Thjis Dallinga hails from a Dutch family with deep roots in the Netherlands. He was born and raised in Groningen, and there is no known ancestry outside of the country in his immediate lineage. Thijs Dallinga (born 3 August 2000) is a 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 plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for club

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. Dallinga emerged as a talent of Emmen and signed with

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 ...

in 2018. His breakthrough came after moving to

Excelsior Excelsior may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature and poetry * "Excelsior" (Longfellow), an 1841 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow * "Excelsior", an 1877 picture book in verse by Bret Harte, published as an advertisement for the Sa ...

as a free agent in 2021, scoring an unprecedented 36 goals in 43 appearances in the 2021–22 Eerste Divisie season and subsequent playoffs, to help the club win promotion to 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 ...

. He transferred to Toulouse the following season. Dallinga gained caps for both the Netherlands under-19 and under-21 teams before making his senior debut in 2023.

Club career

Emmen

Dallinga was born in

and grew up in the towns of

Siddeburen Siddeburen (; or ) is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Midden-Groningen, about 10 km southwest of Delfzijl. Siddeburen was a separate municipality until 1826, when it was merged with Slocht ...

and

Hellum Hellum (Gronings: Helm) is a village in the municipality of Midden-Groningen, the Netherlands. History The village was first mentioned in 1282 as de Hellum. The etymology is unclear. Hellum is a road village which developed in the 12th century ...

. He played youth football for VV Siddeburen and VV Hoogezand, until he joined the youth academy of

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 ...

in 2012. He progressed through the youth teams of Emmen before making his professional debut on 27 November 2017 in a 2–1 victory over

MVV MVV may refer to: Groups, organizations, companies *Malaysia Vision Valley (MVV), an economic corridor, see Malaysian National Projects * (MVV GmbH; ), German city works of Mannheim * Militaire Voetbal Vereniging (M. V. V.), a military soccer team ...

in the

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (; ) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie due to sponsorship reasons, while ...

, coming on as a substitute in the 83rd minute for Cas Peters. On 9 April 2018, he scored his first senior goal in a league match against

Telstar Telstar refers to a series of communications satellites. The first two, Telstar 1 and Telstar 2, were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 launched atop of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962, successfully relayed the first televisi ...

. In his debut season, Emmen managed to win promotion to the

via the play-offs, in which Dallinga did not make an appearance.

Groningen

On 28 June 2018, Dallinga signed a three-year contract with

, and would initially join their reserve team competing in the

Derde Divisie The Derde Divisie (; ), formerly known as Topklasse (; ), is the fourth tier of football in the Netherlands, which had its inaugural season as a third tier in 2010–11 and as a fourth tier in 2016–17. The league is placed between the Tweede D ...

. After the reserve team withdrew from competition, Dallinga was one of the few players that would stay with the club. He was subsequently promoted to the first team. On 12 December 2020, Dallinga made his debut for Groningen in the Eredivisie, coming off the bench in the 74th minute for

Jørgen Strand Larsen Jørgen Strand Larsen (, born 6 February 2000) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a forward or right winger for La Liga club RC Celta de Vigo, and the Norway national team. Early life Jørgen Strand Larsen was born on 6 Febr ...

in a 2–0 victory against

RKC Waalwijk RKC Waalwijk () is a Dutch professional association football, football club based in Waalwijk. They currently play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie i ...

. After the 2020–21 season, Dallinga chose to not extend his expiring contract in order for him to gain more experience elsewhere.

Excelsior

In May 2021, Dallinga signed for

on a free transfer, penning a contract for two seasons. He immediately became a starter in manager

Marinus Dijkhuizen Marinus Dijkhuizen (born 4 January 1972) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player who is head coach of club De Graafschap. As a player, Dijkhuizen had notable spells as a forward in his native Netherlands with Excelsior, Ca ...

's team. On 6 August 2021, He made his debut in the 1–0 home loss to

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 ...

. On 13 August, he scored his first goal for Excelsior in a 2–1 away win over

Roda JC Kerkrade Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade (; ), shortly as Roda JC Kerkrade () or commonly Roda JC or simply Roda, is a Dutch professional association football, football club based in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the ...

. Three weeks later, on 3 September, Dallinga impressed by scoring four goals in the 5–0 away win over

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 ...

. On 25 September, he scored a brace against

Jong PSV Jong PSV is a Dutch football team based in Eindhoven. It is the reserve team of PSV Eindhoven and plays in the Eerste Divisie since the 2013–14 season. History Until 2013, Jong PSV played in the Beloften Eredivisie, a league exclusively fo ...

in a 3–0 win, bringing his tally to nine goals in eight league games. In the first 19 games for the club, he scored 24 goals and was on pace to break the goal record in the

. Dallinga would also prove decisive in the playoffs for promotion after Excelsior qualified by finishing sixth in the league table. He scored four goals in their six matches en route to

promotion, including a crucial 3–3 equaliser in injury time of the final playoff tie against

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation ...

on 29 May 2022. This happened after having missed a penalty kick earlier in the game. With 36 goals from Dallinga that season, Excelsior achieved promotion after a penalty shoot-out. While living in Kralingen, Rotterdam Dallinga made friends with several Irish students and credits them for his support of Irish side, Shelbourne.

Toulouse

On 1 July 2022, Dallinga signed with

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

in France. He made his competitive debut on the opening day of the

2022–23 Ligue 1 The 2022–23 Ligue 1, also known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, was the 85th season of the Ligue 1, France's premier football competition. It began on 5 August 2022 and concluded on 3 June 2023. As the 2022 FIFA World Cup began o ...

, immediately scoring his first goal for the club after being assisted by compatriot Branco van den Boomen in a 1–1 home draw against

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

with Toulouse. Dallinga was the top scorer of the

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

edition of the competition with six goals, including two goals he scored in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

against

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

. Dallinga was praised for his brace as the Coupe de France was Toulouse's first major trophy since its establishment in 1970. Later that year, on 21 September, he scored his first goal in European competitions in a 1–1 away draw against

Union Saint-Gilloise Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (), also known as Union Saint-Gilloise, Union SG or simply Union, is a Belgian professional football club from Brussels based in Forest. Founded in 1897 in the neighbouring Saint-Gilles, the club has played its home ...

in the

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 ...

Bologna

On 23 July 2024, Dallinga joined Italian side

, for a reported transfer fee of €18 million including bonuses. On 21 January 2025, he scored his first Champions League goal in a 2–1 victory over

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

International career

In 2018, Dallinga was called up by Netherlands under-19 coach

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 ...

for three friendly matches. He made his debut on 14 November 2018 in a 4–0 win over

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. On 20 November 2018, he scored the winning goal in the 2–1 victory over

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

just eight minutes after coming off the bench. On 22 October 2021, Dallinga received his first call up for the Netherlands under-21s but would only go on to make his debut on 23 September 2022 in a 2–1 victory over

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Den Dreef Den Dreef, also known as King Power at Den Dreef for sponsorship reasons, is a Association football, football stadium situated on Kardinaal Mercierlaan in the Heverlee suburb of Leuven in Belgium. It is home to Jupiler Pro League football team O ...

in a friendly. On 13 November 2023, Dallinga received his first call up for the senior Netherlands national team, for the

UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying The UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from March 2023 to March 2024 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams that would join the automatically qualified host team Germany in the UEFA Eur ...

matches against the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

and

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

. He made his debut in the game against Gibraltar, coming on as a substitute in a 6–0 win.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Toulouse *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

Bologna *

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

: 2024–25 Individual *

top scorer: 2021–22

References

External links

Profile
at the Bologna FC 1909 website
Profile
at the Royal Dutch Football Association website (in Dutch) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dallinga, Thijs 2000 births Living people Dutch men's footballers Footballers from Groningen (city) Men's association football forwards FC Emmen players Jong Groningen players FC Groningen players Excelsior Rotterdam players Toulouse FC players Bologna FC 1909 players Eerste Divisie players Derde Divisie players Ligue 1 players Serie A players Netherlands men's youth international footballers Netherlands men's under-21 international footballers Netherlands men's international footballers Dutch expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Dutch expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Italy 21st-century Dutch sportsmen