Tim de Cler
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tim de Cler | ||
| Date of birth | 8 November 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Leiden, The Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Playing position | Left Back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Lugdunum | |||
| Ajax | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–2002 | Ajax | 75 | (2) |
| 2002–2007 | AZ | 157 | (4) |
| 2007–2011 | Feyenoord | 87 | (1) |
| 2011–2013 | AEK Larnaca | 41 | (0) |
| Total | 361 | (8) | |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2005–2008 | Netherlands | 17 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 August 2013 (UTC). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 27 January 2010 (UTC) |
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Tim de Cler (born 8 November 1978) is a former Dutch footballer who played as a left back for Ajax, AZ, Feyenoord and AEK Larnaca.
De Cler is born and raised in Leiden, South Holland, The Netherlands. In Leiden he grew up in a neighbourhood with 15–20 boys around the same age. Together with his brother Henk he was found on the streets playing football constantly.
When he was six years old he joined his first football team, amateur side Lugdunum. There he played as a centre back until he was twelve years old. Ajax showed interest in him and despite being a Feyenoord supporter he joined their rival's world-famous youth academy.
At Ajax he played at first as a left winger, but eventually he was positioned as a left back when he reached the A-level in youth football. He was offered his first professional contract and joined Ajax' second team. Once in a while he was added to the first team squad to train with the elite at the club.
On 23 April 1998 he made his professional debut in a 6–1 home win over Willem II. Two days after his debut he played another match with the second team and he broke his tibia, which sidelined him for four months. That season Ajax won both the Eredivisie and the KNVB Cup and although these were his first official trophies there were mixed feelings due to his injury. Once he was declared fit again his tibia was hit by a ball and he was sidelined for another four months. He rejoined Ajax first team squad again right after he was declared fit for the second time. The KNVB Cup that was won in 1999 offered him much more joy than the one won a year before. In his years at Ajax he had a tough competition with players like Cristian Chivu, John O'Brien and Maxwell. Still he managed to play a lot of matches. In his final year at the club he won both the Eredivisie and the KNVB Cup for the second and third time respectively.
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