Daniël de Ridder

Ajax

De Ridder worked his way up to first-team selection from Ajax's youth department, making his full debut in an away game against Roda JC on 21 January 2004, and scored his first goal against Willem II on 16 May. De Ridder was a regular throughout the second half of the campaign, starting nine games and appearing a further six times as a substitute. De Ridder made his UEFA Champions League debut in September 2004, coming on as a 69th-minute substitute in a 4–0 defeat at Bayern Munich. In December 2004, he was offered an improved contract until June 2007. Part of the Netherlands side that reached the second qualifying round of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship in 2002–03, De Ridder stepped up to the U21s as the 2006 UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign kicked off. De Ridder was told prior to the 2005–2006 season that there would be no room for him in the squad and he could expect little playing time if he decided to stay.

Celta Vigo

De Ridder joined Celta de Vigo permanently on 31 August 2005. On 25 September 2005, De Ridder made his official debut for Celta when they beat Sevilla, allowing the Galician club to temporarily top La Liga. On 3 April 2006, De Ridder scored his first official goal for Celta against Atlético Madrid. Throughout the second half of the campaign he was a regular for Celta, but they were relegated to the Segunda División at the end of the 2006–07 season.

Birmingham City

De Ridder signed for Birmingham City…

Ever-present in the qualification games of the Netherlands U-21 team along with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, De Ridder entered the finals as the most experienced member of the Netherlands' U-21 squad with 18 caps. He scored the decisive goal in the match against Italy which ensured qualification for the semifinals. The Netherlands went on to win the UEFA U-21 Championship 2006. In 2007 De Ridder was called up by Jong Oranje coach Foppe de Haan to be part of his squad for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship held in the Netherlands. De Ridder participated in their first round group match against Israel (1–0 win) and after the match against Portugal (2–1 win) they secured a semifinal spot and qualification for the 2008 Summer Olympics. In the semifinals against England (1–1, 13–12 after 32 penalty kicks) De Ridder scored and missed one of the penalty kicks. In the final against Serbia (4–1), De Ridder provided the pass from which Otman Bakkal made it 1–0. In the second half De Ridder created the opportunity for Ryan Babel to put the Netherlands 2–0 up, and in the 87th minute Luigi Bruins scored a tap-in from a De Ridder move to make it 4–1. The Netherlands won the UEFA U-21 Championship 2007.

After retiring from football in 2015, De Ridder worked as a sports analyst for NOS and ESPN. He also holds a university law degree. In January 2024, he returned to AFC Ajax for a specialized management traineeship designed for former players. In April 2026, De Ridder was appointed as a technical manager at Ajax, assisting technical director Jordi Cruijff. His role focuses on integrating technical football decisions with legal and business structures. His duties include managing players on loan, preparing player transfers, and helping establish the club's top sports department.

De Ridder was born in Amsterdam to a Dutch father and a Jewish-Israeli mother. He is Jewish and speaks Hebrew. De Ridder is one of seven Jewish players to have played for Ajax – the others being Eddy Hamel, Johnny Roeg, Bennie Muller, Sjaak Swart, Ilan Boccara, and Oscar Gloukh.