View source for Elrio van Heerden

{{short description|South African footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Use South African English|date=November 2012}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Elrio van Heerden
| image = Elrio van Heerden (cropped).jpg
| caption = van Heerden in 2017
| full_name = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1983|7|11|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Port Elizabeth]], South Africa
| height = 1.68 m
| position = [[Midfielder]], [[winger (association football)|winger]]
| currentclub = 
| youthyears1 = 1995–1997
| youthclubs1 = Glenville Celtic
| youthyears2 = 1998–2001
| youthclubs2 = [[NMMU F.C.|NMMU]]
| years1 = 2002–2006
| clubs1 = [[F.C. Copenhagen|Copenhagen]]
| caps1 = 25
| goals1 = 5
| years2 = 2006–2009
| clubs2 = [[Club Brugge K.V.|Club Brugge]]
| caps2 = 57
| goals2 = 1
| years3 = 2009–2010
| clubs3 = [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]]
| caps3 = 0
| goals3 = 0
| years4 = 2010
| clubs4 = [[Sivasspor]]
| caps4 = 6
| goals4 = 0
| years5 = 2010–2011
| clubs5 = [[K.V.C. Westerlo|Westerlo]]
| caps5 = 20
| goals5 = 0
| years6 = 2011–2012
| clubs6 = [[Golden Arrows]]
| caps6 = 18
| goals6 = 0
| years7 = 2017–2019
| clubs7 = [[PE Stars F.C.|PE Stars]]
| caps7 = 0
| goals7 = 0
| totalcaps = 126
| totalgoals = 6
| nationalyears1 = 2004–2009
| nationalteam1 = [[South Africa national football team|South Africa]]
| nationalcaps1 = 37
| nationalgoals1 = 3
}}

'''Elrio van Heerden''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɛ|l|r|i|oʊ|_|v|æ|n|_|ˈ|h|ɪər|d|ən}}, {{IPA|af|ˈɛlrjuə fan ˈɦiərdən|lang}}; born 11 July 1983) is a South African retired professional [[association football|footballer]] who played as a [[midfielder]] for the likes of [[F.C. Copenhagen|Copenhagen]], [[Club Brugge K.V.|Club Brugge]] and [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]], among other clubs. He was previously also been an established member of the [[South Africa national football team|South Africa national team]], representing the nation from 2004 to 2009.

==Club career==
Van Heerden started his career with Glenville Celtic<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120309051352/http://www.glenvillecelticfc.com/modules/content/index.php?id=10 "About Glenville"]. Glenville Celtic. Retrieved 15 March 2013.</ref> and moved 1998 in the Soccer School of Excellence which was part of the [[Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University]].

===FC Copenhagen===
Van Heerden came to Denmark joining [[FC Copenhagen]] in 2002, where he spent his first two years learning from the older players. He got his debut in 2004 against [[AaB Fodbold|AaB]] at [[Parken Stadium]], and the little South African immediately wrote history with his equalizer short before the final whistle. The goal meant, that Copenhagen could secure the championship in the next (and last) round against [[FC Nordsjælland]] at [[Farum Park]], which they did with a 4–2 victory.

===Club Brugge===
A move to [[Club Brugge]] was made on 24 January 2006, where Van Heerden spent two years with the Belgian club scoring two goals from his 67 appearances.

===Blackburn Rovers===
It was announced on 2 June 2009 that Van Heerden had agreed a two-year deal with the [[Premier League]] club [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]],<ref name="ROVERS">{{cite web |url=http://www.rovers.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10303~1678490,00.html |title=Rovers sign South African star |publisher=[[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]] |date=2 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007020700/http://www.rovers.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0%2C%2C10303~1678490%2C00.html |archive-date=7 October 2011 }}</ref> arriving on a free transfer from [[Club Brugge]]. He only played two official matches for the club; in the [[Football League Cup|League Cup]] against [[Gillingham F.C.|Gillingham]] in the second round, and [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] in the quarter-finals, both as a second-half substitute.

On 8 January 2010, it was reported that Elrio was close to signing for Turkish club [[Sivasspor]]. Goal.com revealed that Elrio was due to travel to Turkey for a medical ahead of signing on Monday 11 January 2010.<ref>[http://goal.com/en/news/1659/south-africa/2010/01/09/1734059/sivasspor-coach-muhsin-ertugral-close-to-signing-south "Sivasspor Close To Signing South African Elrio Van Heerden"]. ''Goal.com''. 9 January 2010.</ref>

===Sivasspor===
On 11 January 2010, Blackburn Rovers announced the transfer of Van Heerden to [[Sivasspor]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100114165028/http://www.rovers.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0%2C%2C10303~1928971%2C00.html "South African departs"]. Blackburn Rovers. 11 January 2010.</ref>

===Westerlo===
On 27 July 2010, [[Belgian Pro League]] side [[K.V.C. Westerlo|Westerlo]] announced the signing of Van Heerden.<ref name="Belgium">{{Cite news|title=Elrio Van Heerden: alleen nog medische testen |url=http://www.kvcwesterlo.be/nieuws/1336-elrio-van-heerden-alleen-nog-medische-testen |language=nl |publisher=[[K.V.C. Westerlo|Westerlo]] |date=27 July 2010 |access-date=27 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100804150340/http://www.kvcwesterlo.be/nieuws/1336-elrio-van-heerden-alleen-nog-medische-testen |archive-date=4 August 2010 }}</ref>

In November 2012, after having been without a club since the end of the 2011–12 season, Van Heerden had an unsuccessful trial with [[Major League Soccer|MLS]] side [[Sporting Kansas City]].<ref>[http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/sport/2013/02/06/no-takers-yet-for-van-heerden "No takers yet for Van Heerden"]. ''[[The Sowetan]]''. 6 February 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2013.</ref>

===PE Stars===
[[File:Elrio van Heerden 2.jpg|thumb|van Heerden taking a corner for PE Stars]]
In 2017, after five years out of the game, van Heerden returned to sign for [[SAFA Second Division|ABC Motsepe League]] side [[PE Stars F.C.|PE Stars]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/daily-dispatch/20180110/281788514455842|title=Ex Bafana player lauds the prospects of PE Stars|work=Daily Dispatch|location=South Africa|date=10 January 2018|access-date=22 November 2018|last=Piliso|first=Mfundo}}</ref>

==International career==
Van Heerden won 37 full international caps for [[South Africa national football team|South Africa]], scoring three goals.<ref>[https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/zaf-recintlp.html "South Africa – International Appearances"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105051912/http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/zaf-recintlp.html |date=5 November 2013 }}. [[Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|RSSSF]]. Retrieved 15 March 2013.</ref> He represented ''Bafana Bafana'' at the [[2006 Africa Cup of Nations]] in Egypt, the [[2008 Africa Cup of Nations]] in Ghana and the [[2009 FIFA Confederations Cup]] in South Africa.

==Career statistics==
<ref>[http://www.safa.net/index.php?page=bafana "Bafana Bafana"]. [[South African Football Association|SAFA]]. Retrieved 15 March 2013.</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan=3 | [[South Africa national football team|South Africa national team]]
|-
!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|2004||6||0
|-
|2005||10||1
|-
|2006||4||0
|-
|2007||3||0
|-
|2008||4||2
|-
|2009||10||0
|-
!Total||37||3
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! # !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
|-
| 1 || 6 July 2005 || [[Home Depot Center]], United States || {{Fb|Mexico}} ||align=center| 2–0||align=center| 2–1|| [[2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup]]
|-
| 2 || 23 January 2008 || [[Tamale, Ghana|Tamale]], [[Ghana]] || {{Fb|Angola}} ||align=center| 1–1 ||align=center| 1–1 || [[2008 African Cup of Nations]]
|-
| 3 || 31 January 2008 || [[Kumasi]], [[Ghana]] || {{Fb|Senegal}} ||align=center| 1–0 ||align=center| 1–1 || [[2008 African Cup of Nations]]
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{FIFA player|214480}}
*{{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928033446/http://fck.dk/saesonen/statistik/spillerstatistik/?search=1&play_playerid_fk=41 |date=28 September 2012 |title=F.C. Copenhagen statistics }}

{{Navboxes
| bg = #F7EB29
| fg = #006400
| bordercolor = #006400
| title = South Africa Squads
| list1 = 
{{South Africa Squad 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup}}
{{South Africa Squad 2006 Africa Cup of Nations}}
{{South Africa 2008 Africa Cup of Nations}}
{{South Africa Squad 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Heerden, Elrio}}
[[Category:1983 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Cape Coloureds]]
[[Category:South African people of Dutch descent]]
[[Category:South African men's soccer players]]
[[Category:South Africa men's international soccer players]]
[[Category:South African expatriate men's soccer players]]
[[Category:F.C. Copenhagen players]]
[[Category:Club Brugge KV players]]
[[Category:Sivasspor footballers]]
[[Category:K.V.C. Westerlo players]]
[[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]
[[Category:Soccer players from Gqeberha]]
[[Category:Danish Superliga players]]
[[Category:Süper Lig players]]
[[Category:Belgian Pro League players]]
[[Category:2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players]]
[[Category:2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players]]
[[Category:2006 Africa Cup of Nations players]]
[[Category:2008 Africa Cup of Nations players]]
[[Category:Blackburn Rovers F.C. players]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in England]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium]]
[[Category:South African expatriate sportspeople in Belgium]]
[[Category:Lamontville Golden Arrows F.C. players]]
[[Category:21st-century South African sportsmen]]