Serginho Greene (; born 24 June 1982) is a Dutch 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 last played for

FC Lienden FC Lienden is a football club from Lienden, Netherlands. The club was established on 1 August 1930. History In 2010s, the club saw a rise through the Dutch football pyramid, under the guidance of former professional player Hans Kraay Jr., wh ...

. Besides the Netherlands, he has played in Cyprus, India, Bulgaria, and Serbia.

Early life

Greene's life was all about football since he was a little kid, growing up in the south-eastern part of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

where playing street football was a daily routine.Jeugd biografie Serginho Greene
feyenoord.nl He was never interested in other sports like tennis or basketball, but totally in love with football. He loved to play with the ball and work on his technique by doing tricks or playing matches on the streets of Amsterdam. At six, his father took him to FC Abcoude where he played in their youth squads until he was twelve, before joining

Ajax Amsterdam Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the ...

's famous football school. He cruised through all youth squads until the A1 squad where they told him he was too good for Ajax' reserve team, but was not yet able to make the step towards their first team. They offered him to join

HFC Haarlem HFC Haarlem was a Dutch football club from the city of Haarlem, established in 1889 and dissolved in 2010. The club won the Eredivisie in 1946 and reached five Cup finals, winning in 1902 and 1912. Haarlem reached the second round of the 198 ...

on loan, but he wasn't keen on such a move. Eventually he decided to go there and to start his professional career.

Club career

Haarlem

At Haarlem he spent one season in de

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as th ...

, playing 34 matches and scoring one goal.Paspoort Serginho Greene
vi.nl He still had a three-year remaining contract at Ajax which he gave up, because he did not want to play in the Eerste Divisie any longer.Serginho Greene's pre-Feyenoord career
feyenoord.nl Ajax decided to release him and fellow

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 ...

contenders

RKC Waalwijk RKC Waalwijk () is a Dutch professional football club based in Waalwijk, that is currently competing in the Eredivisie. Its name is derived from 'Rooms Katholieke Combinatie' ('Roman Catholic Combination' in Dutch) and was established as a merg ...

showed interest in him. Working with

Martin Jol Maarten Cornelis "Martin" Jol (born 16 January 1956) is a Dutch football manager and former midfielder. He played over 400 games during his career which included spells in the Netherlands, Germany, and England, as well as earning three caps w ...

Željko Petrović Željko Petrović ( sr-cyr, Жељко Петровић; born 13 November 1965) is a Montenegrin football coach and former player. As a player, he represented the FR Yugoslavia national team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Club career Budućnost ...

(who still was a player at RKC in those days) and

Erwin Koeman Erwin Koeman (born 20 September 1961) is a Dutch retired professional football player and retired football manager. Personal life He is the son of Dutch international footballer Martin Koeman, and, alongside his younger brother Ronald, has al ...

he learned a lot about professional football and he developed quickly.

RKC Waalwijk

Greene played on many positions during his RKC spell. In his first season at the club he played as a left fullback, while in his second season he played both in the centre of defence and as a right fullback. During his second season at the club he became one of RKC's key players and teams like

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other dep ...

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of thr ...

Rangers A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

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 ...

and

Feyenoord Rotterdam Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...

showed interest in signing him. Eventually Feyenoord announced signing Greene on a free transfer on 14 April 2005.Greene day for Feyenoord
uefa.com The main reasons for Greene to join Feyenoord were the club's reputation and their well known fanatic supporters.Serginho Greene's Feyenoord career
feyenoord.nl

Feyenoord

Greene finished the 2004–05 season in

Waalwijk Waalwijk () is a municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands. It had a population of in and is located near the motorways A59 and N261. The villages of Capelle, Vrijhoeve-Capelle, Sprang (the former municipality of Sprang-Capelle) and W ...

and joined the Feyenoord squad in the summer of 2005. At Feyenoord's presentation day on 27 July 2004 Greene flew into

De Kuip Stadion Feijenoord (), more commonly known by its nickname De Kuip (, the Tub), is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the Feijenoord district in Rotterdam, and from the club with the same na ...

by helicopter among other new signed players Maikel Aerts, Timothy Derijck,

Gianni Zuiverloon Gianni Michel Eugene Zuiverloon (; born 30 December 1986) is a Dutch former footballer who plays as a centre back. Club career Early career Zuiverloon was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He started his football career at the age of six at Feye ...

Tim Vincken Tim Joost Christiaan Vincken (born 12 September 1986) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a winger for Feyenoord, Excelsior, De Graafschap, Atlético Baleares, and VV Capelle. Vincken currently works as a youth coach for his ...

and

Ali Boussaboun Ali Boussaboun ( ar, علي بوصابون; born 11 June 1979) is a Dutch-Moroccan former professional footballer who played as a striker. After retiring from playing, Boussaboun worked as a scout for the Moroccan football federation. Career Bo ...

. Feyenoord also appointed a new coach to replace

Ruud Gullit Ruud Gullit (; born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a Dutch footballer and subsequent manager who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s as a defender, midfielder or forward. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all ...

and to Greene's surprise it was his latest RKC coach Erwin Koeman who was given the job. At Feyenoord Greene impressed right from the start and gained his first team spot right away playing in the center of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

defence. Late December 2005 Feyenoord signed fellow central defender

Ron Vlaar Ron Peter Vlaar (born 16 February 1985) is a Dutch former footballer who played as a centre-back. Vlaar came up through AZ's youth ranks. After making his professional debut, he played sparingly for two seasons before joining Feyenoord in 2006. ...

from AZ Alkmaar and questions arose about who was going to play where. As rightback

Alexander Östlund Alexander Arnold Mezan (born Jan Alexander Östlund on 2 November 1978) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He began his professional career with AIK in 1995, and went on to play professionally in Portugal, t ...

left the club it was decided that Vlaar and

André Bahia André Luiz Bahia dos Santos Viana (born 24 November 1983) is a former Brazilian footballer who played as a defender. Early life André Bahia was born and raised in the Tijuca area of Rio de Janeiro. He has four brothers from his father's side ...

would play in the center and Greene would play further as a right defender. Since joining Feyenoord Greene hardly missed a match; The team however is struggling in both finances and results. In the season of 2008–09, Greene's contract, which expires in the summer of 2009, was not renewed, as Feyenoord announced the release of Greene after the end of the season.

Vitesse

On 4 November 2009, Greene joined Vitesse on a free transfer, agreeing a one-year deal with the Dutch

club. In June 2010, he went on trial with a Russian side

FC Terek Grozny Republican Football Club Akhmat ( ce, футболан клуб Ахмат Соьлжа-ГӀала; russian: Республиканский футбольный клуб Ахмат Грозный), commonly known as Akhmat Grozny, is a Russian ...

, but Terek decided not to sign him.

Levski Sofia

On 8 August 2010, it was announced that Greene arrived in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. ...

, Bulgaria in order to negotiate terms with Bulgarian side

Levski Sofia Levski Sofia ( bg, Левски София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded on 24 May 1914 ...

. On the next day, he made his first training with Levski. Greene signed his contract with Levski, two days later, on 10 August 2010. The contract was for two years. During the 2010–11 Levski qualified for

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

after eliminating

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is hal ...

Kalmar FF Kalmar Fotbollförening, more commonly known as Kalmar FF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Kalmar. The club is affiliated to Smålands Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Guldfågeln Arena. Formed on 15 June 1910, the clu ...

and

AIK Fotboll AIK Fotboll (), more commonly known simply as AIK (), an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben (meaning ''the public'' or ''general sports club''), is a Swedish football club competing in Allsvenskan, the top flight of Swedish football. The ...

. Levski was drawn in

Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with '' Group A'' for touring cars and '' Group B'' for GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top t ...

, facing

Gent Gent is a shortened form of the word gentleman. It may also refer to: * Ghent ( Dutch: Gent), a Belgian city ** K.A.A. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** K.R.C. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** Gent RFC, a rugby club in Ghent ** .gent, a ...

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord ...

and

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional fo ...

. Greene quickly became a first team regular playing as a defensive midfielder alongside Vladimir Gadzhev. He scored his first goal for Levski on 16 September 2010 against

. This goal gave Levski a 3–2 home win in their first Europa League Group stage match. Greene started playing as a defensive midfielder, but due to Levski's defensive problems he was moved to

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. With the January purchase of midfielder

Daniel Dimov Daniel Dimov ( bg, Даниел Димов; born 21 January 1989) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays for Cherno More Varna, where he is also club captain. Originally a defensive midfielder, in the last years he has been used mostly ...

Greene continued playing centre-half in 2011. On 4 August 2011, he was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in the second leg of the

match against Slovak side

Spartak Trnava FC Spartak Trnava () is a Slovak professional football club based in Trnava. Historically, it is one of the most successful clubs in the country, having won the Czechoslovak First League five times and the Czechoslovak Cup on four occasions, an ...

Vojvodina

On 4 July 2012, Greene signed a two-year contract with Serbian club

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

Delhi Dynamos

On 10 September 2015, Greene signed with

Delhi Dynamos Odisha Football Club () is an Indian professional football club based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. Prior to the inaugural Indian Super League season, the club was found ...

and played in their second pre-season friendly match in the same day.

Waalwijk

In the summer of 2016, Greene returned to his former club

, signing a two-year deal.

International career

Greene was a member of the Netherlands U-16 and U-21 football teams.

Honours

Feyenoord *

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 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

Serginho Greene
at Soccerway

References

External links

* * *
Serginho Greene's profile at vi.nl

Profile at LevskiSofia.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Serginho 1982 births Living people Footballers from Amsterdam Dutch sportspeople of Surinamese descent Dutch footballers Association football midfielders Netherlands under-21 international footballers HFC Haarlem players RKC Waalwijk players Feyenoord players SBV Vitesse players PFC Levski Sofia players FK Vojvodina players AEK Larnaca FC players Othellos Athienou F.C. players Odisha FC players FC Dordrecht players FC Lienden players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Tweede Divisie players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Serbian SuperLiga players Cypriot First Division players Dutch expatriate footballers Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria Expatriate footballers in Bulgaria Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Serbia Expatriate footballers in Serbia Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Dutch expatriate sportspeople in India Expatriate footballers in India