Santi Kolk

On 25 October, Kolk made his European debut in the UEFA Champions League group stage match against Lyon, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for Jeffrey Talan in a 2–0 home loss.

He scored his first goal for Heerenveen on 17 December in a 3–0 away win over RBC Roosendaal.

Santiago Torti "Santi" Kolk (born 2 October 1981) is a Dutch former professional footballer.

He currently works as a football agent.

He mostly played as a forward during his career.

Kolk emerged as a talent from the ADO Den Haag academy in 1999, scoring in his senior debut.

He signed with Heerenveen the following year, where he made his European debut, but soon saw himself loaned out to second-tier clubs.

After a stint with Feyenoord, where he made no appearances, he returned to ADO where he experienced a breakout season, scoring 12 goals in 30 games which facilitated a move to Vitesse.

Three successful seasons prompted him to join German 2. Bundesliga club Union Berlin.

He made his professional debut on 29 August 1999 as part of the ADO Den Haag first team in a home match against NAC Breda.

Coming on as a second-half substitute for Dennis Iliohan, he scored his first goal after only being on the pitch for one minute as ADO won 3–0.

In 2000, Kolk signed a five-year contract with SC Heerenveen at age 18 as an emerging talent.

He made his debut for the club on 26 August 2000 in a 2–0 away win over Fortuna Sittard.

On 15 October 2001, RKC Waalwijk agreed to loan Kolk for the remainder of the season in order for him to gain more playing time.

He made his first appearance for the club on 20 October in a 3–1 away loss to Willem II.

He spent the second half of the 2002–03 season on loan with his former club ADO Den Haag and the entire 2003–04 season Den Bosch, winning the second-tier Eerste Divisie with both clubs.

This meant that Kolk was in the starting lineup against Spanish club Villarreal in the play-off round of the UEFA Cup on 26 August 2003.

At Heerenveen, however, he clashed with head coach Foppe de Haan, which Kolk later admitted was due to his own "selfishness".

On 14 August 2004, it was announced that Feyenoord had signed Kolk on a two-year contract with an option for two additional years.

As part of the deal, Kolk was sent on loan to satellite club Excelsior.

He scored 10 goals in 34 league appearances for the club during the 2004–05 season in which Excelsior finished 12th in the Eerste Divisie.

Kolk later recalled his season with the club: "it was a team where fun was key. We laughed so much."

On 31 August 2005, Kolk was sent on a one-season loan to Zwolle, with Dominggus Lim-Duan making a move in the opposite direction to Excelsior.

He had a highly successful season at the club, and finished as shared top scorer of the Eerste Divisie with 19 goals, alongside Berry Powel.

On 11 May 2006, Kolk returned to his first senior club ADO on a two-year contract.

He made 30 appearances during the 2006–07 season, in which he scored 12 goals as he could not heed the club from relegation, with ADO finishing bottom of the league.

In 2007, after having played for seven clubs in eight years, Kolk commented on the fact that he had played for a relatively large number of different clubs, by stating: "I am sort of the Dutch Christian Vieri."

Kolk signed a four-year contract with Vitesse on 31 May 2007, after turning down an offer from Twente.

Signing with Vitesse, he was united with fellow Hagenees, head coach Aad de Mos who played a substantial role in signing Kolk.

He would grow into a key player for the club, scoring 12 goals in 2008.

In October 2009, Kolk lost his place in the starting lineup after suffering an achilles tendon injury.

His contract was not renewed after the 2009–10 season.

He made 87 appearances during his time at Vitesse, in which he scored 23 goals.

During his first season at the club, he would mostly appear as a substitute, as the club finished in a disappointing 10th place.

After returning from a loan at ADO, Kolk's chances of playing time improved after fellow forward Romano Denneboom was told to leave.

While he recuperated from the injury, Nicky Hofs and Lasse Nilsson formed a duo in attack, with Kolk only returning as a starter on 22 January 2010 after a suspension for Hofs.

In July 2010, Kolk agreed to a three-year contract with 1. FC Union Berlin, who at that point were playing in the 2. Bundesliga.

Injuries hindered him during his time there, and he retired as part of ADO in November 2013.

After his retirement, Kolk has worked as an agent for Juzzt Football, representing Denzel Dumfries among others.

Born in The Hague, Kolk played youth football for Dynamo '67 in Rijswijk and HVV Laakkwartier, before joining the ADO Den Haag youth academy as a 15-year-old.