Teun Koopmeiners

Teun Koopmeiners (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtøːŋ ˈkoːpmɛi̯nərs]; born 28 February 1998) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Serie A club Atalanta and the Netherlands national team.

Teun Koopmeiners
Koopmeiners with Atalanta in 2021
Personal information
Full name Teun Koopmeiners[1]
Date of birth (1998-02-28) 28 February 1998[2]
Place of birth Castricum, Netherlands
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Atalanta
Number 7
Youth career
Vitesse '22
2009–2016 AZ
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 Jong AZ 25 (3)
2017–2021 AZ 116 (35)
2021– Atalanta 69 (16)
International career‡
2015 Netherlands U17 4 (0)
2015–2016 Netherlands U18 3 (0)
2016–2017 Netherlands U19 13 (0)
2017–2018 Netherlands U20 5 (0)
2018–2021[3] Netherlands U21 17 (4)
2020– Netherlands 17 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:02, 27 September 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 June 2023

Having represented the Netherlands at various youth levels, Koopmeiners was called up to the senior team's preliminary UEFA Nations League squad in August 2020.[4] He was later part of their squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

AZ

Koopmeiners grew up in Castricum, North Holland, and took his first steps in football as a youth player for the local club, Vitesse '22.[5] In 2009, he joined the AZ youth academy at under-12 level.[6] He eventually progressed through the ranks, and as part of the club's reserve team, Jong AZ, he became champion of the Dutch third division in the 2016–17 season, reaching promotion to the Eerste Divisie.[7]

On 18 August 2017, Koopmeiners made his professional debut for Jong AZ in a 3–1 away win over FC Den Bosch.[8] He made his first team-debut on 1 October, coming on as a substitute for Alireza Jahanbakhsh for the final 30 minutes of a 4–0 home loss to Feyenoord.[9] At the end of the 2017–18 season, AZ ended in third place, and thereby qualified for Europa League. In his first professional season, he made 26 league appearances in which he scored one goal.[10]

On 1 March 2020, Koopmeiners played a 70-metre pass to set up Oussama Idrissi for AZ's second goal in a 2–0 win against Ajax which put his side level on points with Ajax.[11] During the 2019–20 AZ Alkmaar season Koopmeiners scored 16 goals in all competitions in 42 appearances,[12] helping his side finish second in the Eredivisie on goal difference behind the Champions AFC Ajax.[13]

He scored his first goal of the 2020–21 season against Viktoria Plzen on 26 August 2020 in the UEFA Champions League qualifier 3–1 victory.[14] On 14 January 2021, Koopmeiners scored two goals, including an audacious backheel flick, to help his side clinch an 3–1 away victory against PSV Eindhoven.[15]

Atalanta

On 30 August 2021, Koopmeiners signed for Serie A club Atalanta for a reported fee of €12 million.[16] He made his debut on 11 September in the home match against Fiorentina, as a late substitute for Matteo Pessina.[17]

On 1 September 2022, Koopmeiners scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 Serie A victory over Torino.[18]

International career

Koopmeiners made four appearances for the Netherlands national under-17 team,[19] as well as two appearances for the national under-18 team. As part of the under-19s, he played at the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, reaching the semi-finals and only losing to Portugal. At under-19 level, Koopmeiners made 13 appearances.[19] After five appearances for the Netherlands Under-20 team,[19] he made his debut for the national under-21 team on 22 March 2018 in a 4–1 loss in Doetinchem to the Belgium U21.[20]

On 19 August 2020, Koopmeiners was called up to the senior Netherlands national team by caretaker manager Dwight Lodeweges in the preliminary squad for the UEFA Nations League fixtures against Poland and Italy.[4] In October, he made his debut in a friendly match against Mexico.[21]

Style of play

Koopmeiners can play as a defensive midfielder or central midfielder. He can also play as a centre-back.[22] He is known for his leadership qualities, and captained AZ Alkmaar despite his young age.[23]

Personal life

His younger brother Peer is also a professional footballer; Peer still plays for AZ.[24]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 27 September 2023[10]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Jong AZ 2016–17 Tweede Divisie 192––192
2017–18 Eerste Divisie 61––61
Total 253––253
AZ 2017–18 Eredivisie 26150–311
2018–19 Eredivisie 328401[lower-alpha 1]1379
2019–20 Eredivisie 25113114[lower-alpha 1]44216
2020–21 Eredivisie 3115108[lower-alpha 2]24017
2021–22 Eredivisie 20002[lower-alpha 1]040
Total 1163513125715443
Atalanta 2021–22 Serie A 3042011[lower-alpha 3]0434
2022–23 Serie A 331020–3510
2023–24 Serie A 62001[lower-alpha 1]072
Total 6916401208516
Career total 2105417137726462
  1. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances in UEFA Europa League

International
As of match played 18 June 2023[25]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Netherlands 202010
202120
2022121
202320
Total171
Netherlands score listed first, score column indicates score after each Koopmeiners goal.[25]
List of international goals scored by Teun Koopmeiners
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
18 June 2022Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales7 Wales1–02–12022–23 UEFA Nations League A

Honours

AZ

References
  1. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™: List of Players: Netherlands" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 20. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. UEFA.com. "Teun Koopmeiners | Netherlands | UEFA Nations League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  3. "OnsOranje". onsoranje.nl. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  4. "PRELIMINARY ORANGE SELECTION CONSISTS OF 32 PLAYERS". KNVB Media. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  5. "Teun Koopmeiners maakt competitiedebuut bij AZ". vitesse22.nl (in Dutch). 3 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  6. "Spelerspagina van AZ". az.nl. AZ Alkmaar. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  7. "Jong AZ promoveert naar Jupiler League dankzij titel in Tweede Divisie". nu.nl (in Dutch). 1 April 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  8. "FC Den Bosch vs. Jong AZ – Football Match Report". ESPN. 18 August 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  9. "AZ vs. Feyenoord – 1 October 2017". Soccerway.
  10. "T. Koopmeiners". Soccerway.
  11. "Dank 70-Meter-Pass: Alkmaar holt Ajax in der Eredivisie ein". kicker (in German). 1 March 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  12. "Games played by Teun Koopmeiners in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  13. "AZ Alkmaar's title chase is over but is this Europe's best academy?". Sky Sports. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  14. "Champions League qualifiers round-up: AZ Alkmaar survive scare to progress". Sky Sports. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  15. "AZ verslaat PSV in Eindhoven: 1-3". RTL Nieuws. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  16. Mork, Martin (30 August 2021). "Official: Koopmeiners arrive at Atalanta". Football Italia. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  17. "Con la Fiorentina esordio di Koopmeiners". Atalanta (in Italian). 12 September 2021.
  18. Campanale, Susy (1 September 2022). "Atalanta 3–1 Torino: Koopmeiners hat-trick takes top spot". Football Italia.
  19. "Koopmeiners – Profiel – OnsOranje". onsoranje.nl.
  20. "Matchdata – OnsOranje". onsoranje.nl.
  21. "Mexico spoil De Boer debut with deserved win". Reuters. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  22. "The 50 Eredivisie U21 Stars To Watch 2018/19: Teun Koopmeiners". KNVB Media. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  23. "Teun Koopmeiners, de geboren leider van AZ". De Volkskrant. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  24. Koopmeiners grapt over broertje: 'Door jou heb ik straks een voorletter op m'n rug!' - Voetbal International (in Dutch)
  25. "Teun Koopmeiners". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
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