Vito van Crooij (born 29 January 1996) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger, primarily on the left hand side for Eredivisie club NEC. He won the Eerste Divisie Young Player of the Year in 2016 for his performances for VVV-Venlo.
 van Crooij in 2020 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Vito van Crooij[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 29 January 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | Venlo, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | NEC | ||
| Number | 32 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Quick Boys '31 | |||
| 2004–2013 | VVV-Venlo | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2018 | VVV-Venlo | 132 | (35) |
| 2018–2020 | PEC Zwolle | 46 | (9) |
| 2020–2021 | VVV-Venlo | 31 | (3) |
| 2021–2023 | Sparta Rotterdam | 70 | (17) |
| 2023–2024 | Al-Wehda | 24 | (0) |
| 2024– | NEC | 0 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2015 | Netherlands U20 | 6 | (0) |
| 2016 | Netherlands U21 | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 August 2024 | |||
His brother, Delano van Crooy plays professionally as a goalkeeper.
Club career
editBorn in Venlo, van Crooij made his debut for VVV-Venlo at the age of 18 in the KNVB Cup against Eindhoven at the start of the 2014–15 Season, however he did not score until the game against MVV in the KNVB Cup, scoring once in the 2–0 victory. His first league game in the Eerste Divisie was in the 3–0 victory against Achilles '29.[2] However, Van Crooy did not score a league goal until February, netting the winner in the 1–0 victory against Almere City.
In the 2015–16 season, van Crooij was part of the VVV-Venlo squad which finished second in the Eerste Divisie. He scored 13 goals and recorded 8 assists throughout the season playing as a left winger. He was part of the VVV-Venlo team which lost in the play off final of the Eerste Divisie. He just missed out on the Eerste Divisie Young Player of the Year Award[3] for the 2015–16 season where he was nominated due to his impressive performances for VVV.
In the 2016–17 season, van Crooij started the season well, scoring the equaliser in the 2–1 victory over SC Cambuur. Since then he has scored more goals, including a penalty in the 2–1 defeat to Helmond Sport.
On 13 July 2018 he became a new PEC Zwolle player.
On 25 August 2020, he returned to VVV-Venlo.[4][5]
On 25 June 2021, Van Crooij signed a three-year contract with Sparta Rotterdam.[6] On 14 August 2022, he scored the fastest goal in Eredivisie history – after eight seconds against AZ Alkmaar.[7]
On 7 September 2023, van Crooij joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Wehda on a three-year deal.[8]
On 30 September 2024, van Crooij signed a three-season contract with NEC.[9]
Career statistics
edit- As of match played 27 August 2023
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| VVV-Venlo | 2013–14 | Eerste Divisie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2014–15 | Eerste Divisie | 31 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | 4[a] | 1 | 38 | 5 | ||
| 2015–16 | Eerste Divisie | 33 | 13 | 1 | 1 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 34 | 14 | ||
| 2016–17 | Eerste Divisie | 36 | 14 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 14 | |||
| 2017–18 | Eredivisie | 31 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 5 | |||
| Total | 132 | 35 | 8 | 2 | — | 6 | 1 | 144 | 38 | |||
| PEC Zwolle | 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 30 | 9 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 32 | 10 | ||
| 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 5 | 4 | 18 | 0 | ||
| Total | 46 | 9 | 4 | 1 | — | 5 | 4 | 50 | 10 | |||
| VVV-Venlo | 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 31 | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 35 | 4 | ||
| Sparta Rotterdam | 2021–22 | Eredivisie | 33 | 5 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 35 | 7 | ||
| 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 34 | 12 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 36 | 12 | ||
| 2023–24 | Eredivisie | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Total | 70 | 17 | 4 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | 74 | 19 | |||
| Al-Wehda | 2023–24 | Pro League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 263 | 64 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 285 | 71 | ||
- ^ a b Appearances in Eerste Divisie playoffs
Honours
editVVV-Venlo
Individual
- Eredivisie Team of the Month: March 2023,[10]
References
edit- ^ Vito van Crooij at Soccerway
- ^ Van Crooy tekent voor 2,5 jaar bij VVV - 1Limburg (in Dutch)
- ^ Sparta wint bijna alle Gouden Stieren - Rijnmond (in Dutch)
- ^ "Vito van Crooij terug naar VVV-Venlo" (in Dutch). PEC Zwolle. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
- ^ "Vito van Crooij terug op oude nest" (in Dutch). VVV-Venlo. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
- ^ "Vito van Crooij maakt overstap naar Sparta Rotterdam". Sparta Rotterdam (in Dutch). 25 June 2021. Archived from the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
- ^ Rekordtor in den Niederlanden. In: Sport1.de, 24 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022 (German).
- ^ "الوحدة يعزز صفوفه بـ الجناح الهولندي "فيتو"".
- ^ "N.E.C. bindt Vito van Crooij tot medio 2027" [NEC signs Vito van Crooij until mid-2027] (in Dutch). NEC. 30 September 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ "Sparta and AZ dominate Eredivisie team of the month in march". Eredivisie. 31 March 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
External links
edit- Vito van Crooij at WorldFootball.net
- Voetbal International profile (in Dutch)
- Netherlands profile at Ons Oranje
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