Vito van Crooij

Dutch footballer (born 1996)

Vito van Crooij
van Crooij in 2020
Personal information
Full name Vito van Crooij[1]
Date of birth (1996-01-29) 29 January 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Venlo, Netherlands
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
Al-Wehda
Number 7
Youth career
Quick Boys '31
2004–2013 VVV-Venlo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2018 VVV-Venlo 132 (35)
2018–2020 PEC Zwolle 46 (9)
2020–2021 VVV-Venlo 31 (3)
2021–2023 Sparta Rotterdam 70 (17)
2023– Al-Wehda 14 (0)
International career
2015 Netherlands U20 6 (0)
2016 Netherlands U21 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:08, 23 March 2024 (UTC)

Vito van Crooij (born 29 January 1996) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger, primarily on the left hand side, for Saudi Pro League club Al-Wehda. He won the Eerste Divisie Young Player of the Year in 2016 for his performances for VVV-Venlo.

His brother, Delano van Crooy plays professionally as a goalkeeper.

Club career

Born in Venlo, van Crooij made his debut for VVV-Venlo at the age of 18 in the KNVB Cup against Eindhoven at the start of the 2014–15 Season, however he did not score until the game against MVV in the KNVB Cup, scoring once in the 2–0 victory. His first league game in the Eerste Divisie was in the 3–0 victory against Achilles '29.[2] However, Van Crooy did not score a league goal until February, netting the winner in the 1–0 victory against Almere City.

In the 2015–16 season, van Crooij was part of the VVV-Venlo squad which finished second in the Eerste Divisie. He scored 13 goals and recorded 8 assists throughout the season playing as a left winger. He was part of the VVV-Venlo team which lost in the play off final of the Eerste Divisie. He just missed out on the Eerste Divisie Young Player of the Year Award[3] for the 2015–16 season where he was nominated due to his impressive performances for VVV.

In the 2016–17 season, van Crooij started the season well, scoring the equaliser in the 2–1 victory over SC Cambuur. Since then he has scored more goals, including a penalty in the 2–1 defeat to Helmond Sport.

On 13 July 2018 he became a new PEC Zwolle player.

On 25 August 2020, he returned to VVV-Venlo.[4][5]

On 25 June 2021, Van Crooij signed a three-year contract with Sparta Rotterdam.[6] On 14 August 2022, he scored the fastest goal in Eredivisie history – after eight seconds against AZ Alkmaar.[7]

On 7 September 2023, van Crooij joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Wehda on a three-year deal.[8]

Career statistics

As of match played 27 August 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
VVV-Venlo 2013–14 Eerste Divisie 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2014–15 Eerste Divisie 31 3 3 1 4[a] 1 38 5
2015–16 Eerste Divisie 33 13 1 1 2[a] 0 34 14
2016–17 Eerste Divisie 36 14 2 0 38 14
2017–18 Eredivisie 31 5 2 0 33 5
Total 132 35 8 2 6 1 144 38
PEC Zwolle 2018–19 Eredivisie 30 9 2 1 32 10
2019–20 Eredivisie 16 0 2 0 5 4 18 0
Total 46 9 4 1 5 4 50 10
VVV-Venlo 2020–21 Eredivisie 31 3 4 1 35 4
Sparta Rotterdam 2021–22 Eredivisie 33 5 2 2 35 7
2022–23 Eredivisie 34 12 2 0 0 0 36 12
2023–24 Eredivisie 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Total 70 17 4 2 0 0 74 19
Al-Wehda 2023–24 Pro League 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career total 263 64 18 2 0 0 11 5 285 71
  1. ^ a b Appearances in Eerste Divisie playoffs

Honours

VVV-Venlo

Individual

References

  1. ^ "V. van Crooij: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  2. ^ Van Crooy tekent voor 2,5 jaar bij VVV - 1Limburg (in Dutch)
  3. ^ Sparta wint bijna alle Gouden Stieren - Rijnmond (in Dutch)
  4. ^ "Vito van Crooij terug naar VVV-Venlo" (in Dutch). PEC Zwolle. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Vito van Crooij terug op oude nest" (in Dutch). VVV-Venlo. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Vito van Crooij maakt overstap naar Sparta Rotterdam". Sparta Rotterdam (in Dutch). 25 June 2021. Archived from the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  7. ^ Rekordtor in den Niederlanden. In: Sport1.de, 24 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022 (German).
  8. ^ "الوحدة يعزز صفوفه بـ الجناح الهولندي "فيتو"".
  9. ^ "Sparta and AZ dominate Eredivisie team of the month in march". Eredivisie. 31 March 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2023.

External links

  • Vito van Crooij at WorldFootball.net
  • Voetbal International profile (in Dutch)
  • Netherlands profile at Ons Oranje
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Al-Wehda – current squad
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