Kenneth Vermeer

Dutch footballer (born 1986)

Kenneth Harold Vermeer (born 10 January 1986) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Eredivisie club PEC Zwolle. A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, Vermeer has played for Jong Ajax, Willem II on loan, and the Ajax first team, with which he won four consecutive national titles from 2010 to 2014. He is the current Dutch national team record holder for longest streak in goal without conceding in a match, having never conceded a goal while playing for the first team of the Netherlands. Vermeer has kept clean sheets against Germany, Estonia, Romania, Indonesia, and Spain.

Vermeer started relatively late in his youth as a goalkeeper, having started as an outfield player. He was scouted as a keeper by Ajax from FC Blauw Wit Amsterdam. He went through the various youth squads at the Ajax Academy before ending up in Jong Ajax, where he often trained with the first squad. In the 2006–07 season, Vermeer became Ajax's third keeper, making his first team debut in a UEFA Cup match against IK Start. In February 2007, Vermeer extended his contract with Ajax until June 2010. Vermeer's opportunities in the first squad were limited due to the presence of Maarten Stekelenburg and Dennis Gentenaar, so Vermeer was loaned out for the 2007–08 season to Willem II to gain Eredivisie experience. Due to an injury for teammate Maikel Aerts, Vermeer started as first choice goalkeeper for Willem II, and made his Eredivisie debut for the club. After Aerts recovered he was once again first choice. Aerts was once again injured in a match against Ajax, and Vermeer ended the season as first choice keeper for the club. At the start of the 2008–09 season, Vermeer returned to Ajax and was included in the squad by new manager Marco van Basten, once again behind Stekelenburg and Gentenaar. During the season, he would pass Gentenaar to establish as the second choice keeper behind Stekelenburg. After Stekelenburg was injured in September 2008, Vermeer finally made his Eredivisie debut for Ajax, in a match against SC Heerenveen. Although Ajax lost the match 5–2, Vermeer's performance was seen as positive. Vermeer would play every game until the winter break, making a good impression. After Stekelenburg's recovery after the winter break he reestablished himself as first keeper. After Stekelenburg was once again injured in February 2009, Vermeer was once again first keeper, and would keep that position even after Stekelenburg was fit again, finishing the season as first keeper. At the start of the 2009–10 season, Martin Jol was appointed as new manager, and Vermeer was once again Stekelenburg's understudy, playing only one Eredivisie match in the entire season. Vermeer was seriously injured in the 2010–11 pre season, tearing his achilles tendon, and he would only return to the squad in April 2011. Stekelenburg was injured, so Vermeer was immediately in the starting line up for his first game back, a match against Heracles Almelo. Vermeer would play every remaining game that season as Ajax clinched their 30th Eredivisie title under new manager Frank de Boer. Prior to the 2011–12 season, Stekelenburg was sold to A. S. Roma, so Vermeer started the season as first keeper, with deputies Jasper Cillessen and Jeroen Verhoeven. Although he had a rocky start to the season by conceding six goals in a game at Utrecht and a weak shot in a match against Roda, Vermeer has rebounded well and has made the net his own following the departure of Maarten Stekelenburg. He was especially sharp in a game against Olympique Lyonnais in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League as he successfully kept a clean sheet in France. Helping Ajax to consecutive league titles, Vermeer's deputy Jeroen Verhoeven departed ahead of the 2012–13 campaign who was then replaced by Mickey van der Hart, who had impressed the previous season during the club's NextGen Series campaign. In April 2012, Ajax announced the extension of Vermeer's contract for 2 more years, binding him to the club until the summer of 2015. On 20 January 2013, during the Klassieker match against arch rivals Feyenoord, Vermeer helped Ajax to a 3–0 victory at home, keeping a clean sheet while saving a penalty kick from Lex Immers in the 64th minute of the game. On 17 February 2013, Vermeer was admitted to the illustrious Club van 100 of Ajax, making his 100th career appearance for the club in the away match against RKC Waalwijk, he then stopped another penalty shot in this match from Robert Braber. Vermeer was sent off in a home match against Heracles Almelo, after he erroneously brought down Geoffrey Castillion. While injuring himself in the process, Vermeer would miss the impending Topper away match against PSV on 14 April 2013 due to his red card. He finished the season as first choice keeper once more helping Ajax to win their third consecutive league title, a feat the club had not achieved since 1967 when they were last able to secure three national titles in a row. On 27 July 2013, Vermeer helped Ajax to win the Dutch Super Cup (Johan Cruijff Shield) in a match that went into overtime against neighboring AZ from Alkmaar, with the match ending in a 3–2 win for the Amsterdammers. With Vermeer remaining the first choice keeper at the start of the 2013–14 season, the club was off to a rough start after the departure of vice captain and defender Toby Alderweireld, as well as the departure of Christian Eriksen. During the transition period, Ajax would concede four goals in two scoreless losses each only four days apart, with the first incident occurring on 18 September 2013 in the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League group stage match against FC Barcelona at Camp Nou, and the second incident only four days later at the Philips Stadion in the Topper match against PSV. This was a club record, with the defeat to Barcelona only being the fifth ever match that Ajax would lose by such a margin on a continental level. Following these events, Ajax manager Frank de Boer announced that he would give the precedence to the then second choice keeper Jasper Cillessen, while Vermeer could focus on his training and conditioning in order to obtain his form he had previously displayed. On 28 October 2013, Vermeer made his debut in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of professional football in the Netherlands when he appeared in goal for newly promoted Jong Ajax in the 4–0 loss at home against FC Dordrecht. On 26 July 2014, Vermeer helped Ajax to a win the seventh edition of the Eusébio Cup at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal. Helping his side to secure a 1–0 victory over hosts S. L. Benfica when he saved a penalty by Francisco Jara, after a slight foul by Nick Viergever in the closing minutes of the match. Over the years, Vermeer has become known as somewhat of a 'penalty killer' having saved 10 out of 15 penalty attempt on his goal since playing for the first team of Ajax. He saved 7 in a row by the end of the 2013–14 season, without conceding a penalty since 29 January 2012, when John Guidetti of Feyenoord managed to secure one for his side.

On 31 August 2014, during a press conference following a 2–0 loss to FC Groningen for Ajax, it was announced by Frank de Boer that Vermeer would transfer to the rival club for a reported fee of €1 million, with Vermeer signing a four year contract with the club from Rotterdam. The move was seen as such a shock, because of the intense rivalry, known as De Klassieker, that the two clubs share. He made his first appearance for his new club on 13 September 2014 at De Kuip in a 2–1 home loss against Willem II. He made his continental debut for his new club in Spain during the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League group stage in a 2–0 loss against Sevilla FC. On 21 September 2014, Vermeer played in his first Klassieker match against his former club. Although Feyenoord played the better match, it ended in a 1–0 loss at home with Ajax narrowly securing a victory and Vermeer suffering defeats in his first three consecutive matches playing for his new club. On 19 January 2018, it was announced that Vermeer would join Belgian side Club Brugge KV on a six month loan. He was given the number 32 shirt, serving his loan spell as second keeper behind Vladimir Gabulov with Club Brugge leading the Belgian First Division A table by 11 points going into the second half of the season.

On 15 January 2020, Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC acquired Vermeer using Targeted Allocation Money. On 25 January 2020, Vermeer made his LAFC debut in a preseason friendly against Uruguayan club Peñarol, which LAFC won 2–0. Vermeer was named man of the match by fans. On 1 March 2020, Vermeer made his Major League Soccer debut against inaugural club Inter Miami CF, which Los Angeles FC won 1–0. He was named man of the match, making key saves throughout the match. However, after a 2–0 loss by the L. A. Galaxy on August 22 and a 3–1 loss by the Seattle Sounders on August 30, Vermeer was relegated to a back up goalkeeper role due to several goalkeeping mistakes. He regained his starting position during a 2–1 win over the Houston Dynamo on October 28, filling in for Pablo Sisniega who was out with a minor injury sustained during a 2–0 win over the L. A. Galaxy the week before. On 16 April 2021, it was announced that Los Angeles FC and Vermeer had mutually agreed to part ways.

On 7 May 2021, Vermeer joined FC Cincinnati on a guaranteed contract through the 2022 season. FC Cincinnati exercised a buyout on his contract on 16 May 2023.

Vermeer was born in the Netherlands to Surinamese parents. Because of Suriname's rules against dual citizenship, players who take Dutch citizenship are no longer eligible to represent the Netherlands' former colony. He has represented the Netherlands, his country of birth at various youth levels, making his international debut on 25 October 2001 while playing for the Netherlands under 16 squad at the Walker Crisp Tournament in England in a 2–1 loss against Germany U 16. He also appeared in the 2002 Aegean Cup in Turkey for the under 16 team, making a total of four appearances while keeping a clean sheet once. On 10 October 2002, Vermeer made his debut and only appearance for the Netherlands U 17 side in a friendly match against Portugal U 17. He made his first and only appearance for the Netherlands under 18 squad in a friendly match against Greece U 18, keeping a clean sheet in the 1–0 victory as well. On 4 September 2004, Vermeer made his debut for the Netherlands U 19 in a friendly match against Greece U 19 which ended in a 1–0 win, and also made three appearances in the qualification process for the 2005 UEFA European Under 19 Championship. Although failing to qualify, he was able to keep a clean sheet in three of his appearances for the under 19 side. In 2005, Vermeer played for the Netherlands U 20 team at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship that was hosted in the Netherlands. He was the first choice keeper for the Dutch, while the team exited at quarter finals by penalties (9–10) against Nigeria U 20. Vemeer scored a penalty for the Dutch in this match, while keeping a clean sheet against the Australian, Beninois and Chilean under 20 teams during the course of the tournament. At age 20 he was called up to play for the Netherlands under 21 squad, making his debut on 24 May 2006 in the opening match of the 2006 UEFA European Under 21 Football Championship against Ukraine U 21. Although the Netherlands lost the opening fixture 2–1, the Dutch would eventually win the tournament, marking the nation's first U 21 European Championship as they defeated the Ukraine U 21 by score of 3–0 in the final. Remaining in the under 21 team the following year, Vermeer helped his team to secure their second consecutive Under 21 Championship after the Dutch defeated Serbia U 21 4–1 in the final.

In 2008, Vermeer was selected by Foppe de Haan for the Netherlands Olympic football team to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. On 2 August 2008, he made his debut for the Netherlands Olympic squad in a friendly match against Ivory Coast in preparation for the Summer games. In total Vermeer competed in 5 matches for the Olympic team, with four caps during Olympic games, where the Netherlands were defeated by Argentina 2–1 in the quarter final by goals from Lionel Messi and Ángel Di María.

On 5 October 2012, Vermeer received his first call up from head coach Louis van Gaal for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Andorra and Romania as a replacement for the injured Tim Krul. Remaining on the bench for the duration of both fixtures as the second choice keeper, Vermeer did not make his debut for the Netherlands first team until 14 November 2012, when he was declared first choice keeper in a friendly match against Germany which ended in a 0–0 deadlock at the Amsterdam Arena. On 6 February 2013, he was called up once more for a friendly fixture against Italy, where he remained on the bench as second choice keeper behind Tim Krul. He was then called up once more the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Estonia and Romania. He was the first choice keeper in both fixtures, while Maarten Stekelenburg remained on the bench as second choice keeper, both matches were won with Vermeer keeping a clean sheet in each game while playing the full 90 minutes. On 11 June 2013, Vermeer became the record holder for the Netherlands national football team, for the longest streak as a goalkeeper without conceding a goal. The record was broken after the 23rd minute during a friendly encounter against Indonesia, when Vermeer broke the record previously held by Ronald Waterreus. The match ended a 3–0 win for the Netherlands, bringing Vermeer's tally to four consecutive matches in goal for the Netherlands without conceding a goal, having not conceded since his debut keeping for the Netherlands. The four fixtures in which Vermeer kept his clean sheets, were against Germany, Estonia, Romania and Indonesia. Despite Dutch national team manager Louis van Gaal's repeated interest in calling on Vermeer for his selection ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals, Vermeer would eventually be replaced by Jasper Cillessen as first choice keeper, with Vermeer being cut from the squad after the team's training camp in Portugal ahead of the final tournament. Louis van Gaal later insisted that Vermeer would have indeed been a better fit for his game plan, but that due to Cillessen showing better form, he opted for the latter instead. On 31 March 2015, Vermeer played the full 90 minutes of the friendly match against Spain. The match ended in a 2–0 victory for the Netherlands, with Vermeer extending his national team record of five matches without conceding a goal.