Michel Armand Vorm (born 20 October 1983) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), 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 i ...

. Following his playing career, he was also a goalkeeping coach at

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 ...

. Vorm began his professional career at

FC Utrecht Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional association football, football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion ...

in 2005, spending his first season on loan at

FC Den Bosch FC Den Bosch () is a professional football club from 's-Hertogenbosch, They currently compete in the Eerste Divisie. They were founded 18 August 1965, as FC Den Bosch/BVV. They are the successor of BVV (1906) and Wilhelmina (1890). Their stadiu ...

. He transferred to

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

in 2011, playing three

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

seasons and winning the League Cup in 2013. Vorm joined Tottenham Hotspur for £3.5 million in 2014, and announced his retirement in 2020. A full international for 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 ...

from 2008 to 2014, Vorm earned 15 caps in total for the senior team. He was part of Dutch squads for

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

s and

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...

Club career

FC Utrecht

Born in

IJsselstein IJsselstein () is a municipality and city in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. IJsselstein received city rights in 1331. IJsselstein owes its name to the river Hollandse IJssel which flows through the city. It is a major commuting su ...

to a Dutch mother and a

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

se father, Vorm began his career at

. In order to gain more experience, he spent the 2005–06 season on loan to

. He made his debut on 12 August 2005 against

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 ...

, the first of 35 appearances that season. In August 2006, Vorm made his debut for Utrecht against Willem II. Although he joined FC Utrecht as the third-choice goalkeeper, behind Franck Grandel and Joost Terol, his pre-season performances impressed manager

Foeke Booy Foeke Booy (born 25 April 1962) is a Dutch football manager, executive, and former player. He serves as the technical manager of Cambuur. Club career Booy played for eight clubs in sixteen seasons. After hometown club Cambuur Leeuwarden, De G ...

, and saw him promoted to first choice keeper at the start of the league season. During this first season Vorm played 33 out of 34 matches, and his position as number one at the club remained unchallenged thereafter. Vorm missed a handful matches during the 2007–08 season due to knee and shoulder injuries. He left Utrecht at the start of the 2011–12 season, having played 136 matches 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 ...

Swansea City

In August 2011, Vorm joined

for a fee of around £1.5 million. He took the vacant number 1 shirt and made his debut for the club against

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

on 15 August 2011 in a 4–0 defeat. Although he conceded four goals, he also made eleven saves – more than any other Premier League goalkeeper, in a single match, in the whole of the 2011–12 season. In his second match for Swansea against

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

, on 20 August, Vorm saved a 72nd-minute penalty from Ben Watson, to give Swansea their first ever point in the Premier League. On 6 November 2011, Vorm arguably saved Swansea from defeat against

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and earned them the draw at

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

by pulling off two outstanding saves to earn the

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...

. On 10 December, he was instrumental in Swansea's 2–0 win over

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

as he saved

Clint Dempsey Clinton Drew Dempsey (; born March 9, 1983) is an American former professional soccer player who is a sports analyst on the television program '' Soccer on CBS Sports''. He played as a forward and midfielder for Premier League clubs Fulham and ...

's 87th-minute penalty, with Swansea 1–0 up. During his first season with Swansea he helped keep 13 clean sheets in 37 league appearances. His performances were so impressive that he won three awards at the club's end-of-season dinner – Supporters' Player of the Year, Players' Player and the Away Player awards. On 27 September 2012, Vorm signed a new four-year contract with Swansea. On 28 October 2012, he was ruled out for up to eight weeks due to a groin injury picked up in a match against

. On 3 November 2013, in the

South Wales derby The South Wales derby () is a local derby between Welsh association football clubs Cardiff City and Swansea City. The fixture has been described by ''The Independent'' as one of the fiercest rivalries in British football. Although based in Wales ...

against Cardiff City, Vorm was shown a straight red card by referee Mike Dean for a stoppage-time foul on Fraizer Campbell. The match ended 1–0 to Cardiff City.

Tottenham Hotspur

On 23 July 2014, Vorm announced via Dutch radio that he would sign for

to compete with

Hugo Lloris Hugo Hadrien Dominique Lloris (born 26 December 1986) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Lloris began his career wi ...

. He signed on a four-year deal costing Spurs £3.5 million after three years at Swansea, joining on the same day as Swansea's Ben Davies made the same move and

Gylfi Sigurðsson Gylfi Þór Sigurðsson (; transliterated as Gylfi Thor Sigurdsson; born 8 September 1989) is an Icelandic professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Besta deild karla club Knattspyrnufélagið Víkin ...

was exchanged as part of the deal. The transfer was disputed by Utrecht, who complained to FIFA that they were contractually due 30% of the fee received by Swansea. FIFA rejected Utrecht's claim, and the case was heard in the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...

in January 2016. He made his debut for Tottenham on 24 September, in the third round of the League Cup at home against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

. Despite conceding first to Jorge Grant, Tottenham won 3–1. Vorm featured again in the next round on 29 October, keeping his first clean sheet for the club as Tottenham defeated

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

2–0. Eight days later he played his first

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 ...

match for Tottenham, a 2–1 win away to Asteras Tripoli. Vorm's first league appearance for Tottenham came on 21 March 2015, after Lloris went off injured in the fourth minute of a home match against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. Tottenham won 4–3. On 5 April he made his first league start, a goalless draw against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C., Burnley Football Club since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in Footbal ...

. On 13 August 2016, Vorm made his first appearance of the 2016–17 season for Tottenham Hotspur in a 1–1 draw with Everton at Goodison Park, in which he replaced the injured Lloris after 35 minutes. Vorm's contract was extended in 2018, however, in the 2018–19 season, he was replaced as the number two goalkeeper for Tottenham by

Paulo Gazzaniga Paulo Dino Gazzaniga Farías (born 2 January 1992) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Girona. Early life Gazzaniga was born in Murphy, Santa Fe, the same small town in Argentina where his future ...

, having started in fewer games when

was not available. After the 2018–19 season Vorm was released by Tottenham following the end of his contract with the club. Three months into the 2019–20 season, Vorm re-signed on a contract until the end of the season as cover for Gazzaniga who had stepped into the starting eleven to replace the injured Lloris. Vorm made his first appearance of the season in the FA Cup match against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

on 5 March 2020, which ended in a loss after a penalty shoot-out. On 27 July 2020, Tottenham confirmed that Vorm would be leaving the club following the end of the season. On 26 October 2020, Vorm announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 37.

International career

In 2006, he was a member of the

squad that won the

2006 UEFA European Under-21 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 ...

in Portugal. Vorm played his first match for the senior national team on 14 November 2008, replacing Henk Timmer at half time in a 3–1 home friendly win, conceding to

Kim Källström Kim Mikael Källström (; born 24 August 1982) is a Swedish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He was noted for his play-making ability and free-kick taking. He started his career at several clubs i ...

within four minutes of coming on. He made his first start on 5 September 2009 in a friendly home match against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

(3–0 win), followed up four days later by an impressive performance at

Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...

during the World Cup qualifier

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

– Netherlands, a match won 1–0 by the Netherlands. At Hampden Park, this was Vorm's first competitive match ever outside the Netherlands.

2010 World Cup

Vorm was included in the preliminary squad for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

in South Africa. On 27 May 2010, Netherlands manager

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 ...

announced that the player would be part of the final squad of 23 participating in the FIFA World Cup. Before the start of the competition he was allowed to fly back to the Netherlands. During the World Cup, Vorm's girlfriend Daisy delivered a son, Jaivy Waylon. The Dutch goalkeeper returned home for two days following his son's birth.

Euro 2012

Vorm was included in the

squad for

Maarten Stekelenburg Maarten Stekelenburg (; born 22 September 1982) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Stekelenburg began his career at Ajax, playing 282 matches over nine seasons in his first spell there and winning nine honours ...

was

's first choice in goal, playing all three games as the nation exited in the group stage.

2014 World Cup

For the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

, coach

Louis van Gaal Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former association football, football player and former manager who currently serves as an advisor for AFC Ajax, Ajax. At club level, he served as manager of AFC Ajax, Aj ...

included Vorm in the

squad, alongside young Ajax goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen who was first choice in goal and

Tim Krul Timothy Michael Krul (; born 3 April 1988) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Luton Town. Krul's career began at youth clubs RAS and ADO Den Haag before moving to Newcastle United in 2005. At Newcastle, he m ...

. Despite having a reputation for his penalty-saving abilities while at Swansea, Van Gaal opted to replace Cillessen with Krul in the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

during the quarter-final match against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

. Vorm came on for Cillessen in injury time of the 3–0 third place play-off win against

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

, thus ensuring that all 23 Dutch squad members played at the tournament.

Coaching career

On 20 April 2021, following the sacking of

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerba ...

and the appointment of

Ryan Mason Ryan Glen Mason (born 13 June 1991) is an English professional Association football, football coach and former player who is the head coach of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion. A midfielder, Mason progressed through the youth ranks ...

on an interim basis, Vorm was appointed interim goalkeeping coach at

. He left this position at the end of the season.

Career statistics

Club

International

:Source:

Honours

Swansea City *

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Tottenham Hotspur *Football League Cup runner-up: 2014–15 *

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

runner-up: 2018–19 Netherlands *

runner-up:

; third place:

Individual *

Player of the Year: 2011–12

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vorm, Michel 1983 births Living people Footballers from Nieuwegein People from IJsselstein Dutch sportspeople of Surinamese descent Dutch men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers FC Den Bosch players FC Utrecht players Swansea City A.F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Premier League players Netherlands men's under-21 international footballers Netherlands men's international footballers 2010 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2012 players 2014 FIFA World Cup players Dutch expatriate men's footballers Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Wales Dutch expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in Wales Expatriate men's footballers in England Association football goalkeeping coaches Tottenham Hotspur F.C. non-playing staff