Vito van Crooij

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Vito van Crooij
van Crooij in 2020
Personal information
Full name Vito van Crooij[1]
Date of birth (1996-01-29) 29 January 1996
Place of birth Venlo, Netherlands
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position Winger
Team information
Current team
 Sparta Rotterdam (on loan fron NEC)
Youth career
Quick Boys '31
2004–2013 VVV
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2018 VVV 132 (35)
2018–2020 PEC Zwolle 46 (9)
2020–2021 VVV 31 (3)
2021–2023 Sparta 74 (19)
2023–2024 Al-Wehda 24 (0)
2024– NEC 33 (10)
2026– → Sparta (loan) 8 (0)
International career
2015-2016 Netherlands U20 6 (0)
2016 Netherlands U21 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:42, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

Vito van Crooij (born 29 January 1996) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger for Eredivisie club Sparta Rotterdam on loan from NEC. He won the Eerste Divisie Young Player of the Year in 2016 for his performances for VVV-Venlo.

His brother, Delano van Crooij plays professionally as a goalkeeper.

Club career

Born in Venlo, van Crooij made his debut for VVV-Venlo at the age of 18 in the KNVB Cup against Eindhoven at the start of the 2014–15 Season, however he did not score until the game against MVV in the KNVB Cup, scoring once in the 2–0 victory. His first league game in the Eerste Divisie was in the 3–0 victory against Achilles '29.[2] However, Van Crooy did not score a league goal until February, netting the winner in the 1–0 victory against Almere City.

In the 2015–16 season, van Crooij was part of the VVV-Venlo squad which finished second in the Eerste Divisie. He scored 13 goals and recorded 8 assists throughout the season playing as a left winger. He was part of the VVV-Venlo team which lost in the play off final of the Eerste Divisie. He just missed out on the Eerste Divisie Young Player of the Year Award[3] for the 2015–16 season where he was nominated due to his impressive performances for VVV.

In the 2016–17 season, van Crooij started the season well, scoring the equaliser in the 2–1 victory over SC Cambuur. Since then he has scored more goals, including a penalty in the 2–1 defeat to Helmond Sport.

On 13 July 2018, he became a new PEC Zwolle player.

On 25 August 2020, he returned to VVV-Venlo.[4][5]

On 25 June 2021, Van Crooij signed a three-year contract with Sparta Rotterdam.[6] On 14 August 2022, he scored the fastest goal in Eredivisie history – after eight seconds against AZ Alkmaar.[7]

On 7 September 2023, van Crooij joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Wehda on a three-year deal.[8]

On 30 September 2024, van Crooij signed a three-season contract with NEC.[9] On 9 January 2026, Van Crooij returned to Sparta Rotterdam on a six-month loan.[10]

International career

Van Crooij played 6 games for the Netherlands national under-20 football team[11] and one for the U21s.[12]

Career statistics

As of match played 17 May 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
VVV-Venlo 2013–14 Eerste Divisie 1000—0010
2014–15 Eerste Divisie 31331—4[a]1385
2015–16 Eerste Divisie 331311—2[a]03414
2016–17 Eerste Divisie 361420——3814
2017–18 Eredivisie 31520——335
Total 1323582—6114438
PEC Zwolle 2018–19 Eredivisie 30921——3210
2019–20 Eredivisie 16020—54180
Total 46941—545010
VVV-Venlo 2020–21 Eredivisie 31341——354
Sparta Rotterdam 2021–22 Eredivisie 33522——357
2022–23 Eredivisie 341220—003612
2023–24 Eredivisie 3000—0030
Total 701742—007419
Al-Wehda 2023–24 Pro League 23010—1[b]0250
2024–25 Pro League 1000——10
Total 24010—10260
NEC 2024–25 Eredivisie 25920—1[c]12810
2025–26 Eredivisie 8120——101
Total 331040—113811
Sparta Rotterdam (loan) 2025–26 Eredivisie 80———80
Career total 328742320013635782
  1. Appearances in Eerste Divisie playoffs
  2. Appearance in Saudi Super Cup
  3. Appearanc in European play-offs

Honours

VVV-Venlo

Individual

References

  1. Vito van Crooij at Soccerway
  2. Van Crooy tekent voor 2,5 jaar bij VVV - 1Limburg (in Dutch)
  3. Sparta wint bijna alle Gouden Stieren - Rijnmond (in Dutch)
  4. "Vito van Crooij terug naar VVV-Venlo" (in Dutch). PEC Zwolle. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  5. "Vito van Crooij terug op oude nest" (in Dutch). VVV-Venlo. 25 August 2020. Archived from the original on 26 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  6. "Vito van Crooij maakt overstap naar Sparta Rotterdam". Sparta Rotterdam (in Dutch). 25 June 2021. Archived from the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  7. Rekordtor in den Niederlanden. In: Sport1.de, 24 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022 (German).
  8. "الوحدة يعزز صفوفه بـ الجناح الهولندي "فيتو"".
  9. "N.E.C. bindt Vito van Crooij tot medio 2027" [NEC signs Vito van Crooij until mid-2027] (in Dutch). NEC. 30 September 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  10. "Vito van Crooij keert op huurbasis terug bij Sparta" [Vito van Crooij returns to Sparta on loan]. Sparta Rotterdam (in Dutch). 9 January 2026. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  11. "Vito van Crooij". OnsOranje (Dutch FA) (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  12. "Vito van Crooij". OnsOranje (Dutch FA) (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  13. "Sparta and AZ dominate Eredivisie team of the month in march". Eredivisie. 31 March 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  14. "N.E.C. Nijmegen and RKC Waalwijk main suppliers to the Eredivisie Team of the Month for January". Eredivisie. 31 January 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.