Maurice van Ham (born 25 April 1966) is a Dutch former

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 ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Early life

Van Ham was born in 1966 in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. He is a native of

North Holland North Holland (, ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht (province), Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevola ...

, the Netherlands.

Career

Van Ham started his career with Dutch side AZ. He was regarded as a fan favorite while playing for the club. In 1990, he signed for Belgian side KSK Beveren. In 1995, he was sent on loan to Greek side

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

. In 1997, he signed for Belgian side

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

. In 1999, he signed for Luxembourgish side

Wiltz Wiltz ( or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in north-western Luxembourg, situated in the canton of the same name. Wiltz is situated on the banks of the river Wiltz. It was also a battleground in the Battle of the Bulge, near t ...

. In 2002, he signed for Dutch side

AFC '34 Alkmaarse Football Club '34, mainly known as AFC '34 is a association football, football club based in Alkmaar, Netherlands. Founded in 1934, they are currently members of the Vierde Divisie, the fifth tier of the Dutch football league system. Th ...

Personal life

Van Ham was nicknamed the "white Brazilian" by Netherlands international Johan Boskamp. He is the cousin of Netherlands international

Jaap Stam Jakob "Jaap" Stam (; born 17 July 1972) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. As a player, he played as a centre-back and is regarded as one of the best defenders of all-time. Stam was part of the Manchester United team that w ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:van Ham, Maurice 1966 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Dutch men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Luxembourg Eredivisie players AZ Alkmaar players 20th-century Dutch sportsmen