Orlando Engelaar (; born 24 August 1979) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Known for his imposing physical presence and passing range, he represented the Netherlands at UEFA Euro 2008.
Club career NAC Breda Born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Engelaar began playing football when he was seven years old and said: "Football is my life. I'm working on it day and night." Engelaar then joined Feyenoord in the youth system at the same age after being invited to an open day. He quickly impressed the Feyenoord's management and joined the academy. Engelaar then spent fifteen years at Feyenoord". Having started out playing as a striker, Engelaar eventually settled into a midfield or defensive role where he impressed with his aerial and passing abilities. He then explained his final years at the academy, saying: "I had now signed a three-year contract at the age of eighteen. In the first half of the second season I had to come back from that injury. That took time, of course. I was told I could leave. I was able to go to the Excelsior satellite club. But I didn't see it that way. That club then played - nine, ten years ago - without any prospects in the first division. At that time there were few examples of players who came out well again. I'm not going to be stabled at Excelsior, you do that with a cow.' At his father's request, he accepted the invitation to play with the Suriprofs team. That was then coached by Henk ten Cate. Engelaar left such a good impression that the Amsterdam trainer offered him a contract on behalf of NAC. But then Feyenoord did not want to lose the midfielder anymore - he had started to play better again." After fifteen years at Feyenoord, Engelaar then joined NAC Breda, which was the club that saw him started his professional football career.
Engelaar made his debut for NAC Breda on the left side of midfield, featuring the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 loss to RKC Waalwijk on 19 August 2000. Following this, he spent two seasons, rotating in and out of the first team, resulting in him combined making the appearances of thirty–three appearances in the first two seasons at the club. The 2002–03 season proved to be a breakthrough for Engelaar, as he became a first team regular for NAC Breda. Engelaar then scored his first goals for the club, eventually scoring twice from two thunderous drives into the back-of-the-net, in a 2–0 win against Heerenveen on 14 September 2002. On 5 October 2002, he scored another brace, in a 2–2 draw against PSV Eindhoven. This was followed up by scoring his fifth goal of the season, in a 3–0 win against FC Zwolle. Engelaar then scored two more goals by the end of the year against RKC Waalwijk and Excelsior. His goal scoring form continued throughout May and helped the club qualify for the UEFA Europa League next season by finishing fourth place in the league. At the end of the 2002–03 season, Engelaar went on to make thirty–five appearances and scoring twelve times in all competitions.
At the start of the 2003–04 season, Engelaar signed a three-year contract with NAC Breda, keeping him until 2007. He played both legs in the first round of UEFA Cup against Premier League side Newcastle United, as the club lost 6–0 on aggregate. Shortly after NAC Breda's elimination from the tournament, Engelaar scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–0 win against NEC Nijmegen on 19 October 2003. Two weeks later on 1 November 2003, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 3–1 loss against PSV Eindhoven. Engelaar then scored four goals in three matches between 12 December 2003 and 24 January 2004, including a brace against RBC Roosendaal. He later scored twice for the club, in a 5–2 win against NEC Nijmegen on 27 March 2004. Two weeks later on 11 April 2004, Engelaar scored his ninth goal of the season, in a 2–2 draw against Vitesse. At the end of the 2003–04 season, he went on to make thirty–four appearances and scoring nine times in all competitions.
KRC Genk At the start of the 2004–05 season, Engelaar joined Belgian club Racing Genk on a four-year contract. Prior to his departure from NAC Breda, he made his last appearance for the club against Utrecht in the opening game of the season and scored in a 3–2 win. However, the transfer move resulted NAC Breda suing Genk in court.
Engelaar made his debut for Genk against Lokeren on 22 August 2005 and started the whole game, in a 2–1 win. Since joining the club, he immediately made an impact in the starting eleven, playing in the midfield position. Engelaar then scored his first goal for Genk, in a 2–2 draw against Mons on 16 October 2004. This was followed by scoring against Anderlecht (twice), Sint-Truidense and Beveren. Three weeks later on 27 November 2004, he scored his sixth goal for the club, in a 3–1 win against Oostende. Engelaar scored his seventh goal for Genk, in a 2–1 win against Anderlecht in the last 16 of Beker Van Belgie. This was followed up by scoring in a 2–1 win against R.E. Mouscron. On 12 March 2005, he scored his ninth goal of the season, as well as, setting one of the goals for the club, in a 3–1 win against Club Brugge. Engelaar then scored two goals in two matches between 13 April 2005 and 16 April 2005 against Germinal Beerschot and Beveren. His contributions for the club saw them finish third place in the league. Despite being sidelined on three occasions later in the 2004–05 season due to injuries and suspension, Engelaar went on to make thirty–one appearances and scoring eleven times in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2005–06 season, Engelaar was linked with a move back to Netherlands, with his former club Feyernood. Despite the transfer move, he started in the first four matches of the season, starting in the midfield position. However, Engelaar sustained a knee injury that kept him out for almost two months after going under a knife operation.< He made his return from injury, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute, in a 1–0 loss against Standard Liège on 16 October 2005. Following his return from injury, Engelaar continued to regain his first team place, playing in the midfield position, under the management of Hugo Broos despite their differences. He then scored two goals in two matches between 5 November 2005 and 20 November 2005 against K.S.V. Roeselare and Lierse. On 12 March 2006, Engelaar scored his third goal of the season, in a 1–0 win against Germinal Beerschot. Despite missing two more matches later in the 2005–06 season, he went on to make twenty–nine appearances and scoring three times in all competitions.
In the summer transfer window of 2006, Genk informed Engelaar that he can leave the club, due to being unhappy with his performance from the previous season. Amid to his departure from Genk, Engelaar made four appearances for the club, all of them were from the substitute bench. In total of his Genk career, he made sixty–four appearances and scoring twelve goals for the club. While at Genk, Engelaar even considered taking up a Belgium citizenship, as he believed that nothing can stop him taking up Belgian citizenship. However, this never happened. Engelaar spoke about his time in Belgium, saying: "The Belgian competition is not fun at all. Negative football, few people in the stands. In Belgium, a large group of clubs cannot play football at all. Players were given the only assignment to, for example, play me out of the game and then dug in. I have been terribly annoyed by it for months. Often I thought: what a shit match is this. Although I don't want to say that it made me worse. Because of the defensive and physical way of playing football, I have definitely become a better and more complete player. The team was doing badly and I was the victim. I could still train so well, but I didn't play. I had a few clashes with Broos because I dared to express my opinion. That has become fatal to me." He continued to spoke out his time in Belgium once again, saying: "'I am very happy that I have left Belgium. The level was way too low, you only played six fun matches a year. Also that demolition football against the lesser teams did not suit me." In spite of this, Engelaar said: "I got stronger there. I had to work hard and fight. That was also due to the way of playing in Belgium. I had to deal with opponents who did nothing at all and had only been ordered by their trainer to stop me. You have to come up with solutions for that."
FC Twente After two seasons in Belgium, Engelaar moved back to Netherlands, where he joined Twente on 31 August 2006.
He made his debut for the club, coming on as a second half substitute for Wout Brama, in a 2–2 draw against Roda JC on 8 September 2006. Since joining FC Twente, Engelaar quickly became a first team regular, playing in the midfield position. He scored his first goal for the club, in a 4–3 win over RKC Waalwijk on 30 September 2006. Engelaar then scored two more goals by the end of the year, coming against Excelsior and Ajax. His fourth goal for FC Twente came on 20 January 2007, in a 2–1 win against RKC Waalwijk. In his first season that saw FC Twente qualify for the UEFA Cup next season, he went on to make thirty appearances and scoring four times in all competitions. For his performance, Engelaar was nominated Team of the Year by Voetbal International.
Ahead of the 2007–08 season, Engelaar was linked with a move to PSV Eindhoven, Ajax and Feyenoord, but he ended up staying at FC Twente. As a result of staying at the club, he was appointed as a new captain, succeeding Sander Boschker. Since the start of the 2007–08 season, Engelaar continued to establish himself in the first team, playing in the midfield position. He scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–2 draw against Utrecht on 26 August 2007. His second goal of the season came on 27 September 2007, in a 2–1 loss against NEC Nijmegen in the second round of the KNVB Beker. A week later on 4 October 2007, Engelaar scored his third goal of the season in the return leg of the UEFA Cup first round against Getafe, as FC Twente were eliminated in the tournament through away goal despite winning 2–1. By the end of the year, he added two more goals, coming against Heracles and Sparta Rotterdam. Engelaar scored his sixth goal of the season, in a 2–2 draw against NEC Nijmegen on 11 January 2008. Throughout the January transfer window, he was linked a move away from FC Twente, as Ajax and Porto were interested in signing him. But Engelaar ended up staying at the club after Ajax backed out. However, he suffered a knee injury that saw him miss eight matches. While on the sidelines, Engelaar signed a contract extension with FC Twente, keeping him until 2011. On 30 March 2008, he made his return to the first team from injury, coming on as a 71st-minute substitute, in a 1–0 win against FC Utrecht. Engelaar played all four matches in the league's play–off for the UEFA Champions League spot and helped the club earn a place in the tournament after beating Ajax 2–1 on aggregate. At the end of the 2007–08 season, he went on to make thirty–three appearances and scoring six times in all competitions.
Schalke 04 With the 2007–08 season coming to an end, Engelaar's future was being discussed, as FC Twente were looking at options should he leave the club. Ahead of the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament, Engelaar announced he is intends to join Bundesliga side Schalke 04 and would be reunited with his former manager Fred Rutten. Even his performance in the tournament led further interests from Premier League club, which newly appointed Steve McClaren wanted to keep the player. The move was agreed on 3 July 2008 and officially joined Schalke 04 on 15 July 2008. Upon joining the club, he was given a number thirty–seven shirt.