Misjonne Juniffer Naigelino "Sontje" Hansen (born 18 May 2002) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a forward for Eredivisie club NEC.

Sontje Hansen
Hansen with NEC in 2024
Personal information
Full name Misjonne Juniffer Naigelino Hansen[1]
Date of birth (2002-05-18) 18 May 2002 (age 21)
Place of birth Hoorn, Netherlands
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
NEC
Number 10
Youth career
2007–2011 HSV Sport 1889
2011–2012 Zwaluwen '30
2012–2013 Always Forward
2013–2023 Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2023 Jong Ajax 84 (13)
2019–2023 Ajax 1 (0)
2023– NEC 27 (3)
International career
2017 Netherlands U15 5 (2)
2017–2018 Netherlands U16 7 (2)
2018–2019 Netherlands U17 24 (13)
2019 Netherlands U18 3 (0)
2023– Netherlands U21 2 (0)
Medal record
Representing  Netherlands
UEFA European Under-17 Championship
Winner Ireland 2019 U-17 Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:30, 2 April 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 October 2023

Early life and career edit

Hansen, born in Hoorn, North Holland, began his football career at the age of five with local amateur club HSV Sport 1889, where his older brother Ricky also played. Their mother, Sonaida, raised them as a single parent and faced challenges, including a lengthy sick leave, which made it difficult to cover club fees and football gear expenses.[3] In their time of need, the Leergeld West-Friesland Foundation stepped in, providing assistance to families with limited financial means. Thanks to this support, Hansen was able to pursue his development at the club. In 2011, he moved to Zwaluwen '30, and two years later, he earned admission to the Ajax Youth Academy.[3]

Club career edit

Ajax edit

Hansen signed his first senior contract with Ajax in May 2018, keeping him at the club until 2021.[4]

On 13 December 2019, he made his professional football debut for Jong Ajax, starting in an Eerste Divisie match against Cambuur and immediately scoring his first goal as Ajax secured a 2–0 away victory.[5] Five days later, he made his first-team debut for Ajax on 18 December 2019 in a KNVB Cup match against Telstar. Four days later again, on 22 December, he played his first Eredivisie match against ADO Den Haag, coming on as a substitute in the 79th minute.[6]

In the 2020–21 season, he played for Jong Ajax again, participating in 28 out of 33 matches and contributing with three goals and five assists.[2] During the first half of the 2021–22 season, a knee injury sidelined him for nearly two months, and after recovery, he struggled to regain form, managing only three goals and two assists in 23 matches.[2]

On 22 August 2022, he had a standout performance, scoring twice and providing one assist against De Graafschap in a 5–1 victory.[7] However, for the remainder of the season, he only scored two more goals. In a total of 84 matches with Jong Ajax between 2019 and 2023, he ended up scoring thirteen goals and providing thirteen assists.[2]

NEC edit

On 8 May 2023, it was officially announced that Hansen would join fellow Eredivisie side NEC at the start of the 2023–24 season, signing a five-year contract with the club.[8][9][10] He made his competitive debut for the club on the first matchday of the season, also scoring his first goal for NEC in a 4–3 home loss to Excelsior on 13 August.[11]

International career edit

Hansen has been a part of the Netherlands national youth football teams since February 2017. In May 2019, he won the UEFA European Under-17 Championship with the Netherlands U17 team and became the top goalscorer of the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup, with six goals.[12]

During his time with the Netherlands under-17 team, he scored 13 goals in 24 matches, with only Daishawn Redan (20) and Brian Brobbey (16) scoring more for the team. Additionally, he featured in the under-15, under-16, and under-18 national teams.[13]

On 8 September 2023, he made his debut for the Netherlands under-21 team with an assist to NEC Nijmegen teammate Dirk Proper in a 3–0 victory over Moldova U21.[14]

Career statistics edit

As of match played 2 April 2024[2]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Jong Ajax 2019–20 Eerste Divisie 10 3 10 3
2020–21 Eerste Divisie 28 3 28 3
2021–22 Eerste Divisie 23 3 23 3
2022–23 Eerste Divisie 23 4 23 4
Total 84 13 84 13
Ajax 2019–20 Eredivisie 1 0 1 0 2 0
NEC 2023–24 Eredivisie 27 3 4 0 31 3
Career total 112 16 5 0 0 0 117 16

Honours edit

Netherlands U17

Individual

References edit

  1. ^ "FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019: List of Players: Netherlands" (PDF). FIFA. 31 October 2019. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e Sontje Hansen at Soccerway
  3. ^ a b Hilgersom, Mathieu (17 November 2019). "Sontje Hansen begon met zijn duim in de mond bij HSV Sport 1889". Royal Dutch Football Association (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 11 February 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  4. ^ Jager, Jelmer (18 May 2018). "Ajax contracteert Hansen, Kasanwirjo en Llansana". Ajax1.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Jong Ajax brengt koploper Cambuur eerste nederlaag in eigen huis toe". Ajax (in Dutch). 13 December 2019. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Ajax sluit 2019 in stijl af: jonkies floreren bij doelpuntenregen". Voetbal International. 22 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Heracles blijft foutloos, Jong Ajax geeft dolend De Graafschap pak slaag". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 22 August 2022. Archived from the original on 22 August 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  8. ^ "N.E.C. contracteert Sontje Hansen". NEC Nijmegen (in Dutch). 8 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  9. ^ van de Water, Lars (8 May 2023). "NEC stunt met komst Sontje Hansen". RN7 (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Ajaxtalent Sontje Hansen op weg naar NEC". Het Parool. 8 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Nieuwkomers Excelsior dompelen NEC in rouw met treffer in 100ste minuut: 4–3". NOS (in Dutch). 13 August 2023. Archived from the original on 18 August 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  12. ^ Lang, Jack (19 November 2019). "Stars of the future: Griezmann a fan of Golden Boot winner Sontje Hansen, who wants to be best player in the world". The Athletic. Archived from the original on 25 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Hansen klaar voor seizoen Eredivisie: "Ik ben 21 en moet nu gaan spelen"". ESPN.nl (in Dutch). 24 July 2023. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  14. ^ "Jong Oranje begint nieuwe reeks met ruime zege op Moldavië". NOS (in Dutch). 8 September 2023. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  15. ^ "Netherlands retain #U17EURO title: at a glance". UEFA.com. 19 May 2019.
  16. ^ "2019 Under-17 EURO team of the tournament". UEFA.com. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2022.

External links edit