Thomas Vermaelen was born on 14 November 1985 and is a retired Belgian professional footballer.
29 Facts About Thomas Vermaelen
2.
Thomas Vermaelen was known for his goalscoring ability as a defender.
3.
Thomas Vermaelen had a loan spell with RKC Waalwijk before rejoining Ajax and winning the KNVB Cup and Johan Cruyff Shield.
4.
Thomas Vermaelen joined Arsenal in 2009 and was included in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year for that season.
5.
Thomas Vermaelen made his international debut for Belgium in 2006, and took part at the 2008 Olympics, where Belgium came fourth, as well as the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and 2018, and the UEFA European Championship in 2016 and 2021.
6.
Thomas Vermaelen started his youth career in his home country with Germinal Ekeren, which later became Germinal Beerschot after a merger.
7.
Thomas Vermaelen's breakthrough came when he returned to Ajax and won the KNVB Cup.
8.
Thomas Vermaelen became the 84th Arsenal player to score in their debut.
9.
Thomas Vermaelen finished the season with 45 games and eight goals in all competitions under his belt.
10.
Thomas Vermaelen started all of the first three Arsenal matches of the season before suffering an Achilles tendon injury on international duty with Belgium.
11.
Thomas Vermaelen had a new injury setback when manager Arsene Wenger reported that the Achilles tendon problem would keep him out of action for an unforeseeable time.
12.
On 6 September 2011, Thomas Vermaelen had treatment on his Achilles tendon which ruled him out for six weeks.
13.
Thomas Vermaelen suffered a suspected calf injury in the 84th minute, but to Arsenal's relief, he stated in the post-match interview it was just a cramp.
14.
On 12 March 2012, Thomas Vermaelen scored the winner in the 95th minute against Newcastle United.
15.
Thomas Vermaelen had run the entire length of the pitch to score a half-volley from Theo Walcott's cross.
16.
On 11 December 2012, Thomas Vermaelen missed the deciding penalty kick in Arsenal's shoot-out defeat against League Two side Bradford City in the League Cup, his shot striking the post.
17.
Thomas Vermaelen had scored Arsenal's equalising goal within normal time of the same match.
18.
Thomas Vermaelen's performances forced Arsene Wenger to drop him for the pivotal Champions League game against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.
19.
Thomas Vermaelen was plagued with injuries since his transfer; he was thought to be ready for Barcelona's game against APOEL in the Champions League, but was taken out of the squad.
20.
Thomas Vermaelen underwent surgery on 2 December 2014 for a recurring hamstring injury, and was expected back in four-to-six months.
21.
Thomas Vermaelen was an 81st-minute substitute for Javier Mascherano on 20 December as Barcelona won the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup Final against River Plate in Japan.
22.
On 18 August 2016, Thomas Vermaelen made his debut for the Rome club in a UEFA Champions League qualification play-off against FC Porto and was sent off for two yellow card offences after only 41 minutes.
23.
On 27 July 2019, Thomas Vermaelen signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with J1 League side Vissel Kobe.
24.
On 8 February 2020, Thomas Vermaelen was one of nine consecutive players to miss their spot-kick in the penalty-shootout of the Japanese Super Cup; his teammate Hotaru Yamaguchi eventually won the match for the cup winners with a successful penalty.
25.
Thomas Vermaelen made his senior debut for Belgium at age 20 against Luxembourg in March 2006.
26.
On 13 May 2014, Thomas Vermaelen was named in Belgium's squad for the 2014 World Cup.
27.
However, after 31 minutes, Thomas Vermaelen was taken off with an injury and replaced by Vertonghen.
28.
Thomas Vermaelen made the squads for UEFA Euro 2016, the 2018 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2021.
29.
In 2012, Thomas Vermaelen began dating English glamour model and TV presenter Polly Parsons.