Christopher van Huizen

Christopher van Huizen
Christopher James van Huizen (born 28 November 1992), more commonly known as Chris van Huizen, is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays as a full-back or winger for Singapore Premier League club Lion City Sailors and the Singapore national team.
Club career
Youth career
Van Huizen went for trials with Geylang United when he was young and duly impressed the coaches at Geylang was rewarded with a place at the Geylang U-16 squad. He was due to play for S.League giants Tampines Rovers' Prime League squad when he turned 17 but saw his opportunity derailed by National Service in 2011. Van Huizen rejected the chance to play for the SAFSA team during his 2 years of service and almost gave up on continuing professional football.
A second chance came calling for Van Huizen when he entered the professional football scene in Singapore through his involvement in a MediaCorp Channel 5 TV series, First XI.
Tampines Rovers
Following his performance in the reality TV series, Tampines Rovers coach Rafi Ali offered Van Huizen a two-year contract to play for both the Prime League and the S.League teams in 2013.
LionsXII
Alongside Sahil Suhaimi, Wahyudi Wayid and Izzdin Shafiq, Van Huizen was unveiled as one of the new LionsXII signings by Fandi Ahmad for the 2015 Malaysia Super League season. This marks a remarkable turnaround for the "boy from the reality series" to a potential national team player.
Van Huizen made his LionsXII debut as a substitute in the opening game of the season, coming on to make a brief cameo appearance against PDRM FA in a 5–3 victory for the Lions.
Tampines Rovers
Following the exit of LionsXII from the Malaysia Super League, Van Huizen rejoined Tampines Rovers in 2016. He scored his first goal of the season in a 1–2 win over Garena Young Lions, helping the Stags climb to joint-top of the 2016 S.League season.
Garena Young Lions
On 1 July 2016, Van Huizen signed for Garena Young Lions. This was following a season at Tampines Rovers where he was used sparingly.
Home United
On 2 January 2017, Van Huizen signed for Home United but only managed to play a small role in the squad.
Geylang International
In 2019, Van Huizen signed for his boyhood club, Geylang International ahead of the 2019 Singapore Premier League season, when he racked up 10 assists, the highest in the league. On 11 November 2021, he left Geylang International, considering retirement from football.
Tampines Rovers
In January 2022, Van Huizen was given another chance by his former club, Tampines Rovers and signed a one year deal.
Lion City Sailors
On 20 January 2023, Van Huizen joined Lion City Sailors ahead of the 2023 season. On 13 August 2023, he scored his first goal for the club in a massive 2–8 victory against Hougang United. On 4 October 2023, Van Huizen assisted Richairo Živković in the 2023–24 AFC Champions League group stage match to take the lead against Hong Kong side, Kitchee which would see Lion City Sailors ending up in a 2–1 away win.
International career
Having impressed in his first season in the 2014 S.League Season, Van Huizen was rewarded with a call-up to the Singapore U-21 squad, by Richard Bok, for the Thanh Niên Cup in Vietnam.
In 2015, Van Huizen was called up to the senior team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He made his senior team international debut in a 3-0 loss against Japan, coming on with 10 minutes left on the clock. He earned his third cap in a friendly against Myanmar, coming on for the final 15 minutes of the game.
In 2022, Van Huizen was included in the team for the 2022 FAS Tri-Nations Series and 2022 AFF Championship tournament.
On 12 October 2023, Van Huizen scored his first international goal agaisnt Guam in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Career statistics
Club
International
International goals
Scores and results list Singapore's goal tally first.
Honours
Club
LionsXII
Malaysia FA Cup: 2015
Individual
Singapore Premier League Player of the Month: July 2019
Notes
Personal life
Aside from playing football, Chris enjoys skating as a side hobby and has participated in different skating competitions around Singapore.
References
External links
Living people
1992 births
Singaporean people of Dutch descent
Singaporean men's footballers
Singapore men's international footballers
Tampines Rovers FC players
Singapore Premier League players
Men's association football midfielders
Singapore men's youth international footballers