Ricardo van Rhijn

Early career

Born to an Antillean mother and a Dutch father, Van Rhijn began his football career at RKSV DoCoS, where he left a lasting impression as a central defender on the DoCoS sportspark. In 2002, at age 12, Van Rhijn transferred to the youth squad of Ajax, turning down offers from other clubs, such as ADO Den Haag and Feyenoord.

Ajax

Three years after transferring to the Amsterdam-based club, Van Rhijn began playing for the Ajax B1 team in the youth ranks, winning the national championship under coach Robin Pronk. After this successful season, Van Rhijn was offered his first contract, moving up to the Ajax A1 selection—skipping past the Ajax B1 selection, which is the usual next step—and signing a three-year contract. Under then-youth coach Frank de Boer, Van Rhijn enjoyed two successful seasons with Ajax A1, defending alongside Timothy van der Meulen in his first year and Bryan Ottenhoff the following season. This led to a contract extension for one additional year. On 21 September 2011, Van Rhijn made his debut for the senior squad in a KNVB Cup match against VV Noordwijk, helping his side to a 3–1 away win after coming on as a substitute for Toby Alderweireld in the 65th minute. On 18 December 2011, Van Rhijn made his first team debut in the Eredivisie, against ADO Den Haag. The match ended in a 4–0 win for Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena, which saw Van Rhijn playing the full 90 minutes in place of Alderweireld, who was sidelined due to an injury.…

Netherlands youth teams

Van Rhijn received his first international call-up for the Netherlands for the under-15 squad under then-coach Wim van Zwam. He made his debut on 6 December 2005 for the Netherlands U-15 in a friendly match against Ireland, which ended in a 3–1 win, making a total of three appearances for the under-15 side. He made his first appearance for the Netherlands U-16 team under coach Ruud Dokter on 14 November 2006 in a 0–0 draw against Ukraine, making a total of six appearances altogether. Van Rhijn debuted for the under-17 squad under head coach Albert Stuivenberg on 20 September 2007 in a 2–0 loss against Germany at the U17 Four Nations Tournament in the Czech Republic, where he captained his side. He made a total of 13 appearances for the U17 squad, also competing in the 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Turkey where he captained the Dutch to the semi-finals, where they lost to the eventual champions Spain. Van Rhijn scored his first goal for the Netherlands during this tournament, scoring in the group stage 2–0 victory over Scotland. Making a total of two appearances for the Netherlands U-18 squad under coach Kees Zwamborn, he made his debut in a 2–1 loss to Luxembourg U-18 on 11 February 2009. With Wim van Zwam taking over as head coach for the under-19 team, Van Rhijn made his first appearance at the U19 Four Nations Tournament in Ireland, drawing 1–1 against the host nation. He played an instrumental role in the qualification…

Club

As of match played 7 March 2020

International

As of matches played on 12 November 2014

Ajax

Eredivisie: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14 Johan Cruijff Shield: 2013 Club Brugge

Belgian Super Cup: 2016 Individual

AFC Ajax Talent of the Year: 2011–12