Introduction
Joël Ivo Veltman (born 15 January 1992) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Ajax and for the Netherlands national team. He is the captain of Ajax and has made over 100 appearances for the club since his senior debut in 2012.
Club career
Ajax
Veltman began his football career in the youth teams of VV IJmuiden in his home town of Velsen before moving to Ajax in 2001, where he went through the youth ranks of the club. While playing for the Ajax A1 youth squad in 2011–12, Veltman helped his side to win the Nike Eredivisie league title, as well finishing as runners-up to Inter Milan in the NextGen Series (the UEFA Champions League equivalent for under-20 teams) after losing on penalties (5–3) following a 1–1 deadlock after extra time. He made his official debut for the Ajax first team on 19 August 2012 in an away match against NEC in Nijmegen, entering as a substitute for Mitchell Dijks in the 79th minute; the match ended in a 1–6 win for Ajax. Following a successful starting season with the Ajax first team, helping his side secure its third-straight national title and his personal first, on 6 June 2013 it was announced that Veltman had extended his contract with Ajax for another four years, binding him to the club until the summer of 2017.
On 5 August 2013, Veltman played in the Dutch Eerste Divisie debut of the newly promoted reserves team Jong Ajax at the start of the season. Substituted off in the 89th minute of the 2–0 home win, due to a sustained injury, Veltman found himself sidelined for the next two months. He returned from injury on 30 September 2013 in another match for Jong Ajax, this time against Volendam, where he scored his first professional goal in the 2–3 loss at the Sportpark De Toekomst, netting the opener in the seventh minute. On 22 October 2013, Veltman made his continental debut for the first team when he replaced injured first-choice centre back Niklas Moisander in the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League group stage match against Celtic. The away match at Celtic Park ended in a 2–1 loss for the Amsterdam side.
In 2017, against Sparta Rotterdam, Veltman hurt his reputation as a sportsman when he used his teammate's injury to trick a defender.
International career
Youth
Veltman made Netherlands debut playing for the under-17 squad on 10 February 2009 in the 2009 edition of the La Manga Cup in the 0–4 loss against Czech Republic U17. He also played in the 2009 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship group stage match against England U17 which ended in a 1–1 draw, having previously appeared in three of the qualification matches. On 2 September 2010, Veltman made his debut for the Netherlands U19 in a friendly against Germany which ended in a 2–2 draw. On 9 February 2011, Veltman scored his first international goal in another friendly for the U19s against France, with the match ending in a 1–1 draw. On 23 May 2012, Veltman made his debut for the U21 side at the 2012 Toulon Tournament in France. He appeared in four matches for the Dutch, making his debut against Egypt in the 0–3 win.
Senior
On 8 November 2013, it was announced that Veltman received his first call-up for the Netherlands senior team by head coach Louis van Gaal for the friendly matches against Japan and Colombia. Remaining on the bench for the duration of the first match against Japan, Veltman made his debut for the first team on 19 November in the fixture against Colombia, playing the full 90 minutes in the 0–0 draw at the Amsterdam Arena. On 31 May 2014, Veltman was named as part of the 23-man squad heading to the finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup under Van Gaal. He was joined by Ajax teammates Daley Blind and Jasper Cillessen.
Career statistics
Club performance
| Club performance | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Netherlands | League | KNVB Cup | Europe1 | Other2 | Total | |||||||
| 2012–13 | Ajax | Eredivisie | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 2013–14 | 25 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15 | 25 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 4 | ||
| 2015–16 | 34 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 0 | ||
| Total | Netherlands | 121 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 165 | 8 | |
| Career total | 121 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 165 | 8 | ||
- Statistics accurate as of last match played on 3 May 2017.
1 Includes UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches.
2 Includes the Johan Cruyff Shield and Eredivisie playoffs matches.
- Reserves performance
| Club performance | League | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Netherlands | League | Total | ||||
| 2013–14 | Jong Ajax | Eerste Divisie | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2014–15 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Total | Netherlands | 6 | 1 | 6 | 1 | |
| Career total | 6 | 1 | 6 | 1 | ||
International performance
Statistics accurate as of matches played on 4 June 2017
| Netherlands national team | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals | |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 3 | 2 | |
| Total | 17 | 2 | |
International goals
- Scores and results list Netherlands' goal tally first.
| No | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 4 June 2017 | De Kuip, Rotterdam,Netherlands |  Ivory Coast |
1–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 2. | 3–0 |
Honours
Club
- Ajax
- Eredivisie (2): 2012–13, 2013–14
- Johan Cruyff Shield (1): 2013
- UEFA Europa League: runners-up 2016-17
International
- Netherlands
- FIFA World Cup Third Place: 2014