Rajiv van La Parra

Rajiv van La Parra

Van La Parra training with Caen in 2010.
Personal information
Full name Rajiv Ramon van La Parra[1]
Date of birth (1991-06-04) June 4, 1991
Place of birth Rotterdam, Netherlands
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Winger
Club information
Current team
 Huddersfield Town
Number 17
Youth career
1999–2008 Feyenoord
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2011 Caen 16 (1)
2011–2014 SC Heerenveen 82 (14)
2014–2016 Wolverhampton Wanderers 53 (1)
2015 → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 6 (2)
2016 → Huddersfield Town (loan) 8 (0)
2016– Huddersfield Town 14 (1)
National team‡
2005–2008 Netherlands U17 17 (0)
2009–2010 Netherlands U19 13 (1)
2012–2013 Netherlands U21 6 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:05, 27 August 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:41, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

Rajiv Ramon van La Parra (born 4 June 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for English club Huddersfield Town, predominantly as a winger but also as a striker. He has also represented Netherlands U21's.

Van La Parra played his first senior games in France with Caen before returning to Holland in 2011 for a three-season-long stay with Heerenveen. In June 2014 he moved to England to join Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Club career

Caen

Van La Parra is a product of the Feyenoord youth system, but made his senior debut instead for French Ligue 1 club Caen on 8 November 2008, having agreed a four-year contract in June 2008.[2] He cited the potential to reach the highest level while playing in France as the reason for his transfer.[2]

The right winger made only two appearances for Caen's first team during his first season, and the club ended the campaign being relegated. Despite this relegation, van La Parra would make only a further eight appearances as the team won promotion back to the top flight, but did register his first senior goal; against Guingamp on 5 April 2009.[3] During these seasons, he instead gained playing time in Caen's second team that competed in the Championnat de France amateur.[3]

Heerenveen

In summer 2011 his contract was mutually agreed to be terminated, and he returned to his native Holland in search of a new club. After an unsuccessful trial at AZ Alkmaar,[4] he eventually signed a one-year contract with fellow Eredivisie side Heerenveen on 30 August 2011.[5] After scoring six times during 26 appearances in his debut season, Heerenveen elected to take up an option in his contract for two further seasons.[6] Over these three seasons, van La Parra made a total of 94 appearances (including playing in the Europa League), scoring 16 times.[7]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

His contract from Heerenveen expired in summer 2014, and after rejecting a new contract,[8] on 10 June it was announced that he would move to English Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers, with whom he had signed a three-year contract.[9] He made his début in the first match on 10 August 2014 against Norwich City, and was named man of the match. He scored his first goal for Wolves against Fulham in the FA Cup on 13 January 2015.[10] His first league goal came against future club Brighton & Hove Albion in a 1-1 draw on 14 March 2015.[11]

Brighton loan

On 26 November 2015, van La Parra signed a loan deal with fellow Football League Championship club Brighton & Hove Albion, initially lasting until 2 January 2016.[12]

Huddersfield Town

On 11 March 2016, after massive speculation over the past weeks, van La Parra signed on loan for fellow Championship side Huddersfield Town for the rest of the season, with the move becoming a permanent deal in the summer, with van La Parra signing on a three-year contract. He made his début for the Terriers in the 4-1 West Yorkshire derby win against Leeds United at Elland Road on 19 March 2016. His first goal for the Terriers came in their 1–0 over his former club, Wolverhampton Wanderers at the John Smith's Stadium on 27 August 2016.[13]

International career

Van La Parra regularly represented the Netherlands at both under-17 and under-19 level. He was member of the Dutch team at 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship in Turkey, where he played three games. He made his debut at under-21 level on 22 May 2012 in a match against Macedonia.

Personal life

His first name Rajiv is a tribute to former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the son of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, assassinated in May 1991.[2] One of his half-brothers, Georginio Wijnaldum, currently plays for Liverpool, while another, Giliano Wijnaldum, plays for VfL Bochum. Two of his cousins, Royston Drenthe and Giovanni Drenthe, are also professional footballers.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "List of players under written contract registered between 01/06/2016 and 30/06/2016" (PDF). The Football Association. p. 33. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Van La Parra atout jeune et orange a Caen" (in French). Caen.maville.com. 20 June 2008.
  3. 1 2 "Van La Parra" (in French). foot-national.com.
  4. ↑ "Rajiv de la Parra week op proef bij AZ" (in Dutch). fanvanaz.nl. 4 July 2011.
  5. ↑ "sc Heerenveen contracteert Van La Parra" (in Dutch). SC Heerenveen. 30 August 2011.
  6. ↑ "sc Heerenveen legt Rajiv van La Parra langer vast" (in Dutch). SC Heerenveen. 27 March 2012.
  7. ↑ "Rajiv van La Parra" (in Dutch). Voetbal International.
  8. ↑ "Van La Parra kan verlengen, Kum moet vertrekken" (in Dutch). SC Heerenveen. 23 April 2014.
  9. ↑ "Wolves sign Heerenveen winger Rajiv van La Parra". BBC Sport. 10 June 2014.
  10. ↑ "Wolves 3-3 Fulham". BBC Sport. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  11. ↑ "Brighton 1-1 Wolves". BBC Sport. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  12. ↑ "Man Utd's Wilson & Wolves' Van La Parra join Brighton on loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
  13. ↑ "Huddersfield 1-0 Wolves". BBC Sport. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  14. ↑ http://www.football-oranje.com/spotlight-on-georginio-wijnaldum-newcastles-new-dutch-delight/
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