Maikel Kieftenbeld

Go Ahead Eagles

Kieftenbeld was spotted by scouts from Twente, but after four seasons in their youth system, the staff believed he was not up to the required standard, so in 2007 he moved on to Deventer-based Eerste Divisie (second-tier) club Go Ahead Eagles. The following summer, he took part in the first-team's pre-season training camp in Germany, and made his senior debut on the opening day of the 2008–09 Eerste Divisie, on 8 August 2008 away to VVV-Venlo. He entered the game to replace the injured Ceriel Oosthout just before half-time with his team 1–0 down; they lost 5–0. In September, he signed his first professional contract, of three years with an option for a fourth. He scored his first senior goal on 24 April 2009 – the winner as Go Ahead Eagles beat Veendam 2–1 – and finished the season as a first-team regular with 30 league appearances. In his second season, he helped Go Ahead Eagles to reach the final round of the promotion play-offs, in which they lost to Willem II. In April 2010, Kieftenbeld was being linked with a move to AZ, the reigning Dutch champions. By the beginning of June, all parties had agreed terms, but the financial situation at AZ and a change of ownership meant the deal did not proceed.

Groningen

2010 to 2013

On 17 June 2010, the 19-year-old Kieftenbeld signed a four-year contract with Eredivisie club Groningen, who paid a €300,000 fee for the player. He was presented as a right back, despite only ever having…

Kieftenbeld made his first appearance in international football for the Netherlands Beloftenelftal (Promises Team), an under-21 team providing a stepping-stone between the under-19 team and the full under-21 team, in March 2010. He played the first half of a 2–1 defeat in a friendly match against Slovenia U21. After Leroy Fer and Dirk Marcellis were requisitioned for the senior squad in August 2010, Kieftenbeld received his first under-21 call-up, and made his debut as a second-half substitute in a 2011 European Championship qualifier against Liechtenstein, He also played against Spain in September with the group already won: taking the field after 66 minutes, he was sent off 12 minutes later for a foul on Ander Herrera. He made his first start for the under-21s in a friendly against Denmark in November 2010, playing at right back in a 3–1 win; his through ball set up Bas Dost for the third goal. He played in two more U21 friendlies, against the Czech Republic and Germany, and was an unused substitute in four Euro 2013 qualifiers in 2011 and 2012. His last international appearances were at the 2012 Toulon Tournament, at which the Netherlands were represented by the Beloftenelftal; he played in four of their five matches.

Dutch journalist Michiel Jongsma suggests that Kieftenbeld's position of choice is as a holding midfielder in front of the defence, where he can best use his energy in recovering the ball. He is comfortable on the ball and able to distribute it, but can be careless in possession, and "he really tries to shake up things when the play has gone dormant. In that lies his weakness as well – he can pick up silly fouls and cards from time to time." With Groningen, he averaged eight yellow cards a season. According to Groningen's technical director Henk Veldmate, speaking in 2014, his battling style and never-say-die attitude made him the sort of player with whom supporters could identify. In a 2011 interview, Kieftenbeld described himself as a perfectionist who always wanted to improve, and said that he sometimes put too much pressure on himself. Steve Cotterill sees him as "very much a team player, a bit of an unsung hero. He does a lot of tidying up and you need those type of players. There are other sides to his game as well. He's a better player than he's given credit for and, more importantly, he's a top lad. He's low maintenance, there's no ego about him and he just quietly gets on with his job."

Kieftenbeld was born on 26 June 1990 in Lemelerveld, in the municipality of Dalfsen, Netherlands, where he attended Heilig Hartschool primary school. After leaving school he began a college course in business economics, but did not complete it. He came from a sporty family. His mother, Anja, and one of his sisters played volleyball, another sister rode horses. His father, Joop, coached in the lower reaches of Dutch amateur football, including at SV SDOL of the Vijfde Klasse and the reserve team of Tweede Klasse club VV Lemerleveld, the hometown club where Maikel began playing football at the age of five.