Mattijs Branderhorst (born 31 December 1993) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for Eredivisie club NEC as a goalkeeper.[1][2]
Branderhorst with Willem II in 2013 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Date of birth | (1993-12-31) 31 December 1993 (age 28) | ||
Place of birth | Tiel, Netherlands | ||
Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | NEC | ||
Number | 1 | ||
Youth career | |||
0000–2009 | Theole | ||
2009–2015 | Willem II | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2015–2019 | Willem II | 21 | (0) |
2015–2016 | → MVV (loan) | 5 | (0) |
2019 | → NEC (loan) | 16 | (0) |
2019– | NEC | 77 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:45, 23 May 2022 (UTC) |
Branderhorst came through the youth ranks at Willem II from his childhood club Theole. On 18 November 2011, he was included in the first-team squad for the first time. In a match against Almere City, manager Jurgen Streppel kept him on the bench for the entire game.[3] In the years that followed, Branderhorst became a regular starter in the reserve team of the Tilburg-based side, which featured players such as Virgil van Dijk and Frenkie de Jong.[4]
Branderhorst was loaned to MVV in 2015.[5] There, he made his professional debut on 13 September 2015 as a substitute for the injured Jo Coppens against NAC Breda.[6]
He made his debut for Willem II on 15 October 2017 in the home match against FC Twente. In the match, he made the start for the injured Timon Wellenreuther.[7]
On 28 January 2019, Branderhorst was loaned to NEC for the remainder of the season.[8] On 1 February, he made his debut in the 4–1 home win over Jong FC Utrecht. After the loan ended, NEC brought him to Nijmegen on a permanent deal, with him signing a contract for two seasons.[9]
The second season he was the undisputed starter in goal and played all matches until the competition was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He started the 2020–21 season as second goalkeeper, behind Norbert Alblas, who had recovered from an injury.[10] He did, however, start the two KNVB Cup matches against Fortuna Sittard and VVV-Venlo.[11] On 26 February 2021, manager Rogier Meijer decided to switch goalkeepers: after a number of unfortunate performances by Alblas, Branderhorst became the starting goalkeeper again.[12] On 23 May, Branderhorst won promotion with NEC to the Eredivisie, by beating NAC Breda 2–1 in the final of the play-offs.[13] He signed a new two-year contract on 22 June 2021.[14]
In his first season with NEC in the Eredivisie, he was the starting goalkeeper after winning the position battle with Danny Vukovic.[15] He immediately managed to keep three clean sheets in the first four games.[16] That season, only Remko Pasveer of Ajax and Lars Unnerstall from Twente had more clean sheets than Branderhorst.[17]
NEC Nijmegen – current squad | |
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