35 Facts About Maikel Kieftenbeld

Maikel Kieftenbeld spent two seasons as a regular member of GA Eagles' first team before joining Eredivisie club Groningen in 2010.

Maikel Kieftenbeld played as a right back during his first year with Groningen, switching to midfield in his second season.

Maikel Kieftenbeld spent two seasons with Emmen before joining Cambuur in 2024.

Maikel Kieftenbeld played for the Netherlands Beloftenelftal at the 2012 Toulon Tournament, and was capped five times for his country at under-21 level.

Maikel Kieftenbeld was born on 26 June 1990 in Lemelerveld, in the municipality of Dalfsen, Netherlands, where he attended Heilig Hartschool primary school.

Maikel 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 club Go Ahead Eagles.

Maikel Kieftenbeld was presented as a right back, despite only ever having played in midfield.

Maikel Kieftenbeld was sent off in the first leg of the semi-final, so was suspended for the second.

Maikel Kieftenbeld scored his first goal for Groningen on 30 October 2011 in what finished up as their biggest win ever against Feyenoord, by six goals to nil.

Maikel Kieftenbeld's goal was the second of the six, a powerful drive from 30 metres.

Maikel Kieftenbeld began the season on the bench, but soon came back into the starting eleven, frequently wore the captain's armband in Lindgren's absence, and reduced his yellow-card count in the first half of the season from his usual five or six to just one.

Amid interest both from other Eredivisie clubs and from abroad, including Club Brugge, Maikel Kieftenbeld signed a new two-year contract.

Maikel Kieftenbeld scored a headed goal just before half-time to reduce the deficit, but Aberdeen held out and Groningen were eliminated.

Maikel Kieftenbeld was actively involved with Kids United, a football team for children with disabilities.

On 27 July 2015, Maikel Kieftenbeld signed a three-year contract with Football League Championship club Birmingham City.

Maikel Kieftenbeld was generally used in a three-man midfield, none of whom were particularly attack-minded, and any of the three had licence to go forward.

Maikel Kieftenbeld believed that his feeling of comfort at the club helped build up sufficient self-confidence that, so long as he had the energy to make forward runs, he could and would do so.

Maikel Kieftenbeld started 41 league matches as Birmingham finished the season in mid-table.

Maikel Kieftenbeld controlled the play throughout and rarely gave the ball away, the mark of any good midfielder.

Maikel Kieftenbeld's performances earned him a contract extension until 2020 with an option for a further year.

Maikel Kieftenbeld kept his place under Cotterill and his successor Garry Monk, with whom the team again retained their Championship status on the last day of the season, this time by putting an end to Fulham's 23-game unbeaten run.

Maikel Kieftenbeld was sent off in October 2018 when the fourth official advised the referee that he had pushed Brentford's Neal Maupay in the face in an off-the-ball incident.

Monk was sent to the stands for using abusive language while contesting the decision, and accepted a fine and one-match touchline ban, but Maikel Kieftenbeld's dismissal was overturned on appeal.

Maikel Kieftenbeld returned to the matchday squad on 15 February 2020 as an unused substitute, returned to the pitch eleven days later, playing the last 20 minutes of a goalless draw away to Millwall.

Maikel Kieftenbeld was behind Ivan Sunjic, Gary Gardner, new arrivals Mikel San Jose and Adam Clayton, and the youthful Caolan Boyd-Munce in the pecking order.

Maikel Kieftenbeld started in the EFL Cup defeat to fourth-tier Cambridge United, but his next appearance was not for another two months, when injuries and a change of shape against AFC Bournemouth gave both him and Boyd-Munce a place in the starting eleven.

Birmingham won the match, Maikel Kieftenbeld kept his place, produced a "trademark display of energy and edge" as Birmingham won again, and Karanka described him as "the kind of player who creates the spirit in the team".

Maikel Kieftenbeld remained in the side for several more matches, adding energy and dynamism but not ball retention as the team slipped towards the relegation places.

Maikel Kieftenbeld became Gary Rowett's first permanent signing of the January 2021 transfer window when he signed an 18-month contract with Championship club Millwall.

On 12 June 2022, Maikel Kieftenbeld signed a two-year contract with Emmen.

Maikel Kieftenbeld tore his anterior cruciate ligament late in the game, ending his season after one appearance.

Maikel Kieftenbeld was reportedly "very surprised" when he was released at the end of his contract without an offer of renewal.

Maikel Kieftenbeld joined Eerste Divisie club Cambuur on 13 August 2024 on a one-year contract.

Maikel Kieftenbeld made his first appearance in international football for the Netherlands Beloftenelftal, an under-21 team providing a stepping-stone between the under-19 team and the full under-21 team, in March 2010.

Maikel Kieftenbeld 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.