Andy van der Meyde is a Dutch footballer born on September 30, 1979 in Arnhem, Gelderland. This right-footed attacking midfielder is an expert in pace dribbling and is capable of playing in both right and left wing.
Andy van der Meyde represented Netherland national football team and made his maiden international appearance in May 2002 against United States national football team scoring his first goal in a 2-0 win. During 2004 summer, Andy van der Meyde played a crucial role in taking his national squad to the semi-finals of euro 2004. He went on to give good performances in all four matches he participated at the semi-finals.
Andy van der Meyde started his football career signing Ajax Amsterdam (Ajax) youth academy. At the age of 18, he made his first appearance for Ajax and helped them to win against FC Twente on November 12, 1997. Later in 1999, he was loaned to Twente FC and played in the first team for one year. He scored two goals and appeared in 32 games out of 34 league games. In 2001-02, he switched back to Ajax and established himself as a starter. Andy van der Meyde helped Ronald Koeman, the head coach of Ajax, to rebuild the team and earned number 7 in the team. The 2001-02 season proved to be very successful for Ajax as it won a double. During the 2002-03 season, he went on to become an important member of the team. Ajax competed against Lyon, Rosenborg, Valencia, Arsenal and AS Roma in the Champions League, during which he helped Ajax advance to the second group stage after netting an away goal against AS Roma. Till 2003, Andy van der Meyde has appeared in 910 matches and scored 18 goals.
In 2003, he was signed by Football Club Internazionale Milano for a fee worth £4m. He represented the club at the 2003-04 Champions League and in a match at Highbury his impressive goal against Arsenal became the highlight of his career
After making a total of 320 appearances for Internazionale, Andy van der Meyde signed a contract with Everton FC on August 31, 2005 £2million. On March 25, 2006, he made his debut for Everton against Liverpool.
