Georginio Wijnaldum


Georginio Gregion Emile Wijnaldum is a Dutch professional system player who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool and the Netherlands national team.
A youth product of Eredivisie side Feyenoord, Wijnaldum became the youngest player ever to represent the club when he made his debut in 2007, and went on to play 134 matches over the course of a five-year spell, winning the KNVB Cup in 2008. Following his departure from Feyenoord, Wijnaldum spent four seasons at PSV Eindhoven where he won the KNVB Cup in the first season and the Eredivisie in his last, a season where he also earned the Dutch Footballer of the Year award.
In 2015, Wijnaldum joined Premier League side Newcastle United for £14.5 million, before departing following the club's relegation a year later to join Liverpool in a £23 million deal. At Liverpool, Wijnaldum took on a role deeper in the midfield than in his previous clubs. In the 2018–19 season, Wijnaldum scored twice against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final second leg comeback as Liverpool went through 4–3 on aggregate, and he started as the club were victorious in the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final. In the following season, he played an integral role as Liverpool won the UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and Premier League, the club's first league title in 30 years.
Wijnaldum is also a full Dutch international, having earned more than 60 caps since making his debut in 2011, and was a member of the squad which came third at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and second in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League.

Early life

Wijnaldum was born and raised in Rotterdam, South Holland. When he was six years old, his parents, who are both of Afro-Surinamese descent, went through a divorce resulting in his mother moving to Amsterdam. However, Wijnaldum decided to stay in Rotterdam and moved in with his grandmother, where he lived for the remainder of his childhood.
In Wijnaldum's younger years, he never showed interest in football. He never played with a ball or watched football on TV. His ambition was to become a gymnast or acrobat. This changed when Wijnaldum's cousin asked him to come to Sparta Rotterdam's opening day with him; then he was invited to the Sparta Rotterdam youth academy and his love for football started to grow slowly.
Wijnaldum has two younger brothers, one of whom, Giliano Wijnaldum, most recently played for Sparta Rotterdam, as well as a half-brother, Rajiv van La Parra, who most recently played for Red Star Belgrade. Wijnaldum was formerly known as Georginio Boateng, but following his mother's divorce, he took her maiden name.

Club career

Early career

At age six, Wijnaldum developed himself rapidly at Sparta Rotterdam, winning two championship titles in his first two seasons. Soon Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord showed interest in the youngster, but Wijnaldum declined all offers: "I didn't watch football on TV and I didn't know any of the first team players of Sparta or any of the top clubs. I only knew the real famous players of Oranje, so the offers didn't impress me much. I had a good time at Sparta, I wanted to stay." After playing for Sparta Rotterdam for seven seasons and representing the Netherlands at various youth levels, Wijnaldum decided to accept a new Feyenoord offer. He was convinced playing for Feyenoord was better for his development as a football player and believed in Feyenoord's vision.
At Feyenoord, Wijnaldum joined a successful generation with the likes of Leroy Fer and Luís Pedro. Wijnaldum stood out as an exceptional talent. In January 2007, a few weeks after turning 16, Wijnaldum was invited to the first team's training camp in Belek, Turkey, by Feyenoord manager Erwin Koeman.

Feyenoord

On 8 April 2007, Wijnaldum made his official debut in Feyenoord's starting line-up in the Eredivisie home match against Groningen. At the age of 16 and 148 days, Wijnaldum became the youngest player ever to play in Feyenoord's first team and was chosen Feyenoord's man of the match. On 2 December 2007, Wijnaldum scored his first Eredivisie goal for Feyenoord, against Heracles Almelo in a 6–0 home win.
In the 2008–09 season, Wijnaldum made his official European debut. On 18 September 2008, he was named in the starting line-up in the UEFA Cup home match against Kalmar FF. On 2 October 2008, he scored his first European goal for Feyenoord in the return match against Kalmar FF, which resulted in a 1–2 win and a place in the competition's group stage.
On 6 March 2009, Wijnaldum signed a new contract at Feyenoord which would have kept him at De Kuip until summer 2012. On 27 February 2011, he helped his struggling Feyenoord to a 5–1 demolition of Groningen, scoring four goals. He scored two goals from open play in the first half and two more from the penalty spot to add his total for the season to eight goals.

PSV

On 29 June 2011, the technical director of Feyenoord announced the club had reached a transfer deal for Wijnaldum reported to be worth €5 million with PSV. On the opening day of the 2011–12 Eredivisie season, Wijnaldum made his debut for PSV in a 3–1 loss against AZ. On 21 August 2011, Wijnaldum scored his first goal for PSV in a 3–0 victory against ADO Den Haag. Since joining the club, Wijnaldum established himself in the starting 11 as he scored goals and developed assists from his attacking role in midfield in Eredivisie, the KNVB Cup and the UEFA Europa League. After the retirement of Mark van Bommel and the departure of Kevin Strootman in the summer of 2013, Wijnaldum was named PSV's captain for the 2013–14 Eredivisie season. However, he played just 11 matches that year, scoring four goals, due to a back injury. For the 2014–15 Eredivisie season, Wijnaldum returned to full fitness and captained PSV to their first Eredivisie title since 2008.

Newcastle United

On 11 July 2015, Wijnaldum joined English Premier League club Newcastle United on a five-year contract, for a reported transfer fee of £14.5 million, making him the most expensive signing of Mike Ashley's ownership. Wijnaldum made his debut on 9 August as Newcastle began the season with a 2–2 home draw against Southampton, heading in a goal from Gabriel Obertan's cross. He would score his second Newcastle goal in a 2–2 draw with Chelsea on 26 September. On 18 October, Wijnaldum scored four goals in a 6–2 home win over Norwich City, becoming only the second Newcastle player to score more than three goals in a Premier League match. Wijnaldum was considered the player of the match in a game against Liverpool when he forced Martin Škrtel into an own goal as well as scoring himself in a 2–0 win. He scored against Manchester United in a 3–3 draw on 12 January 2016, and again four days later in a 2–1 win against West Ham United, and later scored twice against Tottenham Hotspur in a 5–1 win on the final day of the season, finishing the season as Newcastle's top goalscorer. However, after the season, Newcastle were relegated to the Championship.

Liverpool

On 22 July 2016, Wijnaldum returned to the Premier League, signing for Liverpool on a five-year contract, for an initial £23 million with a further £2 million in conditional add-ons. He was given the number 5 shirt.

2016–17 season

Wijnaldum made his Premier League debut for Liverpool against Arsenal on 14 August 2016, where he played 80 minutes and provided an assist for Adam Lallana before being replaced by Kevin Stewart. He scored his first goal for the club in a 6–1 thrashing of Watford on 6 November. On 31 December, he scored the match's only goal with a powerful header in Liverpool's 1–0 win over Manchester City to take Liverpool four points clear in second. He was highly praised for his goal. Wijnaldum sealed Liverpool's 3–1 win over Arsenal on 4 March 2017 with a close-range finish in stoppage time. In the final match of the 2016–17 Premier League season, with Liverpool needing a win over Middlesbrough to secure a top-four finish and a 2017–18 UEFA Champions League berth, Wijnaldum opened the scoring with a first-half stoppage time goal as Liverpool won 3–0.

2017–18 season

On 28 October 2017, Wijnaldum scored his first goal of the 2017–18 season, scoring the third goal in Liverpool's 3–0 win over newly-promoted Huddersfield Town. On 2 May 2018, Wijnaldum scored his first away goal since May 2015, and his first for an English club, when he netted in a 7–6 aggregate victory over Roma to help Liverpool progress to the final of the 2017–18 Champions League. His goal also saw Liverpool break the competition's record for the most goals scored in a single campaign, with the club's tally of 46 surpassing the record of 45 previously held by Barcelona. Wijnaldum played for Liverpool in the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final against Real Madrid, playing the full 90 minutes as Liverpool lost 1–3.

2018–19 season

On 15 September 2018, Wijnaldum scored his first ever Premier League away goal, scoring the opening goal in a 2–1 win over Tottenham Hotspur. He made his 100th appearance for the club on 29 September in a 1–1 Premier League draw with Chelsea. On 14 April 2019, and against the same opposition, he made his 100th Premier League appearance for Liverpool. Notably coming on as a substitute in the second leg of the Champions League semifinal against Barcelona, Wijnaldum scored twice in two minutes to tie Barcelona on aggregate before Divock Origi's second goal of the night sent Liverpool to the final. In the final, Liverpool went on to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0.

2019–20 season

On 4 December 2019, just two days after being voted 26th in the polls for the 2019 Ballon d'Or award, Wijnaldum scored for Liverpool in the club's 5–2 Merseyside derby win over Everton which extended the Reds' unbeaten run in league football to a club-record 32 matches. Εventually,he was one of the club's regular first team players as Liverpool won their first League title in 30 years in a record breaking season for English football.

International career

Youth

Wijnaldum was one of the key players of the Netherlands under-17 squad on the 2007 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Belgium. However, the team finished third in their group behind England and Belgium, failing to qualify for the knockout stage. Quickly after the tournament, Wijnaldum was selected for the Netherlands under-19 squad. Despite excellent individual performances, the team underachieved and failed to qualify for the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in the Czech Republic and 2009 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Ukraine.
On 12 November 2008, the young midfielder got invited to the Netherlands B by manager Johan Neeskens. Wijnaldum had to deny the invitation due to an injury.
Wijnaldum had to deny his first Netherlands under-21 invitation on 9 August 2009. He received an invitation for the friendly match against England by manager Cor Pot. Wijnaldum made his official Netherlands U21 debut on 4 September 2009, in the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification match against Finland.

Senior

On 30 May 2011, Wijnaldum was named in the Netherlands senior squad for friendlies against Brazil and Uruguay, but did not play in either match. He made his international debut in the match against San Marino on 2 September 2011, appearing as a substitute in the 86th minute and promptly scoring the final goal in an 11–0 win.
Wijnaldum was a member of the Netherlands squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and scored his second goal for the nation in a 3–0 win against Brazil in the third-place play-off.
On 9 September 2018, he made his 50th appearance for the Netherlands in a 2–1 UEFA Nations League loss to France.
In November 2019, following racist abuse aimed at Ahmad Mendes Moreira in the Dutch league, Wijnaldum celebrated an international goal by gesturing at his skin colour in support of Mendes Moreira.

Career statistics

Club

International

No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
12 September 2011Philips Stadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands111–011–0UEFA Euro 2012 qualification
212 July 2014Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília, Brazil123–03–02014 FIFA World Cup
312 June 2015Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia201–02–0UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
410 October 2015Astana Arena, Astana, Kazakhstan231–02–1UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
51 June 2016Stadion Energa Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland292–12–1Friendly
64 June 2016Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria302–02–0Friendly
71 September 2016Philips Stadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands311–01–2Friendly
89 June 2017De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands403–05–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
913 October 2018Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands513–03–02018–19 UEFA Nations League A
1016 November 2018De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands521–02–02018–19 UEFA Nations League A
1121 March 2019De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands542–04–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
126 September 2019Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, Germany584–24–2UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
139 September 2019A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia594–04–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
1413 October 2019Dinamo Stadium, Minsk, Belarus611–02–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
1513 October 2019Dinamo Stadium, Minsk, Belarus612–02–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
1619 November 2019Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands621–05–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
1719 November 2019Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands623–05–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
1819 November 2019Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands624–05–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification

Honours

Feyenoord
PSV
Liverpool
Netherlands
Individual