Arjan van Heusden (born 11 December 1972) is a Dutch former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

who played much of his career in the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

Career

Van Heusden began his career in his native Netherlands with

VV Noordwijk Voetbalvereniging Noordwijk is a Dutch football club founded in 1933, based in Noordwijk. It currently competes in the Tweede Divisie. History VV Noordwijk was founded on 4 March 1933. 1940s–1960s: Vierde, Derde, and Tweede Klasse During ...

, moving to England in December 1993 for a trial with

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

, signing permanently in May 1994 for a fee of £4,500. He joined up with fellow Dutchman

Robin van der Laan Robertus Petrus van der Laan (born 5 September 1968) is a Dutch former football player and manager. He began his playing career in his native Netherlands with Eerste Divisie club Schiedamse Voetbal Vereniging in 1987 before moving on to Wagenin ...

, who had already established himself in

John Rudge John Robert Rudge (born 21 October 1944) is an English former professional football player and manager who is the president of club Port Vale. Rudge began his playing career at Huddersfield Town in November 1961, but made little impact at t ...

's squad. However, Van Heusden failed to dislodge the ever-reliable Paul Musselwhite and so joined

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...

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in September 1997, playing 11 league games. In August 1998, he moved to

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

on a free transfer. He played 42 league games in two seasons before moving to

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

in August 2000. He missed just five league games of the 2000–01 campaign. After stalling on Exeter's offer of a fresh

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

in April 2002 he signed within the club's ten-day limit, though this failed to put an end to speculation over his future. In August 2002, he joined Scottish side Clyde on a short-term deal before returning to England to play for

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

the following month as Mansfield were in the midst of a goalkeeping injury crisis. In November 2002 he joined

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

, initially on non-contract terms, later signing a longer contract after establishing himself as the first choice keeper. He struggled with injury in the 2004–05 season and subsequently retired from professional football and returned to the Netherlands where he resumed his playing career with

FC Lisse FC Lisse is a Dutch football club from Lisse, founded in 1981. It currently plays in the Derde Divisie. History The history of FC Lisse is linked to its Catholic religion, the first version of a football club being formed in 1911 by a local Cat ...

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heusden, Arjan Van 1972 births Living people Footballers from Alphen aan den Rijn Men's association football goalkeepers Dutch men's footballers Dutch expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Port Vale F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Clyde F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players FC Lisse players English Football League players 20th-century Dutch sportsmen