Michel Vlap

Michel Vlap (Dutch [mɪˈxɛl ˈvlɑp]; born 2 June 1997) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Twente. He has represented the Netherlands internationally at various youth levels. Though his preferred position is in an advanced midfield role, Vlap is also able to play on the wing and as a forward.[3]

Michel Vlap
Personal information
Date of birth (1997-06-02) 2 June 1997[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 20 (0)
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 19:25, 20 February 2023 (UTC)

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 Kosovar international Arber 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] On 4 July 2022, Anderlecht and Twente agreed on a permanent transfer and Vlap signed a three-year contract.[17]

International career

Netherlands national youth teams

Vlap has represented Netherlands at both under-18 and under-19 level.[18] 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 ordinarily allow a team to make 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.[19][20]

Career statistics
As of match played on 10 August 2021[21]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueCupOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Heerenveen 2016–17 Eredivisie 10000010
2017–18 Eredivisie 2442000264
2018–19 Eredivisie 341641003917
Total 592061006521
Anderlecht 2019–20 First Division A 231120002511
2020–21 First Division A 1110000111
Total 341220003612
Arminia Bielefeld (loan) 2020–21 Bundesliga 7100—71
Career total 10033810010834

    Honours

    Individual

    References
    1. 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.
    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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    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. "Michel Vlap maakt definitieve overstap naar FC Twente" (in Dutch). Twente. 4 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
    18. "Michel Vlap naar EK onder 19". Sneeker Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 25 June 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
    19. Haslam, Andrew (21 July 2016). "History made as teams bring on fourth substitutes". UEFA. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
    20. Haslam, Andrew (21 July 2016). "Germany edge Netherlands in play-off thriller". UEFA. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
    21. "Michel Vlap » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
    22. "Hakim Ziyech uitgeroepen tot Eredivisiespeler van de Maand | Eredivisie". eredivisie.nl. 2 November 2018.
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