Jasper Cillessen

Jasper Cillessen

Cillessen with NEC in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Jacobus Antonius Peter Johannes Cillessen [1]
Date of birth	(1989-04-22) 22 April 1989 (age 34) [2]
Place of birth	Nijmegen, Netherlands
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) [3]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	NEC
Number	1
Youth career
1996–2001	De Treffers
2001–2010	NEC
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2011	NEC	34	(0)
2011–2016	Ajax	101	(0)
2013–2014	Jong Ajax	4	(0)
2016–2019	Barcelona	5	(0)
2019–2022	Valencia	51	(0)
2022–	NEC	54	(0)
International career‡
2013–	Netherlands	65	(0)
Medal record Men's football Representing   Netherlands FIFA World Cup 2014 UEFA Nations League 2019
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:55, 13 March 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 March 2023

Jacobus Antonius Peter Johannes "Jasper" Cillessen (born 22 April 1989) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Eredivisie club NEC and the Netherlands national team.

Cillessen joined NEC's youth team in 2001, making his professional debut for them in 2010, and signed for Ajax for €3 million a year later. He played in 141 matches for Ajax in six seasons, winning honours including three Eredivisie titles. In 2016, he joined Barcelona for an initial €13 million. He switched to Valencia in 2019, staying at the club for three seasons, before returning to NEC.

In May 2011, Cillessen received his first call-up for the Netherlands national team. He made his international debut in 2013 and was the country's first-choice goalkeeper as they finished third at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

NEC

Cillessen was born in Nijmegen and grew up in nearby Groesbeek. ^[4] He began playing for the youth team of local club De Treffers before being scouted to the NEC/FC Oss youth academy in 2001. ^[5] In 2008, he signed his first professional contract with NEC and started playing for the reserves. In 2010, Cillessen agreed a new two-year contract at NEC until June 2012.

Following an injury to first-choice goalkeeper Gábor Babos, Cillessen made his senior debut on 28 August 2010 in a 2–2 home draw against SC Heerenveen and was voted the man of the match. Even when Babos returned from injury, Cillessen managed to keep his spot in the first team and signed a two-year contract extension that tied him to NEC until 2014. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Cillessen was awarded Gelderland Footballer of the Year. ^[6]

Ajax

Cillessen with Ajax in 2013

On 27 August 2011, it was announced NEC and Ajax had reached an agreement for the transfer of Cillessen to the Amsterdam club for an estimated €3 million. He signed a five-year contract, binding him to Ajax until 2016. ^[7]

Cillessen made his first appearance for Ajax on 21 September 2011, in a 2nd round KNVB Cup away match against VV Noordwijk. He played the full match, conceding only to Sijbren Bartlema in the 66th minute of the 3–1 away victory. He made his first league appearance for Ajax in a 2011–12 Eredivisie match on 23 October 2011 against arch-rivals Feyenoord, coming on as a 66th-minute substitute for right back Gregory van der Wiel, after starting goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer had been shown a red card. With Ajax down to ten men, Cillessen helped Ajax retain a 1–1 draw after Jan Vertonghen tied the match just minutes after the ejection of Vermeer. ^[8]

Cillessen's breakthrough into the first team began during the 2013 pre-season. Manager Frank de Boer said both of his two leading goalkeepers would get a chance to show why they should be his first choice. Early in that season, Cillessen made his first sustained run of appearances for Ajax in the Eredivisie.

Barcelona

On 25 August 2016, Cillessen signed a five-year contract with Barcelona for an initial €13 million transfer fee plus another €2 million in add-ons, replacing the outgoing Claudio Bravo. ^[9] After only three training sessions, he made his debut in a home La Liga match against Alavés, conceding twice from five attempts in a 1–2 loss. ^[10]

Since his move to Barcelona in 2016, Cillessen managed to play a major role in the Copa del Rey for both the 2016–17 and 2017–18 seasons, starting 17 of 18 matches in the competition. ^{[11] [12]} Barcelona won the trophy in both seasons, making the club four-time consecutive Copa del Rey winners since 2014–15. ^[13]

On 30 January 2019, he saved the first penalty of his professional career after 20 attempts in a 6–1 home win over Sevilla in the Copa del Rey, which enabled Barcelona to advanced to the semi-finals of the competition 6–3 on aggregate. ^[14]

Valencia

Cillessen with Valencia in 2019

On 25 June 2019, Cillessen signed a four-year contract with Valencia, for a fee of €35 million, making him the second-most expensive transfer in the history of the club. ^{[15] [16]} He made his debut on 17 August 2019, starting in a 1–1 home draw against Real Sociedad in La Liga. ^[17]

Return to NEC

Cillessen returned to former club NEC in August 2022 having agreed a three-year contract. ^[18] The transfer fee paid to Valencia was reported as "several 100,000" Euro. ^[18]

International career

Youth

In October 2010, Cillessen was called-up for the Netherlands national under-21 team by the national team coach, Cor Pot, for the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification play-offs against Ukraine. ^[19]

Senior

Cillessen (right) training with Jeroen Zoet (furthest left) and Tim Krul in October 2014

After the 2010–11 season, Cillessen was placed in the pre-selection for the senior Netherlands squad's friendly matches against Uruguay and Brazil. Manager Bert van Marwijk eventually selected Cillessen for the Netherlands' friendly trip to South America. On 7 May 2012, Cillessen was named in the provisional list of 36 players for the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament, one of nine uncapped players to be chosen by Van Marwijk as part of the preliminary squad.

On 7 June 2013, Cillessen obtained his first cap for the Netherlands national team under manager Louis van Gaal, after several call-ups in the past. Cillessen played the first half in a friendly encounter against Indonesia in a 3–0 away win for the Dutch. He was relieved in goal by Kenneth Vermeer in the 46th minute, as the two helped keep a clean sheet during their friendly encounter in Asia. ^[20]

In June 2014, Cillessen was selected in the Netherlands' squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He was given the number 1 jersey and started in the team's opening match, a 5–1 victory against Spain in Salvador. ^[21] He went on to start in every match in the tournament as the Oranje took third place. However, in the quarter-final against Costa Rica, Louis van Gaal unexpectedly substituted him for Tim Krul ahead of the penalty shootout, which the Dutch team won. ^[22]

Cillessen was originally selected for the Dutch squad at the Euro 2020 as their starting goalkeeper. On 1 June 2021, he was omitted from the squad due to a positive COVID-19 test. He later stated that manager De Boer had known about the virus when he was first picked, and that he was fit for play. ^[23]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 7 April 2024 ^{[24] [25]}

Club	Season	League			Cup [lower-alpha 1]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	App	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
NEC	2010–11	Eredivisie	31	0	1	0	—		—		32	0
	2011–12	Eredivisie	3	0	0	0	—		—		3	0
	Total		34	0	1	0	—		—		35	0
Jong Ajax	2013–14	Eerste Divisie	3	0	—		—		—		3	0
	2014–15	Eerste Divisie	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
	Total		4	0	—		—		—		4	0
Ajax	2011–12	Eredivisie	4	0	3	0	—		—		7	0
	2012–13	Eredivisie	5	0	5	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	0	0	11	0
	2013–14	Eredivisie	25	0	1	0	7 [lower-alpha 3]	0	0	0	33	0
	2014–15	Eredivisie	32	0	0	0	10 [lower-alpha 4]	0	0	0	42	0
	2015–16	Eredivisie	33	0	1	0	10 [lower-alpha 5]	0	—		44	0
	2016–17	Eredivisie	2	0	0	0	4 [lower-alpha 6]	0	—		6	0
	Total		101	0	10	0	32	0	0	0	143	0
Barcelona	2016–17	La Liga	1	0	8	0	1 [lower-alpha 6]	0	0	0	10	0
	2017–18	La Liga	1	0	9	0	1 [lower-alpha 6]	0	0	0	11	0
	2018–19	La Liga	3	0	7	0	1 [lower-alpha 6]	0	0	0	11	0
	Total		5	0	24	0	3	0	0	0	32	0
Valencia	2019–20	La Liga	24	0	0	0	6 [lower-alpha 6]	0	0	0	30	0
	2020–21	La Liga	10	0	0	0	—		—		10	0
	2021–22	La Liga	17	0	0	0	—		—		17	0
	Total		51	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	57	0
NEC	2022–23	Eredivisie	32	0	0	0	—		—		32	0
	2023–24	Eredivisie	26	0	1	0	—		—		27	0
	Total		58	0	1	0	—		—		59	0
Career total			255	0	35	0	42	0	0	0	327	0

1. Includes KNVB Cup and Copa del Rey
2. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
3. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
5. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances in UEFA Europa League
6. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 27 March 2023 ^{[26] [27] [28]}

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Netherlands
	2013	4	0
	2014	16	0
	2015	6	0
	2016	4	0
	2017	8	0
	2018	7	0
	2019	10	0
	2020	4	0
	2021	1	0
	2022	2	0
	2023	2	0
Total		65	0

Honours

Ajax ^[29]

• Eredivisie: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14
• Johan Cruyff Shield: 2013

Barcelona ^[29]

• La Liga: 2017–18, 2018–19
• Copa del Rey: 2016–17, 2017–18
• Supercopa de España: 2018

Netherlands

• FIFA World Cup third place: 2014 ^[30]
• UEFA Nations League runner-up: 2018–19 ^[31]

Individual

• Gelderland Footballer of the Year: 2011 ^[6]

• Gillette Player of the Year: 2014 ^[32]

• Ajax Player of the Year (Rinus Michels Award): 2014–15, 2015–16 ^{[33] [34]}

• Eredivisie Team of the Month: September 2022, February 2023 ^[35]

References

1. "Acta del Partido celebrado el 12 de mayo de 2019, en Barcelona" [Minutes of the Match held on 12 May 2019, in Barcelona] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Archived from the original on 14 March 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
2. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players: Netherlands" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2020.
3. "Jasper Cillessen". FC Barcelona. 23 December 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
4. Jasper Cillessen in het programma Koken Met Coenen, N1, 4 December 2013.
5. "Jasper Cillessen in selectie van Oranje". De Groesbeek. 23 May 2011. Archived from the original on 10 August 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
6. "Jasper Cillessen Gelders Voetballer van het Jaar". Omroep Gelderland. 28 April 2011. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
7. "NEC reach agreement for the sale of Jasper Cillessen". Goal.com. 27 August 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
8. "Ajax vs. Feyenoord 1–1". Soccerway. 23 October 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
9. "Jasper Cillessen joins FC Barcelona". FC Barcelona. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
10. "El desafortunado debut de Cillessen y Paco Alcácer" [The unfortunate debut of Cillessen and Paco Alcácer]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 10 September 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
11. "Jasper Cillessen in 2016/17". ESPN. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
12. "Jasper Cillessen in 2017/18". ESPN. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
13. "Barcelona smash Sevilla 5–0 to win fourth straight Cup". Fox Sports. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
14. "Barcelona power through in Copa del Rey, Juve out of Coppa Italia". BBC Sport. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
15. Cillessen firma con el Valencia CF hasta 2023, Las Provincias, 25 June 2019
16. "Cillessen leaves Barcelona for Valencia in €35m deal". Goal.com. 26 June 2019.
17. "Valencia CF denied opening day victory by late Real Sociedad penalty (1-1)". Valencia CF. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
18. "NEC voltooit transferstunt: Cillessen keert definitief terug in Nijmegen". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 8 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
19. "Cillessen voor Tim Krul bij Jong Oranje". De Telegraaf. 10 October 2010. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
20. "Indonesia 0–3 Netherlands". Soccerway. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
21. "Netherlands thrash Spain – as it happened". BBC. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
22. Ogden, Mark (6 July 2014). "Tim Krul's penalty shootout role was a secret from Jasper Cillessen, reveals Holland coach Louis van Gaal". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
23. "Cillessen reageert woest op bericht De Boer: 'Geen idee wat er is veranderd'". Voetbal Primeur. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
24. "J. Cillessen". Soccerway.
25. "Jasper Cillessen". ESPN.
26. "Jasper Cillessen Voetbal International profile". Voetbal International.
27. "Speler: Jasper Cillessen". onsoranje.nl.
28. "Jasper Cillessen". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
29. "Career Honours". Soccerway.
30. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: Brazil-Netherlands". FIFA. 12 July 2014. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
31. "Nederland buigt in finale Nations League voor Portugal". NOS.nl. 9 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
32. "Jasper Cillessen: Gillette Pro Klassement winnaar 2014". Voetbal INternational. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
33. "Cillessen en El Ghazi in de prijzen – Ajax.nl". ajax.nl. 10 May 2015.
34. "Cillessen Ajacied-, Bazoer Talent van het Jaar". ajaxshowtime.nl. 13 May 2015.
35. "Steven Berghuis named as Eredivisie Player of the Month for February". Eredivisie. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.

External links

• Profile at the Royal Dutch Football Association website (in Dutch)
• Jasper Cillessen – UEFA competition record ( archive )