Robert Wielaert (; born 29 December 1978) 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

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

Playing career

Career in the Netherlands (1997–2013)

Wielaert was born in

Emmeloord Emmeloord is the administrative centre of the municipality of Noordoostpolder, Flevoland, Netherlands. In 2019, it had a population of 26,055. Overview At the heart of the Noordoostpolder, where the three main drainage canals Lemstervaart, Urk ...

Flevoland Flevoland () is the twelfth and newest province of the Netherlands, established in 1986, when the southern and eastern Flevopolders, together with the Noordoostpolder, were merged into one provincial entity. It is in the centre of the countr ...

and made his debut in professional football with

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 the 1997–98 season. He also played for

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 ...

and

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...

before joining FC Twente. During his FC Twente period he was the captain of the team. During the 2009 January transfer period he went to

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 ...

for a transfer fee of 3 million. However, he lost his starting position and was sent on loan to

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 ...

at the start of the 2010–11 season. He signed for two seasons with Roda in the summer of 2011. After his contract had expired in 2013, Wielaert was released.

Career with Melbourne Heart, Melbourne City (2013–2015)

In June 2013, Wielaert was signed by Australian club

Melbourne Heart Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region, South-Eastern region of Melbourne, Victoria. They compete in the A-League Men, the Australian soccer ...

in the A-League. The Dutchman had never played outside of the Netherlands and was optimistic about playing in Australia: :"I have played all of my career in the Netherlands and now it is an exciting time to play abroad. So when Melbourne Heart contacted me, I was enthusiastic immediately. The club sounds great, the city and the country too, so I am looking forward to giving everything for this club and the people around it." Wielaert scored his first goal for his new club and was the opening goal in the Melbourne Derby against

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory ...

on 25 October 2014 in front of 43,729 fans. City went on to lose the match 5–2. On 13 April 2015, Wielaert was released by the club.

Coaching career

Upon retiring, Wielaert commenced his coaching education, and as of 2018 is assistant coach at Box Hill United, whilst studying for his B-License.

Career statistics

References

1978 births Living people People from Emmeloord Dutch men's footballers Men's association football defenders PSV Eindhoven players FC Den Bosch players NEC Nijmegen players FC Twente players AFC Ajax players Roda JC Kerkrade players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players A-League Men players Melbourne City FC players Dutch expatriate men's footballers Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Footballers from Noordoostpolder {{Netherlands-footy-defender-stub