Vito van Crooij

In this Dutch name, the surname is van Crooij.

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 [lower-alpha 1]	1	38	5
	2015–16	Eerste Divisie	33	13	1	1	—		2 [lower-alpha 1]	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. Appearances in Eerste Divisie playoffs

Honours

VVV-Venlo

• Eerste Divisie: 2016–17,

Individual

• Eredivisie Team of the Month: March 2023, ^[9]

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