Kenneth Vermeer

Vermeer would play every remaining game that season as Ajax clinched their 30th Eredivisie title under new manager Frank de Boer.

He finished the season as first choice keeper once more helping Ajax to win their third consecutive league title, a feat the club had not achieved since 1967 when they were last able to secure three national titles in a row.

Kenneth Harold Vermeer (born 10 January 1986) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Eredivisie club PEC Zwolle.

In the 2006–07 season, Vermeer became Ajax's third keeper, making his first team debut in a UEFA Cup match against IK Start.

In February 2007, Vermeer extended his contract with Ajax until June 2010.

Vermeer's opportunities in the first squad were limited due to the presence of Maarten Stekelenburg and Dennis Gentenaar, so Vermeer was loaned out for the 2007–08 season to Willem II to gain Eredivisie experience.

Due to an injury for teammate Maikel Aerts, Vermeer started as first-choice goalkeeper for Willem II, and made his Eredivisie debut for the club.

After Aerts recovered he was once again first choice.

Aerts was once again injured in a match against Ajax, and Vermeer ended the season as first-choice keeper for the club.

At the start of the 2008–09 season, Vermeer returned to Ajax and was included in the squad by new manager Marco van Basten, once again behind Stekelenburg and Gentenaar.

During the season, he would pass Gentenaar to establish as the second choice keeper behind Stekelenburg.

After Stekelenburg was injured in September 2008, Vermeer finally made his Eredivisie debut for Ajax, in a match against SC Heerenveen.

Although Ajax lost the match 5–2, Vermeer's performance was seen as positive.

Vermeer would play every game until the winter break, making a good impression.

After Stekelenburg's recovery after the winter break he reestablished himself as first keeper.

After Stekelenburg was once again injured in February 2009, Vermeer was once again first keeper, and would keep that position even after Stekelenburg was fit again, finishing the season as first keeper.

At the start of the 2009–10 season, Martin Jol was appointed as new manager, and Vermeer was once again Stekelenburg's understudy, playing only one Eredivisie match in the entire season.

A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, Vermeer has played for Jong Ajax, Willem II on loan, and the Ajax first team, with which he won four consecutive national titles from 2010 to 2014.

He is the current Dutch national team record holder for longest streak in goal without conceding in a match, having never conceded a goal while playing for the first team of the Netherlands.

Vermeer has kept clean sheets against Germany, Estonia, Romania, Indonesia, and Spain.

Vermeer started relatively late in his youth as a goalkeeper, having started as an outfield player.

He was scouted as a keeper by Ajax from FC Blauw-Wit Amsterdam.

He went through the various youth squads at the Ajax Academy before ending up in Jong Ajax, where he often trained with the first squad.

Vermeer was seriously injured in the 2010–11 pre-season, tearing his achilles tendon, and he would only return to the squad in April 2011.

Stekelenburg was injured, so Vermeer was immediately in the starting line-up for his first game back, a match against Heracles Almelo.

Prior to the 2011–12 season, Stekelenburg was sold to A.S. Roma, so Vermeer started the season as first keeper, with deputies Jasper Cillessen and Jeroen Verhoeven.

Although he had a rocky start to the season by conceding six goals in a game at Utrecht and a weak shot in a match against Roda, Vermeer has rebounded well and has made the net his own following the departure of Maarten Stekelenburg.

He was especially sharp in a game against Olympique Lyonnais in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League as he successfully kept a clean sheet in France.

Helping Ajax to consecutive league titles, Vermeer's deputy Jeroen Verhoeven departed ahead of the 2012–13 campaign who was then replaced by Mickey van der Hart, who had impressed the previous season during the club's NextGen Series campaign.

In April 2012, Ajax announced the extension of Vermeer's contract for 2 more years, binding him to the club until the summer of 2015.

On 20 January 2013, during the Klassieker match against arch-rivals Feyenoord, Vermeer helped Ajax to a 3–0 victory at home, keeping a clean sheet while saving a penalty kick from Lex Immers in the 64th minute of the game.

On 17 February 2013, Vermeer was admitted to the illustrious Club van 100 of Ajax, making his 100th career appearance for the club in the away match against RKC Waalwijk, he then stopped another penalty shot in this match from Robert Braber.

Vermeer was sent off in a home match against Heracles Almelo, after he erroneously brought down Geoffrey Castillion.

While injuring himself in the process, Vermeer would miss the impending Topper away match against PSV on 14 April 2013 due to his red card.

On 27 July 2013, Vermeer helped Ajax to win the Dutch Super Cup (Johan Cruijff Shield) in a match that went into overtime against neighboring AZ from Alkmaar, with the match ending in a 3–2 win for the Amsterdammers.

With Vermeer remaining the first choice keeper at the start of the 2013–14 season, the club was off to a rough start after the departure of vice captain and defender Toby Alderweireld, as well as the departure of Christian Eriksen.

During the transition period, Ajax would concede four goals in two scoreless losses each only four days apart, with the first incident occurring on 18 September 2013 in the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League group stage match against FC Barcelona at Camp Nou, and the second incident only four days later at the Philips Stadion in the Topper match against PSV.

This was a club record, with the defeat to Barcelona only being the fifth ever match that Ajax would lose by such a margin on a continental level.

Following these events, Ajax manager Frank de Boer announced that he would give the precedence to the then second choice keeper Jasper Cillessen, while Vermeer could focus on his training and conditioning in order to obtain his form he had previously displayed.

On 28 October 2013, Vermeer made his debut in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of professional football in the Netherlands when he appeared in goal for newly promoted Jong Ajax in the 4–0 loss at home against FC Dordrecht.