Luigi Bruins (born 9 March 1987) is a football manager and a retired Dutch professional

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 lea ...

. Bruins played in the position of

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. After being declined by

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

at the age of six, the Rotterdam-born went through the complete

Excelsior Excelsior may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature and poetry * "Excelsior" (Longfellow), an 1841 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow * "Excelsior", an 1877 picture book in verse by Bret Harte, published as an advertisement for the Sa ...

youth academy. Bruins made his first team debut in the season 2004–05 and managed to win the Eerste Divisie title in the subsequent season. After a successful Eredivisie debut, Bruins signed a four-year deal with the club that first declined him, Feyenoord. Bruins was part of the Netherlands U21 squad winning the

UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Club career

Excelsior Rotterdam

1993–2004: Youth teams

Bruins was born in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, Netherlands. Bruins started playing football at the age of six. As the

-born was aiming for the highest level, he signed up for a talent practice session at

. However, Feyenoord decided not to invite Bruins to join the youth academy. Eventually, Bruins was asked to join

instead. Bruins went through the complete Excelsior youth academy, until he made his professional debut in 2005.

2004–2006: Breakthrough

Bruins made his professional debut for

in the season 2004–05. On 28 January 2005, Bruins replaced

Santi Kolk Santiago Torti "Santi" Kolk (born 2 October 1981) is a Dutch former professional footballer. He currently works as a football agent. He mostly played as a forward during his career. Kolk emerged as a talent from the ADO Den Haag academy in 199 ...

in the 78th minute of the

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (; ) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie due to sponsorship reasons, while ...

away match against

FC Eindhoven Football Club Eindhoven, commonly known as FC Eindhoven, is a professional association football, football club based in Eindhoven, Netherlands, that competes in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football ...

(3–0). It was the first and only match Bruins played in his first season. Bruins had his breakthrough in the season 2005–06. Under the management of the new Excelsior coach

Mario Been Marinus Antonius Been (born 11 December 1963) is a Dutch football manager and former professional player. As a footballer, Been played for Feyenoord, Pisa, Roda JC, Heerenveen, Tirol Innsbruck and Excelsior. He played in an attacking midf ...

, Bruins was positioned on his favorite

right midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

position in a 4–3–3 system. Bruins scored his first professional goal in the season opening away match against

Cambuur Leeuwarden SC Cambuur, also known as Cambuur Leeuwarden, or simply Cambuur, () is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Leeuwarden formed on 19 June 1964. They currently play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following ...

(0–1) on 12 August 2005. From the start of the season, Excelsior unexpectedly battled for the Eerste Divisie championship. When Excelsior won the home match against championship favorite

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

(3–1) on 31 March 2006, the third club from Rotterdam secured the Eerste Divisie 2005–06 title. Bruins played an important role in Excelsior's

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

promotion, scoring 4 goals in 35 matches.

2006–2007: Eredivisie

After Excelsior's surprising promotion, the Rotterdam club was an almost certain relegation candidate for the season 2006–07. The club had the lowest Eredivisie budget and only few players with Eredivisie experience. Bruins made his

debut on 19 August 2006, in the home match against

Roda JC Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade (; ), shortly as Roda JC Kerkrade () or commonly Roda JC or simply Roda, is a Dutch professional football club based in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the Eerste Divisie. The c ...

(0–1). Bruins scored his first Eredivisie goals on 9 September 2006, as he scored two

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

s in the home match against

SC Heerenveen Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian language, West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch professional association football, football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherla ...

(3–1). Excelsior finished the Eredivisie on a 16th place, which meant they had to compete in the promotion/relegation playoffs. After wins against

BV Veendam Sportclub Veendam () was a Dutch professional association football club based in Veendam, province of Groningen. Founded on 4 September 1894 as Look-Out, it became P.J. Veendam in 1909, Veendam in 1910, SC Veendam in 1974, BV Veendam in 1997 ...

and

RBC Roosendaal RBC, previously known as RBC Roosendaal, is a football club based in Roosendaal, Netherlands. RBC currently plays in the fifth-tier Vierde Divisie after bankruptcy in 2011, restarting the club in the tenth tier Vijfde Klasse. History 1912– ...

, Excelsior remained in the top tier. While at Excelsior, Bruins was linked to various domestic and foreign clubs. Besides the Dutch sides

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), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

, AZ and PSV, also

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

were interested in the talented midfielder. On 26 January 2006,

announced the signing of Bruins. The youngster would join the club for the season 2007–08, signing a four-year deal.

2007–2011: Feyenoord

Bruins transfer to Feyenoord was overshadowed by the arrival of experienced players like

Roy Makaay Rudolphus Antonius "Roy" Makaay (born 9 March 1975) is a Dutch professional football coach and former footballer. As a forward, he was known for his goal-scoring ability as a result of his "aerial prowess and quick drives to the net where he can ...

from

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

Giovanni van Bronckhorst Giovanni Christiaan "Gio" van Bronckhorst (born 5 February 1975) is a Dutch Association football, football manager and former player who last managed Süper Lig club Beşiktaş J.K., Beşiktaş. Originally a midfielder, he moved to left-back lat ...

from

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and Kevin Hofland from

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg (), is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of Wolfsburg. I ...

. Due to the heavy competition within the team, it was expected the talented Bruins would mainly play a role as substitute. However, after the departure of

Royston Drenthe Royston Ricky Drenthe (born 8 April 1987) is a Dutch former professional association football, footballer. Although primarily a left winger, he has also played as a left-back. Drenthe started his professional career with Eredivisie side Feyenoor ...

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, Feyenoord coach

Bert van Marwijk Lambertus van Marwijk (; born 19 May 1952) is a Dutch Association football, football manager who is a member of the supervisory board for MVV Maastricht. As a player, he played for the Go Ahead Eagles, AZ Alkmaar, AZ, MVV Maastricht, MVV and For ...

promoted Bruins to a first team regular, filling in the

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

position. Bruins played 27 Eredivisie matches in his first Feyenoord season, scoring six goals. After various minor injuries, Bruins slowly started to lose his first team regular status in the season 2008–09. Due to lack of playing time, player agent Sietje Mouch stated it was better for Bruins to temporary leave Feyenoord on loan in the winter transfer window of January 2010.

2011–2014: Salzburg, Excelsior and Nice

In October 2011, Bruins signed a contract with Red Bull Salzburg until the end of the 2011–12 season. His contract was cancelled after only three games and he left Salzburg at the end of 2011. Luigi Bruins went on trial at

Rangers F.C. Rangers Football Club is a professional football club in Glasgow, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football. The club is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers, though this has never been i ...

and was linked with

. On 9 March 2012, Bruins signed with his former team

until the end of the season. Bruins signed a contract with

OGC Nice Olympique Gymnaste Club de Nice (), commonly referred to as OGC Nice or simply Nice, is a French professional association football, football club based in Nice. The club was founded in 1904 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the top tier of Footb ...

on 15 January 2013. In one and a half years' time, he played 22 matches for the French side, in which he scored once. After his contract had not been extended, he left the club as a free agent in June 2014.

2014–2024: Excelsior and Smitshoek

On 13 September 2014, it was announced that Bruins had returned to

for the third time. He signed a deal until the end of the season. In July 2021, Bruins joined fifth-tier

Hoofdklasse The Vierde Divisie (; "Fourth Division"), formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general. Background The league was divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunda ...

club

VV Smitshoek Voetbalvereniging Smitshoek is a football club based in Barendrecht, Netherlands. It was founded in 1960. It plays its home matches at Sportpark Smitshoek. History 20th century The Voetbalvereniging Smitshoek was founded on 23 June 1960. 21s ...

for a three-year term. After these three years, he retired from playing football.

International career

Bruins was part of the Netherlands U21 winning the

2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2007 were held from 10 to 23 June 2007. It was the 16th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship. Summary For the first time, a host nation was chosen ahead of the competition – the Netherlands, w ...

. Jong Oranje retained its

2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship was the 15th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship. In December 2005, Portugal was selected to host the finals of the competition, which took place from 23 May–4 June 2006. The tournament was w ...

title in style with a 4–1 win over Serbia U21 in the final. Bruins scored the fourth Dutch goal, securing the victory. In the summer of 2008, Bruins missed out on a place in the Netherlands Olympic team. He was mentioned in the pre-selection, but wasn't part of the final 18.

Managing career

Bruins started managing

VV Zwaluwen Voetbalvereniging Zwaluwen Vlaardingen is a Association football, football club from Vlaardingen, Netherlands. History The club was founded in 1935. The first squad promoted to the Derde Klasse in 1946. Since, Zwaluwen has been hovering betwee ...

in 2024.

Career statistics

Honours

Excelsior *

: 2005–06 Feyenoord *

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

: 2007–08 Netherlands U21 *

References

External links

* * *
Luigi Bruins
at

Voetbal International ''Voetbal International'' (VI) is a Dutch football magazine. It is the oldest Dutch football magazine that is still running. History and profile ''Voetbal International'' was established in 1965. VI was one of the founding members of ESM. It l ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruins, Luigi 1987 births Living people Footballers from Rotterdam Dutch men's footballers Netherlands men's under-21 international footballers Dutch people of Italian descent Men's association football midfielders Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Ligue 1 players Championnat National 2 players Championnat National 3 players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Vierde Divisie players Excelsior Rotterdam players Feyenoord players FC Red Bull Salzburg players OGC Nice players Dutch expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Expatriate men's footballers in France Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Austria Dutch expatriate sportspeople in France VV Smitshoek players