 Havenaar playing for Ventforet Kofu in 2010 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mike Havenaar | ||
| Date of birth | 20 May 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan | ||
| Height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Vitesse | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Sapporo FC | |||
| 2000–2002 | Consadole Sapporo | ||
| 2003–2005 | Yokohama F. Marinos | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2006–2010 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 26 | (0) |
| 2008 | → Avispa Fukuoka (loan) | 26 | (7) |
| 2009 | → Sagan Tosu (loan) | 33 | (15) |
| 2010–2011 | Ventforet Kofu | 63 | (37) |
| 2012– | Vitesse | 63 | (20) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2005 | Japan U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 2006 | Japan U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2007 | Japan U20 | 3 | (1) |
| 2011– | Japan | 15 | (4) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 November 2013.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:35, 19 June 2013 (UTC) | |||
Mike Havenaar (ハーフナー・マイク Hāfunā Maiku, born 20 May 1987) is a Japanese-Dutchprofessional footballer. He currently plays as a striker for Eredivisie side Vitesse.
Early life
Havenaar's parents came to Japan from the Netherlands in 1986 when his father Dido signed on to play for Hiroshima-based side Mazda F.C. of the Japan Soccer League (now Sanfrecce Hiroshima of the J. League). His mother was an athlete and a former national champion in the heptathlon.[1] His younger brother Nikki currently plays for Nagoya Grampus and has previously played for the U-17 and U-18 Japan national team as centre back.[2] The Havenaar family became naturalized Japanese citizens in 1994.
Club career
Havenaar began his career with the Consadole Sapporo U-15 side, where his father played and later worked as goalkeeper coach.
When Dido moved to powerhouse Yokohama F. Marinos, Mike joined the Marinos youth side and promoted to the top team in 2006. Playing as a forward, Havenaar made his debut as a professional on 15 April 2006, against Gamba Osaka. Havenaar and his father are the first father-son combination to play in the J. League.
He was loaned to second division club Avispa Fukuoka[3] and Sagan Tosu and showed respectable results.
In 2010 he joined Ventforet Kofu, scoring 20 goals in 30 appearances for the club, helping them gain promotion to J. League Division 1.
In 2011 Havenaar returned to Division 1 with Venforet and netted 17 times in 32 appearances. He received the J. League Best Eleven award after the season.[4] Despite his contendership for the Top Scorer award, Kofu was relegated at the end of the season.
Vitesse
On 21 December, Dutch side Vitesse announced that they completed the signing of Havenaar on a two-and-a-half-year contract beating out the likes of Bundesliga side Wolfsburg for his signature.[5]
Havenaar made his debut for the club as a 73rd minute substitute for Nicky Hofs in their 1–0 away defeat to rivals NEC Nijmegen.[6] His first goal came in his next appearance, a 3–1 loss to PSV.[7]Havenaar made his first start for Vitesse on 4 February 2012 and provided an assist to Nicky Hofs first goal of the season, securing a 1–0 win NAC Breda.[8] Havenaar scored his second goal for his new club in another losing effort, this time a 4–1 loss to title contenders FC Twente.[9] Havenaar continued to impress for Vitesse, slotting the ball home after a cutting pass from Alexander Buttner to complete a 2–0 victory over De Graafschap on 4 March.[10] Away against FC Groningen he made the third goal for Vitesse in the last minute, the game ended in 1–3 for Vitesse.
International career
In 2007, Havenaar was picked to join the Japan U-20 squad to compete 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada and played one match against Nigeria U-20.
He made his debut for Japan on 2 September 2011 as a 70th minute substitute against North Korea in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier match,[12] striking the post. He scored his first ever goals for the national team with a brace, both headers, against Tajikistan on 11 October 2011 in the same competition. Japan won the game 8–0
