Nicky Kuiper

Nicky Kuiper is a defender of Twente. He was born on 7 June 1989 in Arnhem, Netherlands.

Nicky’s youth career took off in local ESA. In early 2000s’, the footballer moved to the academy of Vitesse, where he trained and performed for the youth team of the club.

In 2008 the defender was offered to pen a professional contract with Vitesse, which he did without hesitation. In the summer 2008, Kuiper officially became a player of the main team and took part in 15 games during his début 2008/2009 season, which drew the attention of top-flight Dutch club Twente.

In the summer 2009, Nicky transferred to the new club and counted on a regular place, but head coach Steve McClaren had his own opinion about that. The footballer often made sub appearances, but he was not ready to become a player of the starting squad according to the manager’s estimation. During the pre-season training in Spain, Kuiper injured his knee and was sentenced to life without football till the end of the season. In 2013 he was sent on loan to Greek side Panathinaikos.

From 2009, Nicky was capped three times and contributed one goal for the Netherlands national U-21 squad.