Dutch international John Heitinga was Everton's fourth signing of the summer in 2009. The defender arrived from Atletico Madrid for an initial fee of £6m which could rise to £7m. He signed a five-year contract. Despite being only 25 when he signed, Heitinga brought a wealth of experience with him, having played for Ajax as well as Spanish giants Atletico Madrid. He's also one of Hollands's most experienced defenders,heading towards 100 caps and occasionally captaining his country before switching to the Toffees.
Heitinga can play at both his preferred central defensive role and at right-back, having fulfilled both positions successfully for his country. He was at Ajax's famous academy for most of his childhood before making his debut aged 17. Once established he was a regular for the Amsterdam side, and spent five years playing alongside Steven Pienaar before the South African left for Dortmund. During his time in Holland, Heitinga won the league twice and the KNVB Cup - the Dutch equivalent of the FA Cup - three times.
John was voted Holland's player of the year in 2008 and went on to join Atletico from Ajax in the summer of that year for a fee of €10m, featuring regularly for the Spaniards before moving to Merseyside. Heitinga debuted at Fulham in September and played his first few games in midfield before reverting to the centre of defence. Making 35 appearances in all competitions - and was cup-tied for Europe - Heitinga has become a firm fans' favourite with his tenacious and full-blooded displays for Everton. He suffered an ankle injury during the 2-2 draw at Aston Villa in April 2010, but returned for the final game of the season at home to Portsmouth.
In the summer of 2010 Heitinga played a crucial role in helping Holland to the World Cup final before they eventually lost 1-0 to Spain. Heitinga played in all seven games for Bert van Marwijk's side at the heart of the Dutch defence. It took him a while to get going in 2010\/11 but the highlight was definitely his maiden Toffees goal against Birmingham - the Dutchman sending a poweful sidefoot effort into the top corner from outside the box. Heitinga was Everton's player of the season for 2011\/12 before representing the Netherlands in their disappointing European Championship campaign.
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Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax, also AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam. Historically, Ajax (named after the legendary Greek hero) has been the most successful club in the Netherlands, with 33 Eredivisie titles and 18 KNVB Cups. It has continuously played in the Eredivisie, the Dutch football top division, since its inception in 1956 and, along with Feyenoord and PSV, it is one of the country's "big three" clubs that have dominated that competition.<\/P> Ajax has historically been one of the most successful clubs in the world. According to the IFFHS, Ajax were the seventh-most successful European club of the 20th century and The World's Club Team of the Year in 1992. According to German magazine Kicker, Ajax were the second-most successful European club of the 20th century. The club is one of the five teams that has earned the right to keep the European Cup and to wear a multiple-winner badge; they won consecutively in 1971–1973. In 1972, they completed the continental treble by winning the Eredivisie, KNVB Cup, and the European Cup. It also won the first organized UEFA Super Cup in 1972 against Glasgow Rangers (played in 1973). Ajax's last international trophies were the 1995 Intercontinental Cup, 1995 UEFA Super Cup and the 1995 Champions League, where they defeated Milan in the final; they lost the 1996 Champions League final on penalties to Juventus. In 1995, Ajax was crowned as World Team of the Year by World Soccer magazine.<\/P> Ajax is also one of four teams to win the continental treble and the Intercontinental Cup or Club World Cup in the same season\/calendar year; This was achieved in the 1971–72 season. Ajax, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester United are the five clubs to have won all three major UEFA club competitions. They have also won the Intercontinental Cup twice, the 1991–92 UEFA Cup, as well as the Karl Rappan Cup, a predecessor of the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1962. Ajax plays at the Johan Cruyff ArenA, which opened as the Amsterdam ArenA in 1996 and was renamed in 2017. They previously played at De Meer Stadion and the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium (for international matches).<\/P>","8C128606F1271EBD3FC32654DF08FF79":"Arena Boulevard 29 1101 AX Amsterdam","A09213A762233EEF":"Amsterdam","51AE3EEB542020D34C08128CD3C01E6B88EB69E1589159EB":"1900-3-18","114ACB0A71E2DA7D":"","4DCB67625701BF17":"http:\/\/www.ajax.nl\/","4D3C7A28520A4F75446344604C77A51F":" Netherlands Football League Championship \/ Eredivisie KNVB Cup Johan Cruyff Shield European Cup \/ Champions League European Cup Winners' Cup UEFA Cup UEFA Super Cup Intercontinental Cup Rangers First Centenary 1872–1972 Karl Rappan Cup
Ajax
<\/STRONG>Eredivisie (2): 2001–02, 2003–04
KNVB Cup (3): 2001–02, 2005–06, 2006–07
Johan Cruijff Shield (4): 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007
Everton
<\/STRONG>Player of the Season 2011–12
Netherlands
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<\/STRONG>Winners (33): 1917–18, 1918–19, 1930–31, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1936–37, 1938–39, 1946–47, 1956–57, 1959–60, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1989–90, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14<\/P>
<\/STRONG>Winners (18): 1916–17, 1942–43, 1960–61, 1966–67, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1978–79, 1982–83, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1992–93, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2009–10<\/P>
<\/STRONG>Winners (8): 1993, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2013<\/P>
<\/STRONG>Winners (4): 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1994–95<\/P>
<\/STRONG>Winners (1): 1986–87<\/P>
<\/STRONG>Winners (1): 1991–92<\/P>
<\/STRONG>Winners (2): 1973, 1995<\/P>
<\/STRONG>Winners (2): 1972, 1995<\/P>
<\/STRONG>Winners (1): 1972<\/P>
<\/STRONG>Winners (1): 1962<\/P>","5F0187DA2A4C44A3E04ED039BC0E27BC":"Netherlands","3FFCEA12D25AA01C8516DF9EE5709D08":"Jong Ajax,Ajax Amsterdam(U19),AFC Ajax","e_index":6};