Michel Vlap

Dutch footballer (born 1997)

Michel Vlap
Personal information
Date of birth (1997-06-02) 2 June 1997 (age 27)[1]
Place of birth Sneek, Netherlands[1]
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Twente
Number 18
Youth career
WSZ[2]
VV Sneek
SC Heerenveen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2019 SC Heerenveen 59 (20)
2019–2022 Anderlecht 34 (12)
2021 → Arminia Bielefeld (loan) 7 (1)
2021–2022 → Twente (loan) 34 (5)
2022– Twente 61 (5)
International career
2014–2015 Netherlands U18 5 (0)
2015–2016 Netherlands U19 5 (0)
2016 Netherlands U20 2 (0)
2018 Netherlands U21 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:04, 15 July 2024 (UTC)

Michel Vlap (Dutch [mɪˈxɛl ˈvlɑp]; born 2 June 1997) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club Twente. He has represented the Netherlands internationally at various youth levels.[3]

Club career

Heerenveen

Vlap is an academy graduate of Eredivisie side Heerenveen and is the son of academy coach and former player Jan Vlap.[4][5] Having progressed through the ranks of Heerenveen's youth academy, he signed his first professional contract on 17 February 2015, penning a three-year deal with the club.[6] He later featured for Heerenveen during the 2015–16 pre-season and scored a brace in the club's 8–1 victory over VV Heerenveen in new manager Jurgen Streppel's first match in charge of the club.[7][8] Vlap then made his senior debut for the club on 27 November 2016, coming on as a late, second-half substitute for Kosovan international Arbër Zeneli in a 1–0 Eredivisie loss to Ajax.[9]

Vlap failed to appear again during the 2016–17 season but returned to the first team to make his KNVB Cup debut on 20 September 2017, coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 win over Excelsior.[10] He scored his first goal for the club the following month, netting in a 2–1 defeat to AZ Alkmaar.[11] On 3 December, he signed a new five-year contract with Heerenveen after impressing with a run of three goals in his previous five appearances for the club.[12] He ultimately scored four goals in 26 appearances across all competitions for the campaign.

He continued to feature for the club the following season and in October 2018, after scoring a league-high four goals in the month, won the Eredevise Player of the Month award.[13] By the end of the campaign, he had scored 16 goals and recorded six assists which earned him a transfer to Belgian side, Anderlecht.[14]

Anderlecht and loans

In February 2021, Vlap moved to Bundesliga team Arminia Bielefeld from Anderlecht, on a loan deal until the end of the season.[15] On 15 February, Vlap scored his first Bundesliga goal in the ninth minute of his debut, in a 3–3 away draw at Bayern Munich.

Twente

Vlap again moved on loan in August 2021, returning to the Eredivisie with Twente.[16] He made his competitive debut for the Tukkers on the first matchday of the 2021–22 season, replacing Dimitris Limnios in the 67th minute of a 2–1 away loss to Fortuna Sittard.[17][18] He soon established himself as a starter for the club, and scored his first goal for Twente on 19 September in a 4–1 away victory against Vitesse.[19] He played in all 34 league games that season, starting in 31 of them, as Twente secured a fourth-place finish and qualified for the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League for the following season.[1][20]

On 4 July 2022, Anderlecht and Twente agreed on a permanent transfer and Vlap signed a three-year contract with an option for an additional year.[21] He scored on his European debut, helping Twente to a 3–1 away win over Serbian club Čukarički on 4 August.[22]

International career

Netherlands national youth teams

Vlap has represented Netherlands at both under-18 and under-19 level.[23] On 21 July 2016, while representing the Netherlands at the UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Vlap made history by becoming the first player ever to be brought on as a fourth substitute in a UEFA match when he replaced Laros Duarte in a 3–3 (5–4) penalty shoot-out loss to Germany. Regulations then ordinarily allowed a team to make only three substitutions during a match but a trial allowing for a fourth substitution in extra-time was introduced by the International Football Association Board for the tournament.[24][25] This was since changed to five substitutions in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[26]

Career statistics

As of match played on 10 August 2024[27]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Heerenveen 2016–17 Eredivisie 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
2017–18 Eredivisie 24 4 2 0 — — 26 4
2018–19 Eredivisie 34 16 4 1 — — 39 17
Total 59 20 6 1 — — 65 21
Anderlecht 2019–20 First Division A 23 11 2 0 — — 25 11
2020–21 First Division A 11 1 0 0 — — 11 1
Total 34 12 2 0 — — 36 12
Arminia Bielefeld (loan) 2020–21 Bundesliga 7 1 0 0 — — 7 1
Twente (loan) 2021–22 Eredivisie 34 5 2 0 — — 36 5
Twente 2022–23 Eredivisie 32 3 1 0 4[a] 2 4[b] 1 42 6
2023–24 Eredivisie 29 2 1 0 5[a] 0 — 35 2
2024–25 Eredivisie 1 0 0 0 1[c] 1 — 2 1
Total 96 10 4 0 10 3 4 1 114 14
Career total 196 43 12 1 10 3 4 1 222 48
  1. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  2. ^ Appearances in Eredivisie play-offs
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b c d Michel Vlap at Soccerway. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  2. ^ MICHEL VLAP VAN SC HEERENVEEN NAAR ANDERLECHT, swzbososneek.nl, 5 July 2019
  3. ^ Bell, Michael (10 July 2016). "Profiling Netherlands U19 squad for European Championships". Football Oranje. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  4. ^ "SC Heerenveen-speler Michel Vlap naar EK onder 19". Leeuwarder Courant (in Dutch). 7 July 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  5. ^ "Michel Vlap debuteert bij SC Heerenveen". Groot Sneek. 27 November 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  6. ^ "SC Heerenveen legt jeugdspeler Vlap vast". FC Update (in Dutch). 17 February 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  7. ^ "Sterk begin van voorbereiding Heerenveen en Owusu-Abeyie". Voetbal International. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  8. ^ "Jaroge Streppel wint met Heerenveen". Telegraaf (in Dutch). 25 June 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "Heerenveen-debutant 'staat te shaken': "Echt een jongensdroom"". Soccer News Netherlands (in Dutch). 27 November 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  10. ^ "SBV Excelsior v SC Heerenveen Live Commentary". Goal. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  11. ^ McVitie, Peter (8 November 2017). "How is Real Madrid's Forgotten Wonderkid Performing in Holland?". Goal. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  12. ^ "Vlap tekent tot 2022 in Heerenveen". Fox Sports (Netherlands) (in Dutch). 8 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  13. ^ Stiensma, Sjoerd (2 November 2018). "Michel Vlap talent van de maand" (in Dutch). Sneeker Nieuwsblad. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  14. ^ Hick, Antoine (4 July 2019). "Mais qui est donc Michel Vlap, le nouveau renfort anderlechtois ?". RTFB. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  15. ^ Gjerulff, Rune (1 February 2021). "Official: Michel Vlap joins Bielefeld". Bulinews. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  16. ^ ten Voorde, Leon (10 August 2021). "Michel Vlap eindelijk speler van FC Twente: 'Ik wil niet zeggen dat ik mislukt ben'". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  17. ^ "Fortuna Sittard vs. Twente 2–1: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Archived from the original on 16 November 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  18. ^ "Lake beleeft droomdebuut en bezorgt Fortuna zege op FC Twente". NOS (in Dutch). 14 August 2021. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  19. ^ "FC Twente deelt in Arnhem Vitesse flinke klap uit". NOS (in Dutch). 19 September 2021. Archived from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  20. ^ "'Stabiel' Twente hoopt dat vierde plek opmaat is naar structureel succes". NOS (in Dutch). 12 May 2022. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  21. ^ "Michel Vlap maakt definitieve overstap naar FC Twente". FC Twente (in Dutch). 4 July 2022. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  22. ^ "History: Čukarički 1-3 Twente | UEFA Conference League 2022/23". UEFA.com. 4 August 2022. Archived from the original on 11 August 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  23. ^ "Michel Vlap naar EK onder 19". Sneeker Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 25 June 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  24. ^ Haslam, Andrew (21 July 2016). "History made as teams bring on fourth substitutes". UEFA. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  25. ^ Haslam, Andrew (21 July 2016). "Germany edge Netherlands in play-off thriller". UEFA. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  26. ^ "Five substitutes option temporarily allowed for competition organisers | IFAB". the International Football Association Board. 8 May 2020. Archived from the original on 6 October 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  27. ^ "Michel Vlap » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  28. ^ "Hakim Ziyech uitgeroepen tot Eredivisiespeler van de Maand | Eredivisie". eredivisie.nl. 2 November 2018.
  29. ^ "FC Twente main supplier in May's Eredivisie team of the Month April". Eredivisie. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  • Michel Vlap at WorldFootball.net
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FC Twente – current squad