Toby Alderweireld

Ajax

Born in Antwerp, Alderweireld moved to Ajax's youth academy in August 2004 from Germinal Beerschot. On 22 February 2007, he signed his first professional contract, tying him to the club until 30 June 2010. He was promoted to the first team for the 2008–09 season, but only made his first team debut on 18 January, in the 4–2 victory over NEC. On 26 February, he made his European debut during a 1–1 draw against Fiorentina in the UEFA Cup. Although he only made several appearances for the remainder of the season, he was awarded a new long-term contract extension until 2014.

During the early stages of the 2009–10 season, Alderweireld established himself in the first team and starting XI. He became first-choice centre back along with fellow Belgian Jan Vertonghen following the departure of former captain Thomas Vermaelen to Arsenal. New Ajax coach Martin Jol praised the two defenders and kept faith in the duo after a string of good performances. During the 3–0 win against Heracles on 4 September, he scored his first league goal for the club when he opened the scoring with a header from Luis Suárez's corner-kick. On 27 January, he scored a late equaliser in extra time during the KNVB Cup quarter-final against NEC; Siem de Jong scored five minutes before the final whistle to steal a 3–2 win for Ajax. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Alderweireld was named Ajax Talent of the Year. He assured himself of a place in the Eredivisie giants' history books on 3 November 2011,…

Alderweireld first represented Belgium at under-17 level in October 2005 and took part in the 2006 UEFA U17 Championship. After the 2008–09 season concluded, he made his senior debut for Belgium in a friendly tournament, Kirin Cup, against Chile on 29 May 2009. However, his full senior debut came three months later in a match against the Czech Republic. He was named in several 2010 World Cup qualifying squads, but was mostly an unused substitute. In October 2009, he came on as a second-half substitute for Daniel Van Buyten in the 2–0 defeat to Estonia. Alderweireld was called up to the Belgian U21 squad for the 2011 UEFA U21 Championship qualifier against Ukraine on 13 November 2009, with the match finishing 2–0 to Ukraine. He played right back during the 2012 UEFA Euro qualification match against Turkey on 7 September 2010. On 13 May 2014, Alderweireld was named in the squad to go to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He started in all five games of Belgium's tournament run, including its 1–0 defeat against Argentina in the quarter-finals. In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, he won a bronze medal with Belgium after a 2–0 win over England. On 8 September 2020, Alderweireld played his 100th match for Belgium in a 5–1 win against Iceland. On 6 March 2023, he announced his retirement from international football.

Club

International

Belgium score listed first, score column indicates score after each Alderweireld goal.

Alderweireld married Shani Van Mieghem in Ekeren, Antwerp on 19 June 2015. They had their first child Ayla born in September 2018. His son Jace was born in February 2020. In 2025, Alderweireld took part in the fifth season of the Belgian edition of the reality singing competition series The Masked Singer, performing as Oehoe the Owl and being unmasked in the third episode.