Sander Keller

Sander Keller (born 18 September 1979) is a Dutch football coach and former footballer. He played as a defender for Utrecht, RBC Roosendaal, Neuchâtel Xamax and Almere City. He is currently an assistant coach at Utrecht.

Sander Keller
Keller with Utrecht in 2007
Personal information
Date of birth (1979-09-18) 18 September 1979
Place of birth Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre back
Team information
Current team
 Utrecht (assistant)
Youth career
1985–1992 Zeeburgia
1992–1999 Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2000 Utrecht 1 (0)
2000–2003 RBC Roosendaal 77 (3)
2003–2010 Utrecht 198 (16)
2010–2012 Neuchâtel Xamax 16 (3)
2012–2015 Almere City 53 (6)
2015–2016 De Meern 12 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career
Francis Dickoh and Sander Keller during a practice session with Utrecht.

Born in Amsterdam, Keller began his career at his local club, Zeeburgia, at the age of six. He played regularly for the team before being spotted by Ajax youth scouts. He was then offered a place in the Ajax Academy a year later, and started practicing with the club.[2]

In 1999, Keller wanted to play more matches, and therefore he joined Utrecht. There, he only made one appearance, and therefore joined RBC Roosendaal, where he played 25 matches in his first season, but he could not prevent the club from suffering relegation. Eventually, he would make 77 appearances for RBC, before moving returning to Utrecht.

In Utrecht, he now played often in the Utrecht defense. In Utrecht, Keller enjoyed many successful years, including winning the KNVB Beker once and playing six UEFA Cup matches.[3] In the 2006–07 season, Keller could not count on a place in the starting eleven. Therefore, he went on a look for a new club. He did not find any, and the following summer he renewed his contract until 2010.[4] Since the 2007–08 season, he played regularly and became a stable defender.

Keller signed a one-and-half-year contract with Swiss side Neuchâtel Xamax on 11 January 2011.[5] On 2 January 2012, Keller was to sign a loan with De Graafschap until the end of the season but the deal broke.[6] Xamax went bankrupt shortly after his return to the club.[7]

In June 2012, Keller signed a three-year contract with Dutch club Almere City. He retired from professional football after having played three seasons with the club, in July 2015.[8] Afterwards, he played for one season at amateur club VV De Meern, but retired altogether due to recurring injuries.[9]

Managerial career

In September 2015, Keller became a coach in the youth department of his former club, Utrecht, initially focusing on the U14 team.[10] In November 2020, Keller was appointed assistant to first-team head coach René Hake.[11]

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League
DivisionAppsGoals
Utrecht1999–00Eredivisie10
RBC Roosendaal2000–01Eredivisie250
2001–02Jupiler League282
2002–03Eredivisie241
Utrecht2003–04Eredivisie232
2004–05232
2005–06301
2006–0782
2007–08262
2008–09295
2009–10235
2010–1130
Neuchâtel Xamax2010–11Swiss Super League163
2011–1200
Almere City2012–13Eerste Divisie40
2013–14182
2014–15314
Career total31228

Honours

Utrecht

References
  1. Sander Keller at WorldFootball.net
  2. ""Overstap van Zeeburgia naar Ajax voelde heel dubbel"". amateurvoorspeller.nl (in Dutch). 10 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  3. "Report: FC Utrecht vs Djurgarden – UEFA Cup". Soccernet.espn.go.com. 16 September 2004. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  4. "Keller Pens New Utrecht Deal". Give Me Football. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  5. "Sander Keller est le nouveau No. 17 de Xamax !". Neuchâtel Xamax. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  6. De Graafschap ziet af van Sander Keller, degraafschap.nl, 9 January 2012
  7. "Swiss club Xamax bankrupt, Chechen owner arrested - - SI.com". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  8. "Keller houdt het na zestien jaar voor gezien". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 19 May 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  9. "Keller stopt als voetballer: Voor mijn gevoel heb ik alles meegemaakt". utrechtfans.nl (in Dutch). 24 June 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2021. Door mijn leeftijd kreeg ik meer fysieke ongemakken. De laatste maanden voetbalde ik amper en deed ik er al dingen omheen. Het was tijd naar de toekomst te kijken.
  10. "Academie verwelkomt diverse oud-spelers". fcutrecht.nl (in Dutch). FC Utrecht. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2021. Sander heeft als individuele trainer al enige tijd een goede inbreng. Hij heeft bij dit team een uitstekende inbreng en slaagt er goed in zijn ervaring als speler over te brengen.
  11. "Sander Keller nieuwe assistent-trainer bij FC Utrecht: 'Wil veel vlieguren maken'". RTV Utrecht (in Dutch). 21 November 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  12. "2004: FC UTRECHT PROLONGEERT DE BEKER". totoknvbbekker.nl. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
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