Roy Johannes Henricus Beerens (; born 22 December 1987) 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 ...

who played as a right winger. Known for his quick dribbling and fast sprints, Beerens emerged as a talent from the

PSV PSV may refer to: * Partial specific volume * PlayStation Vita, a handheld game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment * Petit Saint Vincent, an island south of St. Vincent in the Grenadine islands * Platform supply vessel, a specific typ ...

youth academy, but made his breakthrough as part of the

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, fry, It Hearrenfean ) is a town and municipality in the province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the municipality had a population 50,859 (1 July). ...

team between 2007 and 2011. After a four-year spell with AZ, he moved abroad and represented German club

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend of the borough of Charl ...

and English club

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, before returning to the Netherlands where he ended his career as part of Vitesse. Beerens was part of the Netherlands U21 team winning the

2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2007 were held from 10 June 2007 to 23 June 2007. It was the 16th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship. Summary For the first time, a host nation was chosen ahead of the competition – the Neth ...

at home. He made his senior debut for the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

on 11 August 2010 in a friendly against

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

Club career

PSV

Born in

Bladel Bladel () is a municipality and town in the province of North Brabant, Southern Netherlands. In 2019, it had a population of 20,175. Population centres Topography ''Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Bladel, 2013.'' Notable residen ...

, Netherlands, Beerens progressed through the

youth academy. He promoted to the second team, Jong PSV, for the 2005–06 season and regularly practiced with the first team. He was also allowed to join training camp for the

Peace Cup The Peace Cup was an invitational pre-season friendly football tournament for club teams which was held every two years by the Sunmoon Peace Football Foundation. It was usually contested by eight clubs from several continents, though 12 teams pa ...

tournament in South Korea, as part of the pre-season. In the match against Colombian club Once Caldas, Beerens made his first ever senior start. On 25 March 2006, he made his official debut for PSV in a 3–0 win over

Willem II Willem II may refer to: People * William II, Prince of Orange (1626–1650), stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands * William II of the Netherlands (1792–1849), King of the Netherlands Other uses * Willem II (football club), a Du ...

, where he came in for Arouna Koné. Beerens' first official goal for PSV's first team came on 15 October 2006 in the home match against

Roda JC Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade (; Ripuarian: ), also known as Roda JC Kerkrade () or commonly Roda JC or Roda, is a Dutch professional football club based in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the Eerste Divisie ...

NEC (loan)

On 30 December 2006, PSV and

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It provides IT and network soluti ...

agreed on a six-month loan. At NEC, he scored in the derby against Vitesse, among others. He also made his debut for the Netherlands U21 team during this period.

Heerenveen

At the end of the 2006–07 season, PSV wanted to extend Beerens' contract, which ran for one more year. In July 2007, however, Beerens decided to sign a three-year contract with

. In May 2009, Beerens signed a contract extension with Heerenveen until the summer of 2013. At Heerenveen, he grew into a fan favourite, playing almost every match under head coach

Gertjan Verbeek Gertjan Verbeek (; born 1 August 1962) is a Dutch former professional footballer who last managed Eerste Divisie side Almere City. Coaching career Netherlands After retiring from his playing career in 1994, Verbeek stayed with SC Heerenveen as ...

. Although he appeared in almost every game in his final seasons, his playing minutes became less and less, as he had lost his starting place to

Luciano Narsingh Luciano Narsingh (born 13 September 1990) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for Ekstraklasa club Miedź Legnica. He is right-footed and usually plays as a right winger but can also play as a left winger, and both side of attacking m ...

. This caused Beerens to hand in a transfer request; something Heerenveen was willing to cooperate on, due to his proven for the club.

AZ

In August 2011, Beerens moved from Heerenveen to

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and hos ...

on a four-year contract, reuniting him with former coach

Hertha BSC

On 11 July 2014, it was announced by German club

that they had signed Roy Beerens on a 3-year deal. He scored his first goal in a 4–2 win against

FC Viktoria Köln FC Viktoria Köln is a German association football club from the city of Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia, that competes in the 3. Liga. History Founded in 1904 as ''FC Germania Kalk'' it is one of the oldest football clubs in the city. In 1 ...

on 16 August 2014.

Reading

On 16 July 2016, Beerens signed a three-year contract with

for an undisclosed fee. There, he played under head coach

Jaap Stam Jakob 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 his generation. Stam played for several European clubs including ...

, a fellow Dutchman. He scored his first goal for Reading in a 2–0

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by th ...

win against

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park ...

on 9 August 2016.

Vitesse

On 31 January 2018, Beerens returned to the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...

, signing a three-and-a-half year deal. After a strong start in 2018, under head coach Henk Fraser, a conflict with his successor, Russian coach

Leonid Slutsky Leonid Slutsky may refer to: * Leonid Slutsky (football coach) (born 1971), Russian association football manager and former player * Leonid Slutsky (politician) Leonid Eduardovich Slutsky (russian: Леонид Эдуардович Слуцк� ...

followed. Beerens was benched afterwards. On 24 December 2020, he announced his retirement from football.

International career

In 2007, Beerens was called up by Netherlands U21 coach

Foppe de Haan Foppe Geert de Haan (, born 26 June 1943) is a Dutch football coach. He is known for his long association with Frisian club SC Heerenveen. De Haan was the manager of the Tuvalu national football team during 2011 and then rejoined Heerenveen' ...

to be part of his squad for the

held in the Netherlands. Beerens participated in their second first round group match against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

(2–1 win) to secure a semi final spot and to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics. In the semi finals against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

(1–1, 13–12 after 32 penalty kicks) Beerens came on as a substitute and scored both penalties he had to take in the series. The Dutch went on to retain their 2006 title by beating

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

4–1 in the final. Beerens also played for the Netherlands at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He was first called up for the senior team for a friendly match against the

in August 2010.

Style of play

Beerens has been described as a versatile winger that can play on either the left or right flank. Furthermore he was technically gifted. During his career, he was renowned for his quick pace, and his ability to score goals and create chances for others.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

PSV *

: 2005–06 Heerenveen *

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. O ...

: 2008–09 AZ *

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beerens, Roy 1987 births Living people People from Bladel Association football wingers Dutch footballers Netherlands international footballers Netherlands under-21 international footballers Olympic footballers of the Netherlands Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics PSV Eindhoven players NEC Nijmegen players SC Heerenveen players AZ Alkmaar players Hertha BSC players Reading F.C. players SBV Vitesse players Dutch expatriate footballers Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate footballers in Germany Dutch expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England Eredivisie players Bundesliga players English Football League players Footballers from North Brabant