Joris Mathijsen
Personal information
Full name	Joris Mathijsen
Date of birth	April 5, 1980 (1980-04-05) (age 28)
Place of birth	Goirle, Netherlands
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Central Defender
Club information
Current club	Hamburger SV
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1998-2004 2004-2006 2006-	Willem II AZ Hamburger SV	127 (6) 051 (2) 058 (1)
National team2
2004-	Netherlands	033 (2)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of April 15, 2008. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of June 9, 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Joris Mathijsen (born 5 April 1980 in Goirle) is a professional Dutch footballer. He currently plays for Hamburger SV as a central defender.

Mathijsen started his football career at SV VOAB in Goirle, after he visited a training of a friend as a young boy. At the age of 9 he left this club and came all the way through the youth system of Willem II Tilburg, making his debut on 27 February 1999 in a match against FC Utrecht. After six seasons at Willem II, he was sold by manager Co Adriaanse to AZ Alkmaar. However he endured a harder time breaking into the first team at Alkmaar.

On 17 November 2004, Mathijsen made his international debut for the Netherlands against Andorra in a 3-0 away win.

Since his international debut, Mathijsen has become a mainstay figure in the national team. He is usually positioned as left central defender, even though he is right-footed.

Career