Jan-Arie van der Heijden

Jan-Arie van der Heijden (born 3 March 1988) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

Club career

Ajax

Born in Leiden, Van der Heijden made his debut for Ajax in a league match against Roda JC on 4 November 2007 (4–2). Prior to playing for Ajax, he played for Schoonhoven. He has also attained a bachelor's degree in Sports and Economics. Although he only played two league games for Ajax he did play a full match against VfB Stuttgart and made a substitutes appearance against Italian champions Inter Milan. On his 20th birthday, 3 March 2008, Van der Heijden signed an improved contract that bound him to Ajax until 2013.

In the 2008–09 season under manager Marco van Basten, Van der Heijden was injured until March 2009 due to a double knee-injury. During the season, he had a number of unfortunate setbacks that prolonged his recovery period. At the end of March he was about to resume full training with Jong Ajax, and he played a number of full matches with the reserve squad. On 10 May 2009, the last day of the Eredivisie season, Van der Heijden was on the substitute bench as Ajax played against Twente, although he did not come onto the pitch.

Loan to Willem II

For the 2009–10 season, new manager Martin Jol came in and Van der Heijden was sent out on loan to gain experience in the Eredivisie. On 31 August, he joined Willem II on loan until 30 June 2010. At Willem II he has become a first team regular as a defensive midfielder. He made his first goal in competitive football for the Tilburg side in a 2–1 home victory over VVV-Venlo on a free kick. In January 2010, Ajax teammate Mitchell Donald joined Van der Heijden on loan from Ajax at the Tilburg club.