Jan Vertonghen

Jan Vertonghen () (born 24 April 1987 in Sint-Niklaas, East Flanders) is a Belgian footballer who plays as a defender and occasionally as a defensive midfielder for Dutch Eredivisie club Ajax and the Belgian national team. A left-footed player who usually plays as a centre back, he is equally adept at playing anywhere on the left side or in defensive midfield and frequently joins in the attack from his centre back position.

Club career

Ajax

Move to Holland

After spending time at VK Tielrode and Germinal Beerschot, Vertonghen moved to the Netherlands and signed a contract with the youth academy of Eredivisie side Ajax. He began as a midfielder but now he mostly plays at centre back for Ajax. During his time in the reserves, he became known for an incident in the 2006 KNVB Cup game against Cambuur Leeuwarden, his first ever home game at the Amsterdam ArenA, where he "scored" a bizarre goal to put Ajax 3–0 up. He had attempted a back pass to the Cambuur goalkeeper while a teammate was receiving treatment but instead the ball sailed past the shocked goalkeeper, much to the amusement of the spectators and the bewilderment of the players.

Loan to RKC & breakthrough at Ajax

On 23 August 2006, Vertonghen made his first team debut in the Champions League third qualifying round against Copenhagen. He made his first start and Eredivisie debut in a 6–0 win over Willem II in the Amsterdam ArenA. He would play...
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