| Damian van Bruggen | |
| Birth Date: | 18 March 1996 |
| Birth Place: | Utrecht, Netherlands |
| Height: | 1.85 m |
| Position: | Centre-back |
| Currentclub: | Vejle |
| Clubnumber: | 14 |
| Youthyears1: | –2011 |
| Youthclubs1: | Almere City |
| Youthyears2: | 2011–2014 |
| Youthclubs2: | Ajax |
| Years1: | 2014–2016 |
| Clubs1: | Jong Ajax |
| Caps1: | 60 |
| Goals1: | 2 |
| Years2: | 2016–2018 |
| Clubs2: | Jong PSV |
| Caps2: | 36 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2017–2018 |
| Clubs3: | → VVV-Venlo (loan) |
| Caps3: | 26 |
| Goals3: | 2 |
| Years4: | 2018–2020 |
| Clubs4: | VVV-Venlo |
| Caps4: | 22 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2020 |
| Clubs5: | Inter Zaprešić |
| Caps5: | 16 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2020–2022 |
| Clubs6: | Slaven Belupo |
| Caps6: | 49 |
| Goals6: | 1 |
| Years7: | 2022 |
| Clubs7: | Olimpija Ljubljana |
| Caps7: | 16 |
| Goals7: | 0 |
| Years8: | 2022–2024 |
| Clubs8: | Almere City |
| Caps8: | 68 |
| Goals8: | 1 |
| Years9: | 2024– |
| Clubs9: | Vejle |
| Caps9: | 0 |
| Goals9: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2011–2012 |
| Nationalteam1: | Netherlands U16 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 4 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2012–2013 |
| Nationalteam2: | Netherlands U17 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 11 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 2 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2013 |
| Nationalteam3: | Netherlands U18 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 3 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 0 |
| Nationalyears4: | 2014–2015 |
| Nationalteam4: | Netherlands U19 |
| Nationalcaps4: | 10 |
| Nationalgoals4: | 2 |
| Nationalyears5: | 2016 |
| Nationalteam5: | Netherlands U20 |
| Nationalcaps5: | 3 |
| Nationalgoals5: | 0 |
| Nationalyears6: | 2016–2017 |
| Nationalteam6: | Netherlands U21 |
| Nationalcaps6: | 2 |
| Nationalgoals6: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 13:47, 1 January 2024 (UTC) |
Damian van Bruggen (born 18 March 1996) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for Danish Superliga club Vejle Boldklub. Mainly a centre-back, he can also play as a defensive midfielder or a full-back.
Van Bruggen moved from Almere City to the Ajax youth academy at the start of the 2011–12 season.[1] In March 2013, Van Bruggen signed his first professional contract with Ajax, at the age of 16.[2]
Van Bruggen made his professional debut for Jong Ajax as a 61st-minute substitute for Ricardo van Rhijn in an Eerste Divisie match against Fortuna Sittard on 16 August 2014.[3]
He moved on a season-long loan to Eredivisie club VVV-Venlo in August 2017.[4] After a successful season, he joined the club on a permanent deal in May 2018.[5]
Between 2020 and 2022, Van Bruggen played for Croatian clubs Inter Zaprešić and Slaven Belupo, then briefly joined Slovenian side Olimpija Ljubljana in February 2022.[6] [7] [8] He returned to his native Netherlands in July 2022, rejoining his first club, Almere City.[9] [10] His stint at the club proved rewarding as he played a crucial role in their historic promotion to the Eredivisie during the 2022–23 season, scoring once in 43 league appearances, including the play-offs. Under Van Bruggen's captaincy, the team secured their promotion after a victory over Emmen in the play-off finals.[11]
On 5 July 2024, Danish Superliga club Vejle Boldklub confirmed that they had signed van Bruggen on a deal until 30 June 2026.[12]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Jong Ajax | 2014–15 | Eerste Divisie | 31 | 2 | — | — | 31 | 2 | |||
| 2015–16 | Eerste Divisie | 29 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 60 | 2 | — | — | 60 | 2 | |||||
| Jong PSV | 2016–17 | Eerste Divisie | 36 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 0 | |||
| VVV-Venlo (loan) | 2017–18 | Eredivisie | 26 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | 29 | 3 | ||
| VVV-Venlo | 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Total | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | ||||
| Inter Zaprešić | 2019–20 | Croatian Football League | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| Slaven Belupo | 2020–21 | Croatian Football League | 28 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22 | Croatian Football League | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | |||
| Total | 49 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | 55 | 1 | ||||
| Olimpija Ljubljana | 2021–22 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| Almere City | 2022–23 | Eerste Divisie | 37 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 44 | 1 | |
| 2023–24 | Eerste Divisie | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | |||
| Total | 68 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 77 | 1 | |||
| Vejle Boldklub | 2024–25 | Danish Superliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 293 | 6 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 313 | 7 | |||