Daley Blind

Daley Blind

Blind training with the Dutch national team in 2014.
Personal information
Full name Daley Blind[1]
Date of birth (1990-03-09) 9 March 1990
Place of birth Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) [2]
Playing position Left back
Centre back
Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Manchester United
Number 17
Youth career
1995–1998 AFC
1998–2008 Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2014 Ajax 102 (3)
2010 → Groningen (loan) 17 (0)
2014– Manchester United 70 (3)
National team‡
2004 Netherlands U15 1 (0)
2006 Netherlands U16 4 (0)
2006–2007 Netherlands U17 13 (3)
2007–2009 Netherlands U19 16 (0)
2009–2013 Netherlands U21 23 (0)
2013– Netherlands 42 (2)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 November 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12:50, 14 November 2016 (UTC)

Daley Blind (born 9 March 1990) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder, left-back and centre-back for English club Manchester United and the Netherlands national team. He is the son of former Ajax defender and current Netherlands national team manager Danny Blind.[3]

Blind rose through the youth ranks at Ajax, becoming a regular after a loan to Groningen, and won four consecutive Eredivisie titles with the club. In September 2014, he transferred to Manchester United for £13.8 million.

A full international since 2013, he has earned over 40 caps and was a member of the Dutch squad that finished third at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Ajax

Blind began his career in the youth academy of his hometown club, AFC Ajax; the same club where his father Danny made his name as a professional.[4] Blind is a product of the Ajax youth system and, while officially still a B-junior, he became a mainstay in the A-juniors during the 2007–08 season.[3] before earning promotion to the Ajax first team for the 2008–09 season.[5] He was a midfielder through his journey up the Ajax youth levels, often playing the 'No. 6' or 'third centre-back' role. He showed good promise as a youngster and was made captain of Jong Ajax in 2007.[6] He signed his first professional contract at 17 tying him to the club until 1 July 2010.[3]

On 7 December 2008, Blind made his debut in the Ajax first team in the away match against FC Volendam. Blind made an immediate impact when he forced a cornerkick through a Volendam defender, from which Jan Vertonghen scored the winning goal for Ajax.[5] On 19 December 2008, he signed a contract extension keeping him with Ajax until 30 June 2013.[7][8]

Loan to Groningen

On 5 January 2010, he joined Groningen on loan for the remainder of the 2009–10 season, during the winter transfer window.[9] At Groningen, Blind was mainly used as a right-back.[10] He was almost sold to Groningen for €1.5 million by Ajax on a permanent basis but the move did not materialize.[6]

Return to Ajax

Blind playing for Ajax in 2011.

The following two seasons saw Blind contribute to two Eredivisie national championships with Ajax, for the 2010–11 season, and the 2011–12 season, the first of which would be Ajax's 30th championship title. However, Blind's performances when given the chance were unconvincing and he was even booed off the field in an Eredivisie game.[6] Under newly appointed manager Frank de Boer, Blind would be given more and more trust and playing time, earning him the place as the first choice left-back with a permanent starting position during the 2012–13 season.[11]

On 23 April 2013, it was announced by Marc Overmars, that Ajax and Blind had reached an agreement to extend his contract for three years, binding him to the club until the summer of 2016.[12] On 5 May, Blind contributed to Ajax's third Dutch Eredivisie title in a row, marking the clubs 32nd national title, helping to defeat Willem II 5–0 at home, and securing the top position on the table just one match day from season's end. Later that day it was announced that Blind had been declared AFC Ajax Player of the Year for the 2012–13 season, after playing an outstanding fifth year for Ajax, from the starting left-back position.

During the 2013–14 season, De Boer moved Blind back to his natural defensive central midfielder position and was named Dutch Footballer of the Year as Ajax won a fourth consecutive league title.[13]

Manchester United

2014–15 season

On 30 August 2014, Manchester United reached an agreement to sign Blind subject to a medical and agreement of personal terms.[14] The transfer was completed on 1 September 2014 for a fee of £13.8 million.[15]

Blind made his debut 13 days after his signing, playing the full 90 minutes as United beat Queens Park rangers 4–0 at Old Trafford for their first victory of the season.[16] His first goal for the club came on 20 October, a 20-yard strike that earned United a 2–2 draw at West Bromwich Albion.[17]

On 16 November, Blind sustained a knee ligament injury in the Netherlands' UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against Latvia[18] which kept him out of the Manchester United team for the remainder of 2014. On 11 January 2015, Blind returned to the United team, starting in defence in a 1–0 loss to Southampton at Old Trafford.[19] On 8 February, he scored an injury-time equaliser for United in a 1–1 draw against West Ham.[20]

2015–16 season

On 12 September 2015, he scored his first goal of the season in a 3–1 win against Liverpool at Old Trafford, also being named man of the match for his performance.[21]

International career

Youth

Blind was called up to the Netherlands under-17 squad for 2007 European Championships. After missing out the opening match through suspension, he scored a brace against Iceland in the second match[22] but picked up an ankle injury in that match that ended his participation in the remainder of the tournament.[23] He was called up to the U-21 team for several 2011 European Championship qualifiers but did not leave the bench. On 13 October, he made his first appearance in the campaign, coming on as a substitute for Ajax teammate Siem de Jong in a 4–0 win away at Poland.

Senior

Having had previous call-ups, Blind made his debut for the Netherlands senior team on 6 February 2013, in the starting left-back position, against Italy in a friendly encounter at the Amsterdam Arena. The match ended in a 1–1 draw, with Blind playing the full 90 minutes.[24]

In June 2014, he was selected in the Netherlands' squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He was a starter at left wing-back for the team's opening match against Spain, assisting goals for Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben, as the Oranje won 5–1.[25] He scored his first goal for the Netherlands in a 3–0 defeat of Brazil in the third-place play-off much to the delight of his father, Danny Blind, and manager, Louis van Gaal.[26]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played on 24 November 2016[27][28]
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
Division AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Ajax 2008–09 Eredivisie 5000—1[lower-alpha 3]0—60
2010–11 10040—4[lower-alpha 4]000180
2011–12 21010—3[lower-alpha 5]01[lower-alpha 6]0260
2012–13 34230—8[lower-alpha 7]01[lower-alpha 6]0462
2013–14 29160—8[lower-alpha 7]01[lower-alpha 6]0441
2014–15 3000—000030
Total 1023140—240301433
Groningen (loan) 2009–10 Eredivisie 17000——2[lower-alpha 8]0190
Manchester United 2014–15 Premier League 2524000——292
2015–16 351712012[lower-alpha 9]0—562
2016–17 1000020201[lower-alpha 10]0150
Total 70311140140101004
Career total 189625140380602627
  1. ↑ Netherlands – KNVB Cup; England – FA Cup
  2. ↑ England – Football League Cup
  3. ↑ Appearance in the UEFA Cup.
  4. ↑ Appearances in the UEFA Europa League.
  5. ↑ Two appearances in the UEFA Champions League, one appearance in the UEFA Europa League.
  6. 1 2 3 Appearance in the Johan Cruijff Shield.
  7. 1 2 Six appearances in the UEFA Champions League, two appearances in the UEFA Europa League.
  8. ↑ Appearances in the European competition play-offs
  9. ↑ Seven appearances in the UEFA Champions League, four appearances in the UEFA Europa League.
  10. ↑ Appearance in FA Community Shield.

International

Statistics accurate as of match played on 13 November 2016[29]
Netherlands senior team
YearAppsGoals
201380
2014172
201590
201680
Total422

Honours

Club

Ajax
Manchester United

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 11 June 2014. p. 25. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "Barclays Premier League Player Profile Daley Blind". Premier League. 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "Ajax sign Daley Blind". Ajax.nl. 29 March 2007. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
  4. ↑ FC Groningen concreet voor Blind (19)
  5. 1 2 "Blind helps Ajax win in debut". Ajax.nl. 7 December 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
  6. 1 2 3 Ramesh, Priya (20 June 2014). "Love is 'Blind': Profiling Ajax & Netherlands stalwart Daley Blind". Benefoot.net. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  7. ↑ "New contract for Daley Blind". Ajax.nl. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2008.
  8. ↑ "Daley Blind langer bij Ajax" (in Dutch). telegraaf.nl. 19 December 2008.
  9. ↑ "Daley Blind on loan to FC Groningen". Ajax.nl. 5 January 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  10. ↑ "Daley Blind maakt furore bij FC Groningen". Ajax Life. 26 March 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  11. ↑ "Blind, exponent nieuw Ajax (Dutch)". NOS.nl. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  12. ↑ "Blind verlengt contract bij Ajax (Dutch)". AD.nl. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  13. ↑ "Daley Blind". FIFA. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  14. ↑ "United agree deal for Blind". Manchester United. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  15. ↑ "Daley Blind: Man Utd sign Dutch international for £13.8m". BBC Sport. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  16. ↑ "Man Utd 4–0 QPR". BBC Sport. 14 September 2014.
  17. ↑ "West Brom 2–2 Man Utd". BBC Sport. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  18. ↑ "Manchester United say Daley Blind knee injury will be 'long story'". The Guardian. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  19. ↑ "Manchester United 0-1 Southampton: Saints leapfrog United into third after Dusan Tadic seals shock win". The Mirror. 11 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  20. ↑ Johnston, Neil (8 February 2015). "West Ham 1–1 Man Utd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  21. ↑ McNulty, Phil (12 September 2015). "Man Utd 3-1 Liverpool". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  22. ↑ "Blind double lifts Dutch". uefa.com. 4 May 2007.
  23. ↑ "Sidelined Blind's faith in team". uefa.com. 6 May 2007.
  24. ↑ "Netherlands vs Italy 1–1". Soccerway.com. 6 February 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  25. ↑ "Holland's risky strategy pays off as they repeatedly catch Spain napping". The Guardian. 14 June 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  26. ↑ "Brazil 0-3 Netherlands". BBC. 12 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  27. ↑ Daley Blind career statistics at Soccerbase
  28. ↑ Daley Blind profile at Soccerway
  29. ↑ Daley Blind at National-Football-Teams.com
  30. ↑ "Daley Blind: Talent van het Jaar.htm". Ajax.nl.
  31. ↑ "Blind speler van het jaar bij Ajax". NOS.
  32. ↑ "Blind winnar gouden schoen". Goal.com.
  33. ↑ "Sportgala van Amsterdam". AjaxShowtime.nl. Retrieved 16 December 2014.

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