Dutch side FC Twente have announced the arrival of attacking midfielder Kristen Van de Ven. The player was in the final year of her contract with FC Rosengard, who recently lost goalkeeper Kathrin Langert to FF USV Jena. Van de Ven has signed a contract until the end of this season.
His arrival at the Dutch club aims to make up for the loss of Anouk Dekker, who will play in the D1 Féminine for Montpellier.
Promising start to her career
At age of 18, Van de Ven left her amateur team, HVCH, to study and play football in America. She started in 2004 at Quinnipiac University, where she became the second player ever in one year to win both the Rookie of the Year award and the Player of the Year award at the North East Conference.
After her first year in Florida she went to Florida State University, who play in a better league. During this time she also made her debut for it Dutch team, the under-19 team to be exact, where she scored 10 goals in 33 games.
When she had finished studying in late 2007, she returned to the Netherlands and by January 2008 they went to Willem II. Van de Ven received a starting spot immediately. In the summer of 2009, she participated with the Dutch national team at the European Championship.
Success with the Dutch national side
They played all the games, scored twice and reached the semi-finals with her nation. On April 4, 2011 Van de Ven hit the milestone of 50 games against Scotland. In the match, which was won 6-2, she also managed to score.
As of March 1, 2010 Van de Ven left Willem to sign with Tyresö FF, in the Damallsvenskan. During her debut she scored the opening goal for her club in the away match against Djurgården. Tyresö FF faced severe financial setbacks and cutbacks meant that Van der Ven decided to sign a contract with FC Rosengård in 2014.
Van de Ven was called into the squad for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup by coach Roger Reijners. Throughout the tournament, she played a key role and proved her worth to many clubs around Europe.
Twente in fine form, van de Ven and Veurink have their say
In the last UEFA Women's Champions League, the Dutch team made history by eliminating the reigning Frauen-Bundesliga champions, Bayern Munich, in the Round of 32. After a 1-1 draw in the Netherlands and a 2-2 in Munich, Twente advanced on away goals. The team then took on Barcelona in the next stage, but fell to a 1-0 defeat in both legs to crash out. In the domestic league, they are second behind leaders Ajax.
Kirsten van de Ven then spoke to the media about her move: "After six beautiful and successful seasons in Sweden, I focus the next six months at FC Twente Women." She admitted, "Playing for the reigning champion of the Netherlands with the possibility to be the champion again is obviously great."
She added, "I would like to praise and play at a club that has ambitions. FC Twente Women have been at the top for several years in the Netherlands and also this season it is a great team with many young talents. I am really looking forward to the challenge."
Head coach Arjan Veurink also talked about van den Ven's arrival: "After the departure of Anouk Dekker it was necessary for our ambitions to add a player to the with lots of experience. In Kirsten we have a player who, in the last six seasons, has shown her value in Sweden and in the national team."
The boss concluded, "With the recent championships and the World Cup in Canada, where she was confident and successful, we found the necessary experience. I think she fits in our group and therefore we can look forward with confidence to the second half of the season."