despite this, Heitinga revealed that he had rejected Everton's offer of a new contract at the end of the year.

Joining Fulham for six months in January 2014, he then signed with German side Hertha BSC the following summer, signing a two-year deal with the club from Berlin.

In January 2014 Everton and West Ham United agreed terms for the transfer of Heitinga.

He turned down the move however saying, "You have to be convinced that you are taking the right step and I was not".

He scored his last goal for the team in his last outing, Everton's 4–0 FA Cup win against Stevenage before eventually joining Fulham on a free transfer on transfer deadline day.

On 31 January 2014, Heitinga signed for Fulham for a six-month deal on a free transfer.

In a 3–1 loss against Chelsea on 1 March, Heitinga scored the only goal for Fulham.

On 23 May 2014 he was released from the club at the end of his contract.

In June 2015 he returned to his first club, Ajax.