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Steven Berghuis (born 19 December 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Eredivisie club AFC Ajax and the Netherlands national team.
Berghuis made his debut for the Netherlands in 2016, and represented the national team at UEFA Euro 2020 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
On 23 June 2011, Berghuis scored his first goal for the club in a pre-season friendly against Eerste Klasse team DOS '37. One week later, he scored one of Twente's ten goals in another warm-up fixture against Derde Klasse side DSV '61. On 14 July 2011, he scored his first goal against foreign opposition, scoring Twente's second in a 4–3 friendly win over Turkish Süper Lig side Fenerbahçe.
After being promoted to the first team for the 2011–12 season, Berghuis signed a contract extension with Twente lasting until 2014. He then played in Twente's 2011–12 UEFA Champions League qualifying legs against Romanian club SC Vaslui on 26 July and 3 August 2011, during which Twente won 2–0 on aggregate. He also played in the 2011 Johan Cruyff Shield; despite being sent-off, Twente won the match 2–1 against AFC Ajax. He started the club's first Eredivisie match of the 2011–12 season, against NAC Breda. On 21 September 2011, he then scored four goals against Zwaluwen '30 in the KNVB Cup, where Twente won 8–1. Berghuis scored his first Twente goal in a 6–2 win over FC Utrecht on 4 December 2011.
On 20 January 2012, Berghuis joined VVV-Venlo on loan until the end of the 2011–12 season. Two days later, he made his VVV-Venlo debut, starting and playing the full match in a 2–1 win over Feyenoord. On 18 February, he scored his first goal for VVV-Venlo, in a 4–1 win over De Graafschap. In the last match of the season, Berghuis scored his second goal—as well as setting up another—in a 4–2 win over parent club Twente. On 13 May, he scored twice in the second legs of the play-offs in a 4–2 victory over SC Cambuur. By the end of the 2011–12 season, in all competitions, he had made 21 appearances and scored 4 goals.
Berghuis played the season predominantly as a left winger and as a substitute, only completing 90 minutes on four occasions, contributing only one assist in the league due to the form of Icelandic player Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson, who scored two and assisted six goals in the season at left wing. In his first season, Berghuis made 27 appearances in all competitions and helped the side win the KNVB Cup over PSV in the tournament final.
The 2013–14 season could be considered Berghuis' breakthrough season as he featured more in the starting 11, although he still had to compete with Gudmundsson. He scored his first AZ goal in a 3–0 win over Go Ahead Eagles on 15 September 2013, then scored again on 1 December in a 3–2 loss against NEC. In the KNVB Cup, Berghuis played a role in the first two rounds, scoring in a 4–1 win over Sparta Rotterdam, followed-up by three assists in a 7–0 win over Achilles '29 in the third round. In the second half of the season, Berghuis recorded two two-goal games, against NAC Breda on 18 January 2014 and RKC Waalwijk on 2 March. Berghuis later added a goal—as well as setting-up another—in a 3–0 win over SC Heerenveen in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League play-off competition as part of the Eredivisie format for European competition qualification. Despite suffering from an injury in January 2014, Berghuis finished the 2013–14 season with 41 appearances and 10 goals in all competitions.
In the 2014–15 season, Berghuis scored three goals to begin the campaign, against Heracles, Ajax and FC Dordrecht. However, in the first half of the season, Berghuis was plagued by injuries, making just seven appearances. By February 2015, Berghuis scored seven more goals in the Eredivisie, including a brace against Heerenveen. He also scored an important goals against FC Groningen and Willem II. At the end of the 2014–15 season, Berghuis scored 11 goals in 25 appearances in all competitions.
Having missed out due to an injury at the start of the season, Berghuis made his Watford debut on 15 August 2015 against West Bromwich Albion, coming on as a late substitute in a 0–0 draw. However, competition for spots saw Berghuis unable to secure a place in the Watford first team, largely because he was unable to feature in Watford manager Quique Sánchez Flores' preferred 4–2–3–1 formation. Sánchez Flores said he was not impressed with Berghuis' performances despite having high expectations of him. After two months omitted from the first team squad, Berghuis made his first appearance in the third round of the FA Cup in a 1–0 win over Newcastle United. It was not until on 20 April 2016 when he returned to the first team, setting up the lone Watford goal in a 3–1 loss against West Ham United, followed up by setting up another goal in a 3–2 win over Aston Villa. Following his appearances in the first team, Sánchez Flores praised Berghuis for his determination and hard work. At the end of the 2015–16 season, Berghuis had made 13 appearances in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2016–17 season, Berghuis' first-team opportunities became further limited following the arrival of new manager Walter Mazzarri.
On 23 September 2018, Berghuis made international news when he feigned injury by diving to the ground after a light pat on the head from Utrecht's Willem Janssen. When Berghuis eventually got back on his feet he continued to fake injury by holding his head.
Berghuis quickly became a key player for Ajax, playing predominantly as a right winger. He scored his first goal for the club in a 5–1 away win over Sporting CP in Ajax's first group match of the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League. He played a crucial role in Ajax winning the Eredivisie title in his first season, contributing 12 goals and 14 assists in 46 appearances in all competitions. In his second season, he helped Ajax win another Eredivisie title and reach the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Berghuis reached a significant milestone in his Ajax career on 1 October 2023, when he made his 100th appearance for the club in a match against Brighton & Hove Albion.
In May 2011, Berghuis was called-up by the U21 team for the first time. He scored on his U21 debut in a 2–0 friendly match victory over Israel on 27 May 2011. He also scored in his second appearance in the same month in a 5–0 friendly win against Albania.
In February 2012, Berghuis was called-up by the Netherlands U20 squad for the first time. He made his U20 debut as a starter before being substituted-off in the second half of a 3–0 win over Denmark on 29 February 2012. Berghuis made four appearances for the U20 side. in 2016]]
Berghuis made four appearances at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where he was one of two Dutch players to have their shots saved by Emiliano Martínez in the penalty shootout loss to Argentina at the quarter-final stage.
| + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition !rowspan="2" | Club !rowspan="2" | Season !colspan="3" | League !colspan="2" | National cup !colspan="2" | Europe !colspan="2" | Other !colspan="2" | Total |
| FC Twente | 2010–11 | Eredivisie | 0 | ||||
| 2011–12 | Eredivisie | 5 | |||||
| VVV-Venlo (loan) | 2011–12 | Eredivisie | 4 | ||||
| AZ Alkmaar | 2012–13 | Eredivisie | 0 | ||||
| 2013–14 | Eredivisie | 10 | |||||
| 2014–15 | Eredivisie | 11 | |||||
| Watford | 2015–16 | Premier League | 0 | ||||
| Feyenoord (loan) | 2016–17 | Eredivisie | 8 | ||||
| Feyenoord | 2017–18 | Eredivisie | 23 | ||||
| 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 13 | |||||
| 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 22 | |||||
| 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 21 | |||||
| AFC Ajax | 2021–22 | Eredivisie | 12 | ||||
| 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 11 | |||||
| 2023–24 | Eredivisie | 8 | |||||
| 2024–25 | Eredivisie | 3 | |||||
| 2025–26 | Eredivisie | 1 | |||||
| + Appearances and goals by national team and year | |
| Netherlands | 0 |
| 0 | |
| 0 | |
| 0 | |
| 0 | |
| 2 | |
| 0 | |
| 0 | |
| + List of international goals scored by Steven Berghuis |
| 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
AZ
Feyenoord
Ajax
Individual
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