Dutch footballer (born 1998)
Teun Koopmeiners
(
Dutch pronunciation:
[?tøːŋ
?koːpm?i?n?rs]
; born 28 February 1998) is a Dutch professional
footballer
who plays as a
midfielder
for
Serie A
club
Atalanta
and the
Netherlands national team
.
Having represented the Netherlands at various youth levels, Koopmeiners was called up to the senior team's preliminary
UEFA Nations League
squad in August 2020.
[4]
He was later part of their squad for the
2022 FIFA World Cup
.
Club career
[
edit
]
Koopmeiners grew up in
Castricum
,
North Holland
, and took his first steps in football as a youth player for the local club, Vitesse '22.
[5]
In 2009, he joined the
AZ
youth academy at under-12 level.
[6]
He eventually progressed through the ranks, and as part of the club's reserve team,
Jong AZ
, he became champion of the Dutch third division in the
2016?17 season
, reaching promotion to the
Eerste Divisie
.
[7]
On 18 August 2017, Koopmeiners made his professional debut for Jong AZ in a 3–1 away win over
FC Den Bosch
.
[8]
He made his first team-debut on 1 October, coming on as a substitute for
Alireza Jahanbakhsh
for the final 30 minutes of a 4–0 home loss to
Feyenoord
.
[9]
At the end of the
2017?18 season
, AZ ended in third place, and thereby qualified for
Europa League
. In his first professional season, he made 26 league appearances in which he scored one goal.
[10]
On 1 March 2020, Koopmeiners played a 70-metre pass to set up
Oussama Idrissi
for AZ's second goal in a 2?0 win against
Ajax
which put his side level on points with Ajax.
[11]
During the
2019?20 AZ Alkmaar season
Koopmeiners scored 16 goals in all competitions in 42 appearances,
[12]
helping his side finish second in the
Eredivisie
on goal difference behind the Champions
AFC Ajax
.
[13]
He scored his first goal of the
2020?21
season against
Viktoria Plzen
on 26 August 2020 in the
UEFA Champions League
qualifier 3?1 victory.
[14]
On 14 January 2021, Koopmeiners scored two goals, including an audacious backheel flick, to help his side clinch an 3?1 away victory against
PSV Eindhoven
.
[15]
Atalanta
[
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]
On 30 August 2021, Koopmeiners signed for
Serie A
club
Atalanta
for a reported fee of €12 million.
[16]
He made his debut on 11 September in the home match against
Fiorentina
, as a late substitute for
Matteo Pessina
.
[17]
On 1 September 2022, Koopmeiners scored a
hat-trick
in a 3?1 Serie A victory over
Torino
.
[18]
On 22 May 2024, he started in Atalanta's 3?0 victory over German champions
Bayer Leverkusen
in the
2024 UEFA Europa League final
.
[19]
International career
[
edit
]
Koopmeiners made four appearances for the
Netherlands national under-17 team
,
[20]
as well as two appearances for the
national under-18 team
. As part of the
under-19s
, he played at the
2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship
, reaching the semi-finals and only losing to
Portugal
. At under-19 level, Koopmeiners made 13 appearances.
[20]
After five appearances for the
Netherlands Under-20 team
,
[20]
he made his debut for the
national under-21 team
on 22 March 2018 in a 4–1 loss in
Doetinchem
to the
Belgium U21
.
[21]
On 19 August 2020, Koopmeiners was called up to the senior
Netherlands national team
by caretaker manager
Dwight Lodeweges
in the preliminary squad for the
UEFA Nations League
fixtures against
Poland
and
Italy
.
[4]
In October, he made his debut in a friendly match against
Mexico
.
[22]
He made his competitive debut in a World Cup Qualification match against
Turkey
, contributing with an assist in a 6?1 victory. He scored his first senior goal for the Oranje in a
UEFA Nations League
match against
Wales
. In the
2022 World Cup
quarter-final against
Argentina
, known as the
Battle of Lusail
, Koopmeiners assisted former AZ teammate
Wout Weghorst
with a clever free-kick routine in the 11th minute of stoppage time to send the fixture to extra time. He then scored his penalty in the subsequent
shoot-out
but could not stop the Netherlands from being eliminated 4?3.
[23]
On 29 May 2024, Koopmeiners was named in the Netherlands' squad for
UEFA Euro 2024
.
[24]
Style of play
[
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]
Koopmeiners can play as a
defensive midfielder
or
central midfielder
. He can also play as a
centre-back
.
[25]
He is known for his leadership qualities, and captained
AZ Alkmaar
despite his young age.
[26]
Personal life
[
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]
His younger brother
Peer
is also a professional footballer; Peer still plays for
AZ
.
[27]
Career statistics
[
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]
Club
[
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]
- As of match played 2 June 2024
[10]
International
[
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]
- As of match played 22 March 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team
|
Year
|
Apps
|
Goals
|
Netherlands
|
2020
|
1
|
0
|
2021
|
2
|
0
|
2022
|
12
|
1
|
2023
|
5
|
1
|
2024
|
1
|
0
|
Total
|
21
|
2
|
- Netherlands score listed first, score column indicates score after each Koopmeiners goal.
Honours
[
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]
AZ
Atalanta
Individual
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]