Michael Jeroen Maarten Michiel de Leeuw (born 7 October 1986) is a Dutch former 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 ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

Career

Born in

Goirle Goirle () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and town in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. Part of the suburban area of the city of Tilburg, it shares with it its phone area code and public transport syst ...

, De Leeuw began his career at amateur clubs DWC and RKTVV before joining the youth department of Willem II. He never broke through to the first team, and therefore chose to play for

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 ...

in the Dutch second division.

Veendam

De Leeuw was placed as a striker in his first year for Veendam, and he was an immediate success, scoring 25 goals in 36 league matches. At the end of the year, he won the topscorer award and the award for 'Talent of the Year', for the most talented player of the season. He was chased by several clubs in the

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 ...

and clubs abroad, but in the end chose to stay in Veendam.

Groningen

On 22 May 2012,

FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, Groningen (province), Groningen province. Founded in 1971 as the successor of GVAV-Rapiditas, GVAV, Groningen compete in the Eredivisie, the first t ...

announced that they had signed De Leeuw. He helped the club win the

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 ...

in 2014–15 against defending champions

PEC Zwolle Prins Hendrik Ende Desespereert Nimmer Combinatie Zwolle, commonly known as PEC Zwolle, is a Dutch professional football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football. They have played in the Ered ...

. It was their first major trophy and they qualified for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

Chicago Fire

On 17 May 2016, the Chicago Fire announced they have signed De Leeuw to a three-year deal through 2018 with a club option for 2019. In his first season with Chicago, De Leeuw contributed seven goals and three assists across 17 games. In his second season with Chicago, de Leeuw's role switched to supporting striker behind Nemanja Nikolić, who led the league in scoring in 2017. In his new role, De Leeuw contributed a career high eight assists along with three goals. His season was cut short by a ruptured ACL injury suffered against New York City FC on 30 September 2017. De Leeuw was released by Chicago at the end of their 2018 season.

Emmen

On 31 December 2018, De Leeuw signed a one-and-a-half-year deal with

FC Emmen FC Emmen is a Dutch professional football club based in Emmen, Drenthe. They currently play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2022–23 season. Founded in 1925, the club ...

with an option for an additional year.

Return to Groningen

On 26 March 2021, De Leeuw returned to Groningen when he signed a contract for the 2021–22 season. On 26 October, he scored his first goal back with the team in a 2–0 victory over AZ.

Return to Willem II

On 10 August 2022, De Leeuw returned to his youth club Willem II on a two-year contract. He helped the ''Tricolores'' to 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 ...

title in the 2023–24 season, which meant promotion back to the

Cambuur

On 11 June 2024, De Leeuw signed a one-year contract with Cambuur. In May 2025, he announced his retirement from professional football, concluding a 16-year playing career. His final appearance came in a 1–1 draw against

Den Bosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 160,783. It is the capital of ...

in the promotion play-offs, which resulted in a 2–1 aggregate defeat. De Leeuw was brought on in the 113th minute.

Career statistics

Honours

Groningen *

: 2014–15 Willem II *

: 2023–24 Individual *

Team of the Month: March 2022

References

External links

Michael de Leeuw
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 ...

'' –
Michael de Leeuw
at

Chicago Fire Soccer Club Chicago Fire Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Chicago. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The Fire play their home games at Soldier Field, which they share wit ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leeuw, Michael de 1986 births Living people Footballers from Goirle Men's association football forwards Dutch men's footballers Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Major League Soccer players Willem II Tilburg players FC Groningen players SC Veendam players De Graafschap players FC Emmen players Chicago Fire FC players SC Cambuur players Dutch expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Dutch expatriate sportspeople in the United States