Erik Pieters

Erik Pieters (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈeː.rɪk ˈpi.tərs]; born 7 August 1988) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a left back.

Pieters began his career with Utrecht and made his professional debut in August 2006. He impressed enough at the Stadion Galgenwaard to earn a move to PSV Eindhoven in July 2008 for €2.5 million. At PSV he won the Johan Cruijff Shield in 2008 and the KNVB Beker in 2011–12 and also became a regular member of the Dutch national team. Injuries hampered his progress in 2012–13 before he moved to English side Stoke City in June 2013 for €3.6 million. Pieters spent six years with the Potters making 206 appearances before joining Burnley in July 2019.

International Career

Pieters played five matches for the Netherlands at the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship where they reached the semi-finals. In 2007 Pieters was called up by Netherlands U-21 coach Foppe de Haan to be part of his squad for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship held in the Netherlands. Pieters did not play in their first round group match against Israel (1–0 win), but did come on as a substitute in the second match against Portugal (2–1 win) to secure a semi-final spot and to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

In the semi-finals against England (1–1, 13–12 after 32 penalty kicks), Pieters played in the starting eleven, but was later substituted by Tim Janssen to improve the attack as well as due to a small injury. Pieters returned on the pitch and the Dutch went on to retain their 2006 title by beating Serbia 4–1 in the final. On 7 May 2012, Pieters was named in the provisional list of 36 players for the Euro 2012 tournament, but he did not recover in time for the competition due to a foot injury. PSV team member Jetro Willems replaced him in the Euro 2012 squad.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Эрик Питерс (russian)