Contract for defender Jurgen Colin after trial period
31 July: Jurgen Colin, who was tested by Ajax in recent
weeks and played in a number of pre-season friendlies, has won
the contract he was going for. The 26 year-old defender penned
a one-year deal at the Amsterdam ArenA today. The contract
includes an option for Ajax to extend it by another two
seasons, until the summer of 2010. According to reports in the
English press Ajax paid a transfer fee of 70,000 British
pounds (approximately 100,000 euros) to Colin's
previous club: Norwich City.
Jurgen Colin (born Utrecht, 20 January 1981) was
suddenly there at the start of the season, when Ajax went back
in training at De Toekomst, almost four weeks ago. The
right-footed defender, who spent the past two seasons in
England's League Championship (formerly Division One) with
Norwich City, had been invited by Ajax boss Henk ten Cate, with
whom Colin worked at NAC in the 2002-2003
season. Colin was initially granted a trial period of
three weeks, but this period was extended. Colin joined Ajax to
Scotland, where he did not make much of an impression against
Rangers FC, but won himself a contract against
Falkirk FC, last Saturday.
Jurgen Colin started playing football as a child
for Utrecht-based amateur club HMS. As a teenager he was
discovered by PSV scouts and entered the Eindhoven club's youth
academy. He made his Eredivisie for PSV in late 2001.
After 4 appearances he was loaned out to Racing Genk, playing
in Belgium's First Class. Colin would spend half a season at
Genk, in which he had 7 league appearances, enough to draw
convince NAC boss Henk ten Cate, who landed Colin in the summer
of 2002 on a one year loan-deal. In Breda, Colin's career took
off: he played the full 34 Eredivisie matches and convinced the
club that was still paying his salary (PSV) of his qualities.
He moved back to Eindhoven after one year.
Colin had 20 league appearances for PSV in the
2003-2004 campaign, scoring 1 goal, but he never really
became a starter and after one season at Philips Stadium, he
returned to NAC Breda for another loan spell of one
season, which he finished with 28 Eredivisie appearances
and 1 goal behind his name. In the summer of 2005 PSV decided
to offload the right-footed defender, who was eventually sold
to Norwich City for a fee of 263,000 U.K. pounds.
Colin never totally convinced at Carrow Road, where he
had 58 league appearances in two seasons' time. He struggled in
his first months, got benched, struck back to become a starter
in late 2006, but lost his spot once again when manager Peter
Grant took over from Nigel Worthington. Ajax were a gift
from heaven for Jurgen Colin: from the Norwich City bench to,
who knows, the Champions League... not a bad career
move.
"Finally: I have my contract at Ajax!" the defender
raved, after having penned his deal. "I am so glad I
signed!"
"I am pretty good defensively," Colin continued, now more
seriously. "But my passing must improve. The coach
primarily sees me as a right fullback, but perhaps I will
get to play in the centre, too. I'll be happy with each
appearance I get." (MP)
Source: Ajax.nl
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