Christopher van Huizen

Christopher James van Huizen (born 28 November 1992) is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays as a full-back or winger for Singapore Premier League club Lion City Sailors and the Singapore national team.

Christopher James van Huizen
Personal information
Full name Christopher James van Huizen
Date of birth (1992-11-28) 28 November 1992
Place of birth Singapore
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Full-back / Winger
Team information
Current team
 Lion City Sailors
Number 22
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014 Tampines Rovers 4 (1)
2015 LionsXII 18 (3)
2016 Tampines Rovers 10 (1)
2016 Young Lions 6 (0)
2017–2018 Home United 21 (0)
2019–2021 Geylang International 53 (4)
2022 Tampines Rovers 11 (3)
2023– Lion City Sailors 8 (0)
International career‡
2014 Singapore U21
2015– Singapore 11 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 05:24, 24 December 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:34, 24 December 2022 (UTC)

Club career

Van Huizen went for trials with Geylang International when he was young and duly impressed the coaches at Geylang was rewarded with a place at the Geylang U-16 squad. He was due to play for S.League giants Tampines Rovers' Prime League squad when he turned 17 but saw his opportunity derailed by National Service. Van Huizen rejected the chance to play for the SAFSA team during his 2 years of service and almost gave up on continuing professional football.[1]

A second chance came calling for Van Huizen when he entered the professional football scene in Singapore through his involvement in a MediaCorp Channel 5 TV series, First XI.[2][3]

Tampines Rovers

Following his performance in the reality TV series, Tampines Rovers coach Rafi Ali offered Van Huizen a two-year contract to play for both the Prime League and the S.League teams.[4]

LionsXII

Alongside Sahil Suhaimi, Wahyudi Wayid and Izzdin Shafiq, Van Huizen was unveiled as one of the new LionsXII signings by Fandi Ahmad for the 2015 Malaysia Super League season. This marks a remarkable turnaround for the "boy from the reality series" to a potential national team player.[5]

Van Huizen made his LionsXII debut as a substitute in the opening game of the season, coming on to make a brief cameo appearance against PDRM FA in a 5-3 victory for the Lions.[6]

Tampines Rovers

Following the exit of LionsXII from the Malaysia Super League, Van Huizen rejoined Tampines Rovers. He scored his first goal of the season in a 1-2 win over Garena Young Lions, helping the Stags climb to joint-top of the 2016 S.League season.[7]

Garena Young Lions

Van Huizen signed for Garena Young Lions on 1 July 2016. This was following a season at Tampines Rovers where he was used sparingly only.[8]

Home United

Van Huizen then signed for the Protectors but only managed to play a small role in the squad.[9]

Geylang International

Van Huizen had a stellar season in the 2019 Singapore Premier League season, when he racked up 10 assists, the highest in the league.[10] On 11 November 2021, he leaves Geylang International, considering retirement from football.[11][12]

Tampines Rovers

Van Huizen rejoined Tampines Rovers in 2022 with a one year deal.[13]

Lion City Sailors

Van Huizen joined the Lion City Sailors in 2023.[14]

International career

Having impressed in his first season in the 2014 S.League Season, Van Huizen was rewarded with a call-up to the Singapore U-21 squad, by Richard Bok, for the Thanh Niên Cup in Vietnam.[15][16]

In 2015, Van Huizen was called up to the senior team for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.[17] He made his senior team international debut in a 3-0 loss against Japan, coming on with 10 minutes left on the clock.[18]

He earned his third cap in a friendly against Myanmar, coming on for the final 15 minutes of the game.[19]

In 2022, Van Huizen was included in the team for the 2022 FAS Tri-Nations Series and 2022 AFF Championship.[20][21]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 6 Jul 2022.[22]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Asia Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Tampines Rovers 2014 Singapore Premier League 4100410082
Total 4100410082
LionsXII 2015 Malaysia Super League 183000000183
Total 183000000183
Tampines Rovers 2016 Singapore Premier League 101100000111
Total 101100000111
Young Lions 2016 Singapore Premier League 6000000060
Total 6000000060
Home United 2017 Singapore Premier League 90300050170
2018 Singapore Premier League 120100050180
Total 2104000100350
Geylang International 2019 Singapore Premier League 221100000231
2020 Singapore Premier League 122000000122
2021 Singapore Premier League 191000000191
Total 534100000544
Tampines Rovers 2022 Singapore Premier League 203600010273
Total 203600010273
Lion City Sailors 2023 Singapore Premier League 8000000080
Total 8000000080
Career total 140121204111016713

International
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Singapore 201520
201620
202210
Total50

Honours

Club
LionsXII

Notes
  1. Includes Singapore Cup
  2. Includes Singapore League Cup

References
  1. "Van Huizen: From FirstXI to LionsXII". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  2. "Christopher Van Huizen Player Profile". xinmsn. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  3. "Football really is a beautiful game". TODAY. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  4. "Stags arrive in Phonm Penh for pre-season training tour". Tampines Rovers FC. Archived from the original on 20 January 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  5. "Van Huizen: From FirstXI to LionsXII". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  6. "FourFourTwo Player Ratings: LionsXII 5 PDRM 3". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  7. "Young Lions Give Stags A Run For Their Money".
  8. "Young Lions sign Tampines winger Christopher Van Huizen". Archived from the original on 3 July 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  9. Ganesan, Deepanraj (20 February 2020). "Geylang's Chris van Huizen rediscovers the wind beneath his wings". The New Paper. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  10. Ganesan, Deepanraj (20 February 2020). "Geylang's Chris van Huizen rediscovers the wind beneath his wings". The New Paper. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  11. "The club confirms that we will part ways with Danny Kim, Asshukrie Wahid, Izzdin Shafiq and Firdaus Kasman. We thank them for being part of the GIFC family and wish them the best in their future 🦅". www.instagram.com.
  12. Auto, Hermes (3 October 2021). "Football: Contemplating retirement, super-sub van Huizen delivers for Geylang International | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  13. Auto, Hermes (31 March 2022). "Football: Stags' renaissance man van Huizen relishing second chance after retirement U-turn | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  14. "At the peak of his powers and relishing his biggest challenge yet: Chris". Lion City Sailors FC. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  15. "Van Huizen: From FirstXI to LionsXII". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  16. "ANNOUNCEMENT OF UNDER-21 SQUAD FOR VIETNAM NEWSPAPER CUP". Archived from the original on 1 December 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  17. Auto, Hermes (5 October 2015). "Football: Christopher van Huizen gets call-up as Lions host two key World Cup qualifying ties | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  18. "Van Huizen looking for more after dream debut". FourFourTwo. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  19. "Shock recall gives Van Huizen hope for Suzuki Cup spot with Singapore". ESPNFC.
  20. Auto, Hermes (17 March 2022). "Football: Four uncapped players called up for Singapore's March friendlies | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  21. Tan, Amanda (20 December 2022). "Five players in Singapore squad to take part in AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 for the first time". youthopia.sg. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  22. van Huizen at Soccerway. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
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