Orlando Engelaar

Orlando Wensley Engelaar (born 24 August 1979, in Rotterdam) is a Dutch retired footballer.

Engelaar usually played as a midfielder, and is well known for his height.

At 1.96 m tall, he is a towering presence on the pitch.

His greatest quality was largely considered to be his through pass because, in spite of his size, Engelaar was very much an attack-minded player.

Born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Engelaar began playing football when he was seven years old and said: "Soccer is my life. I'm working on it day and night."

Engelaar then joined Feyenoord in the youth system at the same age after being invited to an open day.

He quickly impressed the Feyenoord's management and joined the academy.

Engelaar then spent fifteen years at Feyenoord". Having started out playing as a striker, Engelaar eventually settled into a midfield or defensive role where he impressed with his aerial and passing abilities. He then explained his final years at the academy, saying: "I had now signed a three-year contract at the age of eighteen.

In the first half of the second season I had to come back from that injury.

That took time, of course.

I was told I could leave.

I was able to go to the Excelsior satellite club.

But I didn't see it that way.

That club then played - nine, ten years ago - without any prospects in the first division.

At that time there were few examples of players who came out well again.

I'm not going to be stabled at Excelsior, you do that with a cow.' At his father's request, he accepted the invitation to play with the Suriprofs team.

That was then coached by Henk ten Cate.

Engelaar left such a good impression that the Amsterdam trainer offered him a contract on behalf of NAC.

But then Feyenoord did not want to lose the midfielder anymore - he had started to play better again." After fifteen years at Feyenoord, Engelaar then joined NAC Breda, which was the club that saw him started his professional football career.

Engelaar made his debut for NAC Breda on the left side of midfield, featuring the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 loss to RKC Waalwijk on 19 August 2000.

Following this, he spent two seasons, rotating in and out of the first team, resulting in him combined making the appearances of thirty–three appearances in the first two seasons at the club.

The 2002–03 season proved to be a breakthrough for Engelaar, as he became a first team regular for NAC Breda.

Engelaar then scored his first goals for the club, eventually scoring twice from two thunderous drives into the back-of-the-net, in a 2–0 win against Heerenveen on 14 September 2002.

It wasn't until on 5 October 2002 when he scored another brace, in a 2–2 draw against PSV Eindhoven.

This was followed up by scoring his fifth goal of the season, in a 3–0 win against FC Zwolle.

Engelaar then scored two more goals by the end of the year against RKC Waalwijk and Excelsior.

His goal scoring form continued throughout May and helped the club qualify for the UEFA Europa League next season by finishing fourth place in the league.

At the end of the 2002–03 season, Engelaar went on to make thirty–five appearances and scoring twelve times in all competitions.

At the start of the 2003–04 season, Engelaar signed a three-year contract with NAC Breda, keeping him until 2007.

He played both legs in the first round of UEFA Cup against Premier League side Newcastle United, as the club lost 6–0 on aggregate.

Shortly after NAC Breda's elimination from the tournament, Engelaar scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–0 win against NEC Nijmegen on 19 October 2003.

Two weeks later on 1 November 2003, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 3–1 loss against PSV Eindhoven.

Engelaar then scored four goals in three matches between 12 December 2003 and 24 January 2004, including a brace against RBC Roosendaal.

At the end of the 2003–04 season, he went on to make thirty–four appearances and scoring nine times in all competitions.

He later scored twice for the club, in a 5–2 win against NEC Nijmegen on 27 March 2004.

Two weeks later on 11 April 2004, Engelaar scored his ninth goal of the season, in a 2–2 draw against Vitesse.

At the start of the 2004–05 season, Engelaar joined Belgian club Racing Genk on a four-year contract.

Prior to his departure from NAC Breda, he made his last appearance for the club against Utrecht in the opening game of the season and scored in a 3–2 win.

However, the transfer move resulted NAC Breda suing Genk in court.

Engelaar made his debut for Genk against Lokeren on 22 August 2005 and started the whole game, in a 2–1 win.