Claudia van den Heiligenberg


Anna Gerarda Maria "Claudia" van den Heiligenberg is a Dutch footballer who plays for Bayern Munich II in the German 2. Bundesliga. She played for the Dutch national team between 2005 and 2016 and won national league and cup titles in the Netherlands.

Club career

Born in Roelofarendsveen, she started playing when she was six years old at the boys youth team of SV Alkmania in Oude Wetering. After being scouted by the Royal Dutch Football Association she moved to Racing Club in Leiderdorp and played in the Eerste Klasse, the second division at that time. She was the top scorer of the 2003–04 Eerste Klasse. She then moved to Hoofdklasse club Ter Leede and won the Dutch League, Dutch Cup and the Dutch Super Cup in 2006–07.
When the Dutch women's professional league was established in 2007, she moved to AZ, winning the Dutch League in three consecutive seasons and the Dutch Cup in 2010–11. During her time at the club, she also played seven matches in the UEFA Women's Champions League scoring twice. The club folded at the end of the 2010–11 season and like most of its players, she moved to the newly formed SC Telstar. She played two seasons at Telstar, the first in the Eredivisie and the second in the newly created BeNe League.
In 2013 she joined Ajax with how she won her third Dutch Cup in 2013–14.
In 2015, she moved to the German Bundesliga club USV Jena and played two season at the club before moving to Bayern Munich II of the 2. Bundesliga in 2017.

International career

As a RCL player, aged 19 she became part of the Dutch national team set up. She made her debut under coach Vera Pauw on 7 September 2005 in a home friendly 0–2 defeat against Italy in Zwolle.
Selected by coach Vera Pauw to be in the national squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2009, she played in two of the five Dutch matches in the tournament helping the team reach the semifinals.
In December 2009, then national coach Vera Pauw dropped Van den Heiligenberg and Dyanne Bito from the squad ahead of a match against Belarus. The decision proved controversial and it was reported that the duo were kicked out because they were in a relationship. Pauw angrily dismissed the claims, saying it was an insult to suggest they were excluded because of their relationship.
Van den Heiligenberg and Bito remained together and both were restored to the national team by incoming national coach Roger Reijners in 2010. A 2–0 win over Ireland in August 2010 was Van den Heiligenberg's 50th international cap. She was selected in the Netherlands squad for UEFA Women's Euro 2013 in Sweden.
A knee injury ruled out her chances of selection for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. During the following seasons other injuries kept her out of contention for national team selections, she played one match, on 25 January 2016 against Denmark, her 97th cap and eventually her last, as on 6 July 2017 her international retirement was announced. She scored eight goals for the national team.

International goals

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.12 October 2005Oosterenkstadion, Zwolle, Netherlands2–06–0Friendly
2.12 October 2005Oosterenkstadion, Zwolle, Netherlands3–06–0Friendly
3.12 April 2006Oosterenkstadion, Zwolle, Netherlands1–02–1Friendly
4.12 April 2006Oosterenkstadion, Zwolle, Netherlands2–12–1Friendly
5.6 June 2010Sportpark De Dorens, Loenhout, Belgium1–02–0Friendly
6.15 December 2010Estádio do Pacaembu, São Paulo, Brazil2–13–12010 Torneio Internacional
7.9 March 2011Paralimni Stadium, Paralimni, Cyprus1–11–22011 Cyprus Cup
8.10 April 2014Stadion De Braak, Helmond, Netherlands1–010–12015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification

Personal life

Her mother Mary van de Meer was also a Dutch international footballer who played four matches in the 1970s. She combined working for the Dutch police force and playing football during her time at SC Telstar. In September 2018 Claudia married her partner Lucie Voňková.

Honours

;Ter Leerde
;AZ Alkmaar
;Ajax