Chiel Kramer (born 3 January 1992) is a Dutch

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a forward for

Hoofdklasse The Vierde Divisie, formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general. Background The league is divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunday. This is a result of ...

club

ODIN '59 HSV ODIN '59 is a football club from Heemskerk, Netherlands. The club was founded in 1959 and is currently playing in the Derde Divisie Saturday. ODIN stands for Ons Doel Is Nuttig (Our purpose is useful). In the 2021–22 season, ODIN lost in ...

. He is a former professional

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring 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 intercepting ...

Career

Ajax

Acquired by

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

in 2007 as a free transfer from then partner club

HFC Haarlem HFC Haarlem was a Dutch football club from the city of Haarlem, established in 1889 and dissolved in 2010. The club won the Eredivisie in 1946 and reached five Cup finals, winning in 1902 and 1912. Haarlem reached the second round of the 198 ...

, Kramer worked his way up from the youth ranks of the Amsterdam club, Ajax then signed the young goalkeeper to a one-year contract on 1 July 2012. Kramer started the 2012–13 keeping for

Jong Ajax Jong Ajax () (''English: Young Ajax''), also referred to as Ajax II or Ajax 2 is a Dutch association football team, the reserve team of Ajax. It is based in Amsterdam and competes in the Dutch Eerste Divisie. History Jong Ajax (''formerly more ...

, the Amsterdam reserve squad, playing in the

Beloften Eredivisie The Beloften Eredivisie (; ''"Promised Honor Division"'') was the highest football league in for reserve teams in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB). The league was founded in 1992 as ''Reserve Teams Eredivi ...

. He was then called up to play for the first team on 8 April 2013, following a red card suspension to Ajax first keeper Kenneth Vermeer against

Heracles Almelo Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to t ...

a day prior to the announcement. With Vermeer suspended,

Jasper Cillessen Jacobus Antonius Peter Johannes "Jasper" Cillessen (born 22 April 1989) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Eredivisie club NEC and the Netherlands national team. Cillessen joined NEC's youth team in 2001, making hi ...

was the next goalkeeper in line, but with then third keeper

Mickey van der Hart Mickey van der Hart (born 13 June 1994) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Heerenveen. Club career Ajax Acquired into the Ajax Youth Academy from local amateur side Amsterdamsche FC in 2007, Van der Hart ...

sidelined due to an injury, Kramer found himself on the bench as Ajax back-up keeper, for the duration of Vermeer's suspension. He was given the number 45 shirt while appearing for Ajax first team, a year in which Ajax would win their third consecutive national title, and 32nd overall.

Heerenveen

On 6 June 2013, it was announced that Kramer had signed a one-year contract with

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, fry, It Hearrenfean ) is a town and municipality in the province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the municipality had a population 50,859 (1 July). ...

, becoming the Friesian club's third choice keeper for the 2013–14

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...

season.

FC Eindhoven

On 10 July 2014, Kramer signed a three-year deal with

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as th ...

side

FC Eindhoven FC Eindhoven is a Dutch football club based in Eindhoven, North Brabant. They currently play in the Eerste Divisie (second tier of Dutch football), and are one of two professional clubs which are based in the city of Eindhoven, the other one be ...

. He made his professional debut on 23 September 2014, during a

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. O ...

match against

VVV-Venlo VVV-Venlo (, ''VVV'' stands for ''Venlose Voetbal Vereniging'' meaning "Venlo Football Club") is a Dutch football club from Venlo, a city on the border with Germany. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, followin ...

. Kramer made his league debut in the Eerste Divisie on 1 May 2015 in a match against

Jong FC Twente Jong FC Twente (English: Young FC Twente) are the reserve team of FC Twente, a team from Enschede Enschede (; known as in the local Twents dialect) is a municipality and city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in t ...

. During two years at Eindhoven, he made three appearances for the first team.

Almere City

Kramer signed a one-year contract with

Almere City Almere City Football Club is a Dutch professional football club based in Almere, Flevoland. Founded in 2001, plays in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, and hosts home matches at the Yanmar Stadion. The club builds on form ...

in June 2016, with an option for another season. He made his debut for the club on 5 August 2016 in a 1–1 draw against

FC Volendam Football Club Volendam () is a professional football club based in Volendam, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football from the 2022–23 season following promotion. Nicknamed "de Palingboeren", the club was founded ...

NAC Breda

In July 2019, Kramer joined

NAC Breda NAC Breda (), often simply known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Eerste Divi ...

where he signed a one-year contract to become backup goalkeeper behind Nick Olij. He signed a contract extension until 2021 with NAC the following year. He only made one appearance during his two years at the club; on 26 October 2020 in a 6–0 loss in the KNVB Cup to Go Ahead Eagles.

Later career

He retired from professional football in 2021, and returned to his childhood club

where he transitioned into a forward.

Honours

Ajax *

: 2012–13

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kramer, Chiel 1992 births Living people Dutch men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Footballers from Amsterdam ODIN '59 players HFC Haarlem players AFC Ajax players SC Heerenveen players FC Eindhoven players Almere City FC players NAC Breda players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players