My story

Wesley Sneijder was born on 9 June 1984 in Utrecht. He started playing for DOS, an amateur club in his hometown, who had been the Dutch champions back in 1958. His talent shone through at a very early age, and by the age of five, he had already developed his ability to play with both feet.

At the age of seven, he was invited for a trial at Ajax, and soon after followed in the footsteps of his older brother Jeffrey, joining the club’s prestigious academy.

During his teens, Wesley represented Holland’s youth teams at every age category, playing in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru, and was named best player at a number of other international tournaments.

Ajax’s main free-kick specialist
Wesley burst into the Ajax senior team during an intoxicating period in the spring of 2003. His vision, pinpoint passing and ability to shoot with both feet stunned the pundits and fans alike. He made his debut in a 6-0 victory away at Willem II in Tilburg, and was immediately designated as Ajax’s main free-kick specialist. His home debut followed the next weekend in the ‘classic’ against rivals Feyenoord, which ended in a draw.

At the end of the same month he also took his bow in the Champions League in a second round group match against Arsenal, when he replaced Steven Pienaar in the last minute of a goalless draw. Just two months later, Wesley was minutes away from helping Ajax to the semi-final, but they were denied in injury time against AC Milan.

First league goal
Wesley scored his first league goal on 13 April 2003, in a 3-0 win at NAC Breda and two weeks later made his first appearance for the senior Holland team, coming on to replace Edgar Davids at half-time in a friendly against Portugal (1-1).

The 2003/04 season proved to be a special one for Wesley. Under coach Ronald Koeman, Ajax marched towards their second title of the new millennium. In the course of the campaign, Wesley played 30 games, scoring 9 goals. He also showed his class at the heart of national team midfield.

First goal for Holland
In October, he scored his first goal for Holland, against Moldova, to help secure a place in the European Champions qualification play-offs against Scotland. Having watched from the stands as the Dutch lost the first leg 1-0 in Glasgow, he was thrust into action by coach Dick Advocaat in the return game. Within 40 minutes he had scored one goal and set up the second and third as Holland stormed to a 6-0 win and booked their ticket to Portugal that summer.

His only disappointment that season came in the Champions League where Ajax ended up bottom of their group. The 2004/05 international season saw them do slightly better, as they finished third behind Bayern Munich and Juventus. Wesley scored his first Champions League goal the following season with a late equaliser against Sparta Prague on the 14 September, though Ajax bowed out in the second round against Inter Milan.

Wesley’s next piece of silverware was the 2006 Dutch Cup, when they beat PSV 2-1 and he helped Ajax retain the trophy the following season, via a penalty shoot-out against AZ Alkmaar.

At the World Cup
At the World Cup 2006 Wesley was an ever-present for the Oranje, but operated in an unfamiliar role as a defensive midfielder, which limited his opportunities to showcase his attacking prowess. The tournament ended in disappointment for Marco van Basten’s men as they crashed out controversially in a second round match against Portugal.

On 13 August 2007 Wesley clinched a move to one of the biggest clubs in the world: Real Madrid, where he joined a sizeable Dutch contingent that also includes Ruud van Nistelrooy, Royston Drenthe and Arjen Robben. Real paid 27 million euro to secure his services until 2012, seeing off interest from Spanish rivals Valencia.

Two days later Wesley played his first game for Los Blancos in a friendly against Real Betis. Sporting the Number 23 shirt previously worn by David Beckham he is already well on his way to earning a place in the affections of the Bernabeu. And his first league goal was a rather special one – the winner in the derby against Atlético Madrid.