Timo Letschert

He was substituted in the 85th minute for Maikel Kieftenbeld.

In his first season, Letschert made three appearances for Groningen.

Timo Letschert (born 25 May 1993) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Chinese Super League club Chengdu Rongcheng.

Letschert began his football career with his hometown club, SDOB, before joining Ajax' youth academy at a young age.

Ajax let him leave for the HFC Haarlem academy in 2008, and via the shared Heerenveen/Emmen academies he joined Groningen, where he made his senior debut and signed his first professional contract.

In 2008, he left the club with the reason that he was physically limited compared to his peers.

Letschert was picked up by lower league club HFC Haarlem.

After two years, he returned to the youth academy of an Eredivisie club, when he was included in the shared youth academy of SC Heerenveen and FC Emmen.

After two years Letschert left Friesland.

He was then allowed to trial at FC Groningen, then still playing as a midfielder.

Letschert successfully enforced a contract.

Letschert made his professional debut for Groningen on 13 April 2013 as a starter in a 2–0 victory against Heracles Almelo.

In May 2013, he extended his contract with the club for two years.

On 25 August 2013, he played his fourth game of the new season in the first team – all in the starting line-up – against Go Ahead Eagles.

Behind 3–2, both Krisztián Adorján and Letschert received a red card in two minutes.

In the end, substitute Género Zeefuik secured the 3–3 equaliser.

After being suspended for a week, Letschert returned for the derby against Heerenveen.

During this match, Makkelie dealt out three red cards.

Letschert was sent off after only eleven minutes and later Mitchell Dijks from Heerenveen and Tjaronn Chery from Groningen were also sent off.

Heerenveen won the game 4–2.

In late-October 2013, Letschert was suspended by the Groningen club management because he was not satisfied with a place on the reserve bench.

He failed to break through as a starter, and joined Roda JC Kerkrade in 2014.

After relegation and a contractual dispute, Letschert moved to Utrecht – first on loan and since on a permanent deal.

After his disciplinary suspension, the centre-back played two more games in the first team of Groningen and on 30 January 2014, both sides came to the decision to terminate the contract by mutual consent.

One day later, Letschert signed with Roda JC Kerkrade until the end of the season, with an option for two more years.

A week after signing his contract in Kerkrade, on 8 February, the defender was allowed to make his debut for his new club.

Away against NAC Breda – a game which was lost 2–0 – Letschert was in the starting line-up under head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson.

He played the entire game as a right-back.

In his first half season with Roda JC, he played eleven games.

The season went poorly for the Limburg-based club and they fought against relegation from the Eredivisie.

Of the eleven games that Letschert played, only two were won.

On 3 May 2014, Roda JC played away against Go Ahead Eagles during the last matchday of the season.

Letschert played the entire game as a defensive midfielder.

A goal from Davy De Beule won Roda JC the match.

Growing into a fixed starter, helping the club reach qualifiers for European football, he was signed by Serie A club Sassuolo in 2016.

In March 2016, he received a call up for the senior team, but failed to make his full international debut.

Born in Purmerend, Letschert lived in Broek in Waterland in his early years and started playing football at the local club SDOB.

There, he was spotted by scouts from Ajax, and he eventually joined their famed youth academy.

He since played on loan for Utrecht and one season for Hamburger SV in 2. Bundesliga, before returning to the Netherlands on a permanent deal, signing with AZ in 2020.

He was capped five times for his country at under-21 level.