Jan Vertonghen Belgian footballer, midfielder for Ajax Amsterdam Date of Birth: 24.04.1987 Country: Netherlands

Biography of Jan Vertonghen

Jan Vertonghen is a Belgian footballer who played as a midfielder for Amsterdam's Ajax and the Belgian national team. He was born on April 24, 1987, in the city of Sint-Niklaas, to parents Paul Vertonghen and Ria Mattheus. Jan also had two brothers, an older brother named Ward and a younger brother named Louis. All three Vertonghen brothers started playing football in a youth team in the village of Tilrode, near Sint-Niklaas.

At the age of 12, Jan joined the youth team of Antwerp's Germinal Beerschot. From there, he moved to Amsterdam's Ajax at the age of 15 in 2003. Since Jan had not finished school, he had to enroll in a school in the Amsterdam district of Bijlmer. He started in Ajax's youth teams B-1 and A-1, and in 2005, he was promoted to the club's youth squad.

On July 1, 2005, Vertonghen signed his first professional contract with Ajax, which was valid for three years. He played in the Dutch Cup with Ajax's youth team in the 2005/2006 season. In a second-round match against Cambuur on September 20, 2005, Vertonghen scored a peculiar goal. Following an injury to Ajax player Dirk Burghart, the Cambuur players kicked the ball out of play. After the injured player received medical assistance, Vertonghen was supposed to return the ball to Cambuur. However, he exceeded expectations and sent a high-arching shot from 50 meters straight into Cambuur's net. Ajax took a 3-0 lead in the match, but immediately after the goal, Ajax's youth team coach John van den Brom asked his team to allow a goal, and Cambuur's striker Tye Hauwing simply rolled the ball into Ajax's net. In the end, Ajax defeated Cambuur 3-1, with one goal scored by Nourdin Boukhari and a brace by Vertonghen.

In the next round, Ajax's youth team had to face AGOVV from Apeldoorn. The match took place on October 25 at the Amsterdam Arena, but Vertonghen was not registered for the match and remained on the bench. Only in the second half, with the score tied at 0-0, Vertonghen appeared as a substitute in the 69th minute, replacing Tom Kalkhuis. The regular time ended in a draw of 0-0, and the teams had to determine the winner in two additional 15-minute halves. Only in the 116th minute did Olaf Lindenbergh score the winning goal, and Ajax ultimately secured the victory, playing with a numerical advantage as one of the opponents' players was sent off in the 83rd minute.

In December, Ajax played a match in the Dutch Cup round of 16 against Helmond Sport from the First Division. Ajax was reduced to 10 players in the 10th minute after defender Jasper Kok was dismissed. In the closing stages of the match, Helmond Sport managed to take the lead, but Ajax's Ridel Pupon equalized in the early minutes of the second half. However, in the 64th minute, Vertonghen was sent off after receiving a second yellow card. Playing with nine men, Ajax lost 2-1 and was eliminated from further Dutch Cup competition.

In the summer of 2006, Vertonghen was promoted to the first team by head coach Henk ten Cate. His official debut took place on August 23, 2006, in a Champions League match against Danish club Copenhagen. Vertonghen came on as a substitute in the 61st minute, replacing defender Hedwiges Maduro. The match ended in a 2-0 away victory for Copenhagen, and despite Ajax's 2-1 win in the first leg, the Danish club advanced to the group stage of the Champions League based on the aggregate score.

After being eliminated from the Champions League, Ajax received a spot in the UEFA Cup 2006/2007. Vertonghen made his UEFA Cup debut on November 2 in a group stage match against Austrian club Austria. He came on as a substitute in the 78th minute when Ajax was leading 3-0. On November 30, Vertonghen played his second UEFA Cup match against Spanish club Espanyol, but Ajax was defeated 2-0 at home. On December 3, 2006, Vertonghen made his debut in the Eredivisie in a home match against Willem II. He started the match as a central midfielder, and Ajax won convincingly with a score of 6-0.

On January 3, 2007, Vertonghen extended his contract with Ajax until June 30, 2011. On January 23, 2007, Jan's father, Paul Vertonghen, passed away at the age of 58 due to a brain tumor. Paul had been seriously ill for over 14 years, experiencing his first epileptic seizure when Jan was only six years old.

On January 31, 2007, Vertonghen was loaned to VVV-Venlo. Apart from Vertonghen, Ajax also loaned several other young players, including Donovan Slijngard, Mikaël Kran-Delé, Ridel Pupon, and Dirk Marcellis. On February 3, Jan made his debut for VVV-Venlo in an away match against NAC Breda, but his team lost 2-1. Seven days later, on February 10, Vertonghen scored his first goal for the club in a league match against Heracles, giving VVV-Venlo a 2-0 victory. In four months, Jan played 12 league matches and scored three goals for VVV-Venlo. The team eventually got relegated to the First Division.

In May 2007, Vertonghen received a call-up to the Belgian national team, along with Faris Haroun, after his performances in the youth team. In June, Belgium faced Portugal in a Euro 2008 qualifying tournament. In the match against Portugal, which took place on June 2, 2007, in Brussels, Vertonghen made his debut, but Belgium lost 2-1.

At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Vertonghen represented the Belgian Olympic team, which finished fourth. In the match for third place, Belgium lost 3-0 to the Brazilian Olympic team. During his time at Ajax, Vertonghen met his current girlfriend, Sophie de Vries, who was born in Amsterdam. They met in middle school in Bijlmer, and she is currently studying at an art school with aspirations to become a director.