Position: Winger/Forward Squad Number: 7 Date of birth: 30/09/1979 Former clubs: Vitesse Arnhem, Ajax, FC Twente, Inter Milan Birth place: Arnhem Transfer fee: Undisclosed
AFTER struggling to settle at Serie A giants, Inter Milan, Andy Van der Meyde signed a four-year deal at Everton on transfer deadline day in the summer of 2005 and became the eighth player to sign as Everton prepared for their European campaign.
The attacking winger, who can also operate as a forward, began his career at hometown club Vitesse Arnhem but was snapped up by Ajax at the age of 17 as they looked to grow the best young talent in Holland.
After making a number of appearances for Ajax, he was loaned out to FC Twente for the 1999/2000 season and made 32 appearances, returning to become a first team regular at Ajax the following year.
For the next three seasons, Van der Meyde averaged a goal nearly every four games by scoring 20 goals in 86 appearances as a winger.
Despite not fitting into Roberto Mancini's plans at Inter Milan during his two years with the Nerazzurri, he has been capped 15 times by the Netherlands and shown his quality in crossing and attacking wherever he has played.
Van der Meyde's Everton career got off to a stuttering start however, as he managed only 11 appearances in his debut season, with injury and later suspension (he was sent off in the Merseyside derby defeat at Anfield in March 2006), taking their toll.
In spite of this, he displayed enough quality and guile to prove a hit figure amongst the Goodison Park faithful.
Despite showing his quality when on the field, Van dar Meyde has struggled with injury and match fitness, making just eight league appearances during 2006-2007.
Article
