Lars Veldwijk

Lars Veldwijk

Veldwijk with Nottingham Forest
Personal information
Full name	Lars Veldwijk
Date of birth	(1991-08-21) 21 August 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth	Uithoorn, Netherlands
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	SV Argon
	FC Volendam
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011	FC Volendam	2	(0)
2011–2013	Utrecht	5	(0)
2012–2013	→ Dordrecht (loan)	31	(14)
2013–2014	Excelsior	38	(30)
2014–2016	Nottingham Forest	12	(0)
2015–2016	→ PEC Zwolle (loan)	33	(14)
2016–2017	Kortrijk	9	(1)
2017	→ Aalesund (loan)	16	(5)
2017–2018	Groningen	18	(4)
2018–2020	Sparta Rotterdam	42	(27)
2020	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	10	(1)
2020–2023	Suwon FC	110	(40)
2024	Castellón	6	(0)
2024	BG Pathum United	0	(0)
2025–	Gulf United	0	(0)
International career
2016–	South Africa	7	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 June 2024

Lars Veldwijk (born 21 August 1991) is a South African professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Gulf United and the South Africa national team.

Club career

Excelsior

Veldwijk represented Eerste Divisie side Excelsior in the 2013–14 season, and scored 35 goals in 45 appearances across all competitions. ^[1]

Nottingham Forest

On 12 June 2014, Veldwijk signed for Nottingham Forest from Excelsior for a fee of £500,000 that could rise to £1 million depending on various clauses. ^[2] He made his debut on 16 August 2014 against Bolton Wanderers at the Macron Stadium as a 92nd-minute substitute for fellow striker Matty Fryatt. ^[3] Veldwijk made his first start for Forest on 26 August 2014 in a 2–0 win against Huddersfield Town in the second round of the League Cup. ^[4]

Loan to PEC Zwolle

Veldwijk went on loan to PEC Zwolle for the 2015–16 season, during which time he scored 14 goals in 33 league appearances. ^{[5] [6]} Upon his return to Forest he scored his first and only goal for the club in a 2–1 EFL Cup win against Millwall on 23 August 2016. ^[7]

KV Kortrijk

In the middle of 2016, Veldwijk joined Belgian side KV Kortrijk and only made 9 appearances and scored just 1 goal for the club, he would go on loan to Aalesund in Norway.

Loan to Aalesunds FK

On 31 March 2017, Veldwijk joined Norwegian club Aalesunds FK on a season long loan due to the extended January transfer window in Norway with an option to buy, he would go on to impress in the Eliteserien by being involved in 8 goals in 16 appearances.

FC Groningen

Veldwijk joined Dutch side FC Groningen from Kortrijk and started well in his first season back in Dutch football since 2016 but got into trouble when he refused to come on as a late substitute in an Eredivisie league match against ADO Den Haag which led to the club and the player parting ways.

Sparta Rotterdam

On 16 June 2018, despite interest from clubs in the Eredivisie, as well from foreign clubs like reigning Scottish Premiership champions Celtic F.C, clubs in Russia, Belgium and Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia Veldwijk signed for then Eerste Divisie side Sparta Rotterdam on a free transfer and in his first season with the club he almost single-handedly promoted them back into the Eredivisie for the following season while being involved in 27 goals,scoring 24 goals and providing 3 assists, his highest goal contribution to date, it attracted top Dutch clubs and even won him a return to the national team after 2 years away from Bafana Bafana

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors

On 15 January 2020, having previously been in negotiations with an unnamed club in South Africa,as well as Eredivisie sides also showing interest in him. Veldwijk signed for South Korea's reigning K League 1 champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. ^{[8] [9]} He made his official debut for the club in March, during a 2–2 AFC Champions League draw against Sydney FC, but had to wait until May to feature in the league for the first time after football was suspended in South Korea due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After recovering from a minor knee injury, he marked his K League 1 league debut with a 93rd-minute winner against Busan IPark, before making his first start two weeks later. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Suwon FC

On 17 July 2020, Veldwijk dropped down a division to join K League 2 side Suwon FC on a permanent deal. He signed with Suwon FC for a contract that runs out until 31 December 2022. ^[13]

During the 2021 K League 1 he managed to score 18 goals in 32 appearances and having 6 assists.

On 30 September 2023, Suwon FC terminated contract with Veldwijk after being arrested by the police and having his driver's license revoked when he was driving drunk in South Korea. ^[14]

Castellón

Veldwijk playing for Castellón in 2024

On 1 February 2024, After failing to join South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns over a mix of a break down of transfer talks and a division of the technical team over what he can offer to the team, Veldwijk opted to return to Europe and joined Spanish side CD Castellón who were campaigning in the third tier of spanish football on a 6th month contract with an option to extend and apart from a few games, ended up missing the rest of the season through injury missing out on the team's promotion to the Spanish Second division but did play into two of their promotional play off games providing an assist in one of them and now he's preparing for the new season though his contract is ending on the 30th of June 2024.

BG Pathum United

After leaving Castellón and despite being linked with a return to FC Groningen and a move to greek side Aris FC in the summer, Veldwijk opted to return to Asia joining Thailand side BG Pathum United but injuries made him sit out the first half of the season with the exception of a few games including the 4-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund where he got an assist, before he and the club agreed to terminate his contract making the 33 year old Veldwijk as of the 1st of January 2025 once again a Free Agent. He is however looking to continue his playing career and is interested in joining either a Dutch club or a foreign club this transfer window.

International career

Although born in the Netherlands, and having spent his formative years progressive through the Dutch youth system at club level, Veldwijk was eligible to represent South Africa through his paternal lineage. ^[15] He received his maiden call for the nation's 2018 World Cup qualifier against Senegal in October 2016 before debuting in a 1–1 friendly tie with Mozambique the following month. ^{[16] [17]} After a spell away from the team, he then returned to the national fold to feature in his first international tournament in 2019, making five substitute appearances as South Africa reached the quarter-finals of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. ^[18]

Personal life

Veldwijk was in a relationship with television presenter and former vlogger Monica Geuze and they have a daughter together. ^{[19] [20]} Their daughter was born in July 2018. ^{[21] [22]} Geuze and Veldwijk split up in November 2019. ^[20] He also has a son who was born in 2015 from a previous relationship.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played on 14 May 2023 ^{[23] [24] [25]}

Club	Season	League			Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
FC Volendam	2010–11	Eerste Divisie	2	0	0	0	—		—		—		2	0
Utrecht	2011–12	Eredivisie	5	0	0	0	—		—		—		5	0
	2012–13	Eredivisie	0	0	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
	Total		5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dordrecht (loan)	2012–13	Eerste Divisie	31	14	3	3	—		—		2 [a]	2	36	19
Excelsior	2013–14	Eerste Divisie	38	30	3	1	—		—		4 [a]	4	45	35
Nottingham Forest	2014–15	Championship	11	0	1	0	2	0	—		—		14	0
	2015–16	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	2016–17	Championship	1	0	0	0	2	1	—		—		3	1
	Total		12	0	1	0	4	1	0	0	0	0	17	1
PEC Zwolle (loan)	2015–16	Eredivisie	33	14	1	0	—		—		2 [b]	0	36	14
Kortrijk	2016–17	Belgian First Division A	9	1	2	0	—		—		0	0	11	1
Aalesund (loan)	2017	Eliteserien	16	5	3	2	—		—		—		19	7
Groningen	2017–18	Eredivisie	18	4	2	0	—		—		0	0	20	4
Sparta Rotterdam	2018–19	Eerste Divisie	36	24	1	0	—		—		4 [a]	0	41	24
	2019–20	Eredivisie	15	4	1	1	—		—		0	0	16	5
	Total		51	28	2	1	0	0	0	0	4	0	57	29
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	2020	K League 1	10	1	0	0	—		1 [c]	0	—		11	1
Suwon FC	2020	K League 2	17	5	—		—		—		1 [d]	0	18	5
	2021	K League 1	37	18	0	0	—		—		—		37	18
	2022	K League 1	34	8	0	0	—		—		—		34	8
	2023	K League 1	22	9									22	9
	Total		110	40	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	111	40
Career total			335	137	17	7	4	1	1	0	13	6	370	165

1. Appearances in the Eerste Divisie promotion play-offs
2. Appearances in the Eredivisie European place play-offs
3. Appearances in the AFC Champions League
4. Appearances in the K League 2 promotion play-offs

International

As of matches played on 12 July 2019 ^[26]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
South Africa	2016	1	0
	2017	0	0
	2018	0	0
	2019	6	0
Total		7	0

Honours

Individual

• Eerste Divisie top scorer: 2013–14 ^[27]
• K League 1 Best XI: 2021 ^[28]

References

1. Geertsema, Niiwino (12 July 2017). "Wie is Lars Veldwijk, de nieuwe spits van FC Groningen?". RTV Noord (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 July 2017.
2. "Reds coach says Lars Veldwijk can be a 'real asset' for Nottingham Forest – in time". Nottingham Post. 13 June 2014. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
3. "Bolton 2–2 Nottingham Forest". BBC Sport. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
4. "Huddersfield 0–2 Nott'm Forest". BBC Sport. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
5. "Lars Veldwijk: Nottingham Forest striker seals PEC Zwolle loan move". BBC Sport. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
6. Makhaya, Ernest (12 July 2017). "Bafana Bafana striker Lars Veldwijk signs for Groningen". Goal. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
7. "Millwall 1–2 Nottm Forest". BBC Sport. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
8. "[오피셜] 전북, '남아공 국대' 벨트비크 영입… 이동국과 최전방 호흡 (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors signed with Lars Veldwijk who is 'South African international' ... He may play with Lee Dong-gook at forward.)". Sportal Korea. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
9. Bekker, Liam (30 May 2020). "Bafana star open to PSL switch". Soccer Laduma. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
10. Bekker, Liam (8 May 2020). "SA star sidelined as football returns abroad". Kick Off. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
11. Bekker, Liam (16 May 2020). "Super-sub Veldwijk marks return in style". Kick Off. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
12. Bekker, Liam (30 May 2020). "Bafana star suffers first defeat abroad". Kick Off. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
13. Bekker, Liam (17 July 2020). "Official: Lars Veldwijk on the move again". KickOff. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
14. Kim, Hee-jun (27 September 2023). "Official: [공식발표] 수원FC, '음주운전' 라스와 계약 해지". Footballist. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
15. www.realnet.co.uk. "Lars Veldwijk cleared for Bafana's World Cup qualifier with Senegal". Kick Off. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
16. FIFA.com. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia - Matches - South Africa-Senegal". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
17. "As it happened: Mozambique v Bafana Bafana". Sport. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
18. Bekker, Liam (27 May 2020). "Veldwijk Opens Up On Bafana Bafana Future". Soccer Laduma. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
19. "Monica Geuze stopt na ruim acht jaar met vloggen over dagelijks leven" [Monica Geuze stops vlogging about daily life after more than eight years]. NOS (in Dutch). 2 January 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
20. "Monica Geuze en Lars Veldwijk zijn uit elkaar" [Monica Geuze and Lars Veldwijk have split up]. NU.nl (in Dutch). 15 November 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
21. "Monica Geuze bevallen van dochter Zara-Lizzy" [Monica Geuze gives birth to daughter Zara-Lizzy]. AD (in Dutch). 12 July 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
22. "Vlogger Monica Geuze moeder geworden van een dochter" [Vlogger Monica became mother of a daughter]. NU.nl (in Dutch). 12 July 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
23. Lars Veldwijk at WorldFootball.net
24. "Netherlands – L. Veldwijk – Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway.
25. "Lars Veldwijk – Fotmob". Fotmob.
26. Lars Veldwijk at National-Football-Teams.com
27. "Historische statistieken". KeukenKampioenDivisie.nl (in Dutch). Eerste Divisie. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
28. "[Goal Live] 주민규·홍정호 등 K리그1 베스트11 선정…울산 4명으로 최다".

External links

• Lars Veldwijk at BDFutbol
• Lars Veldwijk at Soccerway
• Lars Veldwijk Interview
• Lars Veldwijk – K League stats at kleague.com (in Korean)