Orlando Engelaar

Orlando Engelaar is a midfielder of Melbourne Heart. He was born on 24 August 1979 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Orlando’s youth career took off in the academy of Feyenoord, where the footballer performed for the youth teams of the club during 15 years.

In 2000 Engelaar transferred to Dutch side NAC Breda and penned a four-year contract with the new squad. The midfielder was several times voted the Player of the Month and amassed 22 goals in 94 matches for the club.

In 2004 Orlando completed a move to Racing Genk on a two-year deal, and the new team welcomed the footballer into the fold. According to the head coach’s opinion, Engelaar possessed all qualities, which were needed for an attacking midfielder, who could switch to the defensive midfielder position any time. The Dutchman featured in 59 games and netted 12 goals for the club. Besides, the player helped his squad to take the bronze medals of the Belgian Pro League in his début season.

In 2006 Orlando finalized a move to Twente, where he soon felt comfortable and became the pivot of the team. During two years with the club, Engelaar helped it to take fourth place in the Eredivisie two times in a row by firing eight goals in 56 matches.

In 2008 the midfielder sealed a deal with German side Schalke 04. The club was not doing great throughout the season, as it sometimes was making unconfident display and thus lost necessary points. At the end of the year, Schalke 04 took eighths place in the Bundesliga, and Orlando could boast of 25 appearances.

In the summer 2009, Engelaar put pen to paper of a contract with PSV Eindhoven, where he took part in 75 matches and chipped in six goals till 2013.

Then he moved to an Australian club Melbourne Heart.

From 2007 till 2010, the footballer was capped 14 times for the Netherlands national team.