Gijsbertus Cornelis "Geert" den Ouden (born 24 July 1976) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a striker. While at Djurgårdens IF, he became the first-ever Dutchman to play in

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

and helped the team win the 2003 Allsvenskan and 2004 Svenska Cupen titles.

Career

Early career

Den Ouden has extensive experience playing in his native Netherlands, having made over 150 appearances for clubs such as SBV Excelsior and RBC Roosendaal since turning professional in 1998.

Djurgårdens IF

Den Ouden was signed by Swedish club

Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, , is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum Skansen, the small resident ...

in 2003, and played two seasons with the club, winning the

in 2003 and the Svenska Cupen in 2004. He was the first-ever Dutchman to play in Allsvenskan.

Return to the Netherlands

He subsequently played for

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation ...

, Willem II, a second stint with Excelsior Rotterdam, and De Graafschap.

Valletta

Den Ouden made his debut for

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

in the first qualifying round of the Europa League against Icelandic side Keflavik, scoring a goal in the 72nd minute, to round the match to a 3–0 win for the Maltese side. His

Maltese Premier League The Maltese Premier League, known as 360Sports Malta Premier for sponsorship reasons with 360Sports (colloquialism, colloquially known as ''Il-Kampjonat Premjer''), is the highest level of professional football in Malta. Managed by the Malta Foot ...

debut arrived in the first league match of the season, scoring the opener in a 3–1 win over

Birkirkara Birkirkara (abbreviated as B'Kara or BKR) is a city in the Eastern Region, Malta, Eastern Region of Malta. It is the second most populous on the Malta (island), island, with 24,356 inhabitants as of 2020. The town consists of five autonomous pari ...

. However, after half a year contract he left Valletta due to a disagreement with the coach. They agreed that his contract would be terminated. This was finalised on 15 November 2009.

Dayton Dutch Lions

In December 2009 den Ouden was approached by fellow Dutch professional Erik Tammer, who asked him to join the fledgling Dayton Dutch Lions team, which made its debut in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

in 2010. Den Ouden agreed; he played his first game for the team on 15 May 2010, a 3-0 victory over the Cleveland Internationals in which he scored his team's third goal.

Honors

Djurgårdens IF *

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

* Svenska Cupen:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

References

External links

*
VI Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ouden, Geert den 1976 births Living people Footballers from Delft Men's association football forwards Dutch men's footballers Excelsior Rotterdam players RBC Roosendaal players Djurgårdens IF Fotboll players ADO Den Haag players Willem II Tilburg players De Graafschap players Valletta F.C. players Den Ouden, Geert Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Allsvenskan players Maltese Premier League players Den Ouden, Geert Dutch expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Expatriate men's footballers in Malta Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Malta Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Dutch expatriate sportspeople in the United States