Erik Pieters

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Erik Pieters
Personal information
Full name	Erik Pieters
Date of birth	August 7, 1988 (1988-08-07) (age 20)
Place of birth	Enspijk, Netherlands
Height	1.84 m (6 ft +1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Left-back/Central Defender
Club information
Current club	PSV Eindhoven
Number	14
Youth career
19??–2006	FC Utrecht
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2006–2008 2008–	FC Utrecht PSV Eindhoven	051 0(2)
National team2
2007–	Netherlands u-21	011 0(0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 17, 2008. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 12:00, 25 June 2006 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Erik Pieters (born 7 August 1988) is a Dutch footballer who currently plays for PSV Eindhoven. Pieters is a defender who made his debut in the professional football squad of FC Utrecht in the 2006-07 season.

In 2007 Pieters was called up by Jong Oranje coach Foppe de Haan to be part of his squad for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship held in the Netherlands. Pieters did not play in their first round group match against Israel (1-0 win), but did come on as a substitute in the second match against Portugal (2-1 win) to secure a semi final spot and to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics. In the semi finals against England (1-1, 13-12 after 32 penalty kicks) Pieters played in the starting eleven, but was later substituted by Tim Janssen to improve the attack as well as due to a small injury. Pieters returned on the pitch and the Dutch went on to retain their 2006 title by beating Serbia 4-1 in the final.

In the 2007-08 season, Pieters became a starter in the lineup of FC Utrecht, now coached bij Willem van Hanegem. Pieters became one of the highlights of the season, although Utrecht had a pretty dull season. Pieters stood out and this led to interest from Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven.^[1]

On July 9, 2008, it was announced that FC Utrecht and PSV has reached an agreement for the transfer of Pieters. PSV paid a transfer fee of €2,500,000 for the talented leftback. He will wear the number 14 jersey, which was previously worn by Chelsea FC-loanee Slobodan Rajkovic.^[2][3]

[edit] References

v • d • e Netherlands squad – 2008 Summer Olympics 1 Velthuizen • 2 Zuiverloon • 3 Marcellis • 4 Jaliens • 5 Pieters • 6 Luyckx • 7 De Guzmán • 8 Emanuelson • 9 Makaay • 10 Sibon • 11 Babel • 12 Maduro • 13 Jong-a-Pin • 14 Sno • 15 Drenthe • 16 Beerens • 17 Bakkal • 18 Vermeer • Coach: de Haan

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