Damian van Bruggen

Damian van Bruggen
Van Bruggen in 2018
Personal information
Date of birth (1996-03-18) 18 March 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Utrecht, Netherlands
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Vejle
Number 14
Youth career
0000–2011 Almere City
2011–2014 Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2016 Jong Ajax 60 (2)
2016–2018 Jong PSV 36 (0)
2017–2018 → VVV-Venlo (loan) 26 (2)
2018–2020 VVV-Venlo 22 (0)
2020 Inter Zaprešić 16 (0)
2020–2022 Slaven Belupo 49 (1)
2022 Olimpija Ljubljana 16 (0)
2022–2024 Almere City 68 (1)
2024– Vejle 0 (0)
International career
2011–2012 Netherlands U16 4 (0)
2012–2013 Netherlands U17 11 (2)
2013 Netherlands U18 3 (0)
2014–2015 Netherlands U19 10 (2)
2016 Netherlands U20 3 (0)
2016–2017 Netherlands U21 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:47, 1 January 2024 (UTC)

Damian van Bruggen (born 18 March 1996) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for Danish Superliga club Vejle Boldklub. Mainly a centre-back, he can also play as a defensive midfielder or a full-back.

Club career

[edit]

Van Bruggen moved from Almere City to the Ajax youth academy at the start of the 2011–12 season.[1] In March 2013, Van Bruggen signed his first professional contract with Ajax, at the age of 16.[2]

Van Bruggen made his professional debut for Jong Ajax as a 61st-minute substitute for Ricardo van Rhijn in an Eerste Divisie match against Fortuna Sittard on 16 August 2014.[3]

He moved on a season-long loan to Eredivisie club VVV-Venlo in August 2017.[4] After a successful season, he joined the club on a permanent deal in May 2018.[5]

Between 2020 and 2022, Van Bruggen played for Croatian clubs Inter Zaprešić and Slaven Belupo, then briefly joined Slovenian side Olimpija Ljubljana in February 2022.[6][7][8] He returned to his native Netherlands in July 2022, rejoining his first club, Almere City.[9][10] His stint at the club proved rewarding as he played a crucial role in their historic promotion to the Eredivisie during the 2022–23 season, scoring once in 43 league appearances, including the play-offs. Under Van Bruggen's captaincy, the team secured their promotion after a victory over Emmen in the play-off finals.[11]

On 5 July 2024, Danish Superliga club Vejle Boldklub confirmed that they had signed van Bruggen on a deal until 30 June 2026.[12]

Career statistics

[edit]
As of match played 19 May 2024[13]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Jong Ajax 2014–15 Eerste Divisie 31 2 — — 31 2
2015–16 Eerste Divisie 29 0 — — 29 0
Total 60 2 — — 60 2
Jong PSV 2016–17 Eerste Divisie 36 0 — — 26 0
VVV-Venlo (loan) 2017–18 Eredivisie 26 2 3 1 — 29 3
VVV-Venlo 2018–19 Eredivisie 18 0 2 0 — 20 0
2019–20 Eredivisie 4 0 0 0 — 4 0
Total 22 0 2 0 — 24 0
Inter Zaprešić 2019–20 Croatian Football League 16 0 0 0 — 16 0
Slaven Belupo 2020–21 Croatian Football League 28 1 3 0 — 31 1
2021–22 Croatian Football League 21 0 3 0 — 24 0
Total 49 1 6 0 — 55 1
Olimpija Ljubljana 2021–22 Slovenian PrvaLiga 16 0 0 0 — 16 0
Almere City 2022–23 Eerste Divisie 37 1 2 0 6[a] 0 44 1
2023–24 Eerste Divisie 31 0 1 0 — 32 0
Total 68 1 3 0 6 0 77 1
Vejle Boldklub 2024–25 Danish Superliga 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Career total 293 6 14 1 6 0 313 7
  1. ^ Appearances in Eredivisie promotion/relegation playoffs

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Van Bruggen dolblij met overstap naar Ajax". Almerecity.nl. 12 February 2011. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  2. ^ "Ajax contracteert jeugdspelers". Ajax.nl. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Fortuna Sittard vs. Jong Ajax - 16 August 2014". Soccerway. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  4. ^ "Van Bruggen verruilt PSV voor VVV-Venlo". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 11 August 2017. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  5. ^ "VVV neemt Van Bruggen definitief over van PSV". NOS (in Dutch). 28 May 2018. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Petrovic haalt Van Bruggen weg bij VVV-Venlo". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 18 January 2020. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Čović, Prce, van Bruggen, Maglica, Boakye i Mlinar novi igrači Slaven Belupa". NK Slaven Belupo (Press release) (in Croatian). 9 August 2020. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  8. ^ "U Skenderov široki zagrljaj: Damian van Bruggen novi je igrač Olimpije iz Ljubljane". Telesport (in Slovenian). 16 February 2022. Archived from the original on 16 February 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  9. ^ "Damian van Bruggen keert na elf jaar terug in Almere". Almere City FC (Press release) (in Dutch). 14 July 2022. Archived from the original on 16 July 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  10. ^ Wit, Herman de (15 July 2022). "Damian van Brugge terug op oude nest". Omroep Almere (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Almere City debuteert volgend seizoen in eredivisie: 'Geweldig ontwikkeld'". NOS (in Dutch). 11 June 2023. Archived from the original on 11 June 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  12. ^ "Vejle Boldklub henter hollandsk profil". Vejle Boldklub (Press release) (in Danish). 5 July 2024. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  13. ^ Damian van Bruggen at Soccerway
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