Remco Jelmer van der Schaaf (born 28 February 1979) 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

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 ...

Club career

Van der Schaaf was born in

Ten Boer Ten Boer () is a village and a former Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the northeastern Netherlands, in the province of Groningen (province), Groningen. The municipality had a population of in ; the village of Ten Boer has approx ...

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

. After playing youth football for VV Omlandia and

TOP Oss TOP Oss (), is a professional association football club based in the town of Oss, North Brabant, Netherlands, that competes in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of the Dutch football league system. Founded in 1928 as T.O.P., a Dutch abbrevia ...

, he began his professional career in 1997 at

Vitesse Arnhem SBV Vitesse Arnhem (''Stichting Betaald Voetbal Vitesse Arnhem, Eng: Professional Football Foundation Vitesse Arnhem''), widely known as Vitesse () or internationally known as Vitesse Arnhem, is a Dutch professional association football, footba ...

, where he spent part of the 1999–2000 season on loan at

Fortuna Sittard Fortuna Sittard (; ) is a professional football club from the municipality of Sittard-Geleen, Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Fortuna Sittard Stadion and features in the Eredivisie. The club was establi ...

. Van der Schaaf signed for

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

in 2002, and was injured in a 2004 UEFA Cup match by

Titus Bramble Titus Malachi Bramble (born 31 July 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Bramble played in the Premier League for over thirteen consecutive seasons from 2000 and 2013, representing Ipswich Town, Newcas ...

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

. Van der Schaaf re-signed for Vitesse in 2005, and in July 2008 he signed a three-year deal with

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 ...

, turning down a contract from Welsh side

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

in the process. He made his debut for Burnley against

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

on 9 August 2008 however this proved to be his first and only appearance for the club. Van der Schaaf signed on loan for

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

side

Brøndby IF Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening (, usually abbreviated to Brøndby IF (), is a Danish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Brøndbyvester. Brøndby IF denotes the professional football section of Brøndbyernes ...

in February 2009, where he stayed until the end of the 2008–09 season. in January 2010, van der Schaaf once again signed on loan for Brøndby IF on a one-and-a-half-year contract, thus seeing out his contract with Burnley. In July 2011 he joined the Danish club

Randers FC Randers FC () is a professional association football, football club based in Randers, East Jutland metropolitan area, East Jutland, that plays in the Danish Superliga, the top flight of the Danish football league system. Founded on 1 January 200 ...

on a two-year contract.

International career

Van der Schaaf has represented the Dutch under-21 side.

References

External links

* *
Player profile at Burnley F.C.

International stats
at 11v11
Netherlands stats
at OnsOranje {{DEFAULTSORT:Schaaf, Remco Van Der 1979 births Living people People from Ten Boer Men's association football midfielders Men's association football central defenders Dutch men's footballers Netherlands men's under-21 international footballers Netherlands men's youth international footballers 21st-century Dutch sportsmen SBV Vitesse players Fortuna Sittard players PSV Eindhoven players Burnley F.C. players Brøndby IF players Randers FC players Danish Superliga players Eredivisie players English Football League players Dutch expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Dutch expatriate sportspeople in England Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Denmark TOP Oss players Footballers from Groningen (province)