Dwight Tiendalli


Dwight Tiendalli is a Surinamese-born Dutch footballer who last played as a full back for League One club Oxford United.
Tiendalli is a former Dutch under-21 international, and was part of the FC Twente team which won the 2009–10 Eredivisie. After his first season with Swansea, in which the team won the League Cup, Tiendalli was capped twice by the Netherlands national team.

Club career

Feyenoord and Sparta

In the summer of 2006, Tiendalli moved to Feyenoord on a four-year contract, for a fee of €2 million. After one appearance for FC Utrecht during the 2006–07 season, he made his Feyenoord debut five days later in a 0–0 draw against Heracles Almelo. He also made his European debut after appearing in the first round of the UEFA Cup, a 2–2 draw against Lokomotiv Sofia. On 12 December 2006, Tiendalli was sent off after handling the ball on the goal-line. Video evidence, however, proved he had not committed an offence, leading referee Jack van Hulten to admit to the mistake and for Tiendalli to have his red card rescinded. In his first season, Tiendalli was sidelined by a groin injury and missed the entire season.
After recovering from the injury, Feyenoord loaned Tiendalli to city rivals Sparta Rotterdam on 25 January 2008, where he was re-united with his former Utrecht coach Foeke Booy. Tiendalli was inserted straight into the starting line-up, putting in a fine display on his debut.
After his loan spell at Sparta, Tiendalli was indeed used more often by Feyenoord, but could not make the expected breakthrough he wanted on his return. In De Klassieker against Ajax, which Feyenoord lost 2–0, he was sent off in the match for a second bookable offence, and was also sent off in the last game of the season, a 3–2 loss against Roda JC. At the start of the 2009–10 season, Tiendalli left Feyenoord after having his contract terminated.

Twente

On 14 September 2009, FC Twente signed Tiendalli – on a free transfer – to a one-year contract, with a view to a further year. A month after joining Twente, having appeared as an unused substitute in the last two matches, Tiendalli made his debut after coming on as a substitute for Dario Vujičević in the 63rd minute of a 3–1 win over Heracles Almelo. A week after his debut, he scored his first goal and provided an assist for Miroslav Stoch's opener in a 4–0 win over FC Groningen. In his first season, the club won their first-ever Eredivisie title and Tiendalli established himself in the first team, in the absence of Slobodan Rajković and Nicky Kuiper. During the season, Tiendalli made his Europa League debut and played in both legs against Werder Bremen in which Twente lost 4–2, which saw them eliminated in the second round of the competition.
In the 2010–11 season, Tiendalli made his first start under Johan Cruyff in which Twente won 1–0. He played three games in the UEFA Champions League, but soon lost his first-team place due to injuries and only made 18 appearances. Twente finished third in their Champions League group, relegating the club to the UEFA Europa League. Feyenoord advanced through the knockout stage until the quarter-final, in the first leg of which Tiendalli received a straight red card in a 3–1 loss against Villarreal. Twente ultimately lost the two-legged tie 8–2 on aggregate. At the end of the season, it was announced that Tiendalli's contract with the club would not be renewed after contract talks stalled. A week before his contract expiration, he attended the club's first session of the new season, insisting he wanted to maintain his fitness. However, Preud'homme's successor as manager, Co Adriaanse, offered him a new, one-year contract, which he accepted. After signing the deal, he stated that he hoped to make a fresh start under Adriaanse.
In the 2011–12 season, Tiendalli started for Twente as they faced Ajax for the second time in a row and ran out 2–1 winners. During the season, he was used more as a left back at Twente. At the end of the year, he was released from the club following the return of manager Steve McClaren.

Swansea City

On 10 September 2012, Premier League club Swansea City confirmed that Tiendalli had signed a deal with the club until the end of the 2012–13 Premier League season. He was signed to bring in defensive cover after first-choice left back Neil Taylor was ruled out for the remainder of 2012–13 with a broken ankle.
Tiendalli made his Swansea debut in the third round of the League Cup, providing an assist for Danny Graham in a 3–2 win over Crawley Town. Having been on the bench in the league for two months since joining Swansea City, as a result of Ben Davies and Àngel Rangel being first choices in the left and right back position respectively, Tiendalli finally made his league debut, coming on as a substitute for Jonathan de Guzmán in the 74th minute of a 2–0 win over Arsenal. After the match, Tiendalli stated his intent to stay at Swansea despite his lack of first-team opportunities. He appeared in the final of the League Cup when he came on for Davies in the 84th minute of a 5–0 win over Bradford City, becoming the first non-English Premier League team to have won the League Cup and the first non-English club since 1927 to win a major English cup. A week later, Tiendalli become first choice in defence after Rangel was injured.
Tiendalli scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 away win over Wigan Athletic on 7 May 2013 at the DW Stadium. Manager Michael Laudrup praised Tiendalli for his performance in response to uncertainty over his future. Laudrup, however, said he expected Tiendalli to move on at the end of the season.
At the end of the 2012–13 season, Tiendalli's agent Sebastien Casenaz told talkSPORT that he would not be at Swansea for the next season after contract talks had broken down. On 28 August 2013, however, Tiendalli re-joined Swansea on a three-year contract lasting until June 2016.

Middlesbrough (loan)

On 26 March 2015, Tiendalli was loaned out to promotion-chasing Middlesbrough of the Championship for the remainder of the 2014–15 season. He made his Boro debut away to Watford on 6 April. After returning from his loan, on 1 September 2015, Swansea released a statement on their website that Tiendalli had his contract cancelled by mutual consent.

Oxford United

In July 2017, having been without a club for nearly two years, Tiendalli signed a one-year contract with Oxford United of League One. He was released at the end of the 2017–18 season having played in 13 league fixtures, none of them under new manager Karl Robinson.

International career

Tiendalli played five matches at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship final stages for the Netherlands national U-21 team.
In 2006, he was part of the Netherlands U21 squad that won the UEFA U-21 Championship 2006 in Portugal, where he was also named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament.
Tiendalli made his full international debut for the senior team in a 3–0 friendly win against Indonesia on 7 June 2013, replacing Daryl Janmaat in the second half.

Career statistics

Club

International performance

Honours

Club

;Twente
;Swansea City