Johan Kappelhof

Johan Kappelhof (born 5 August 1990) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defender.

Johan Kappelhof

Kappelhof with Chicago Fire in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Johan Kappelhof
Date of birth	(1990-08-05) 5 August 1990 (age 32)
Place of birth	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)^[1]
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
	Amstelland
	Ajax
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2016	Groningen	123	(3)
2016–2021	Chicago Fire	158	(0)
2022	Real Salt Lake	6	(1)
International career
2011–2013	Netherlands U21	5	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 October 2022

Career

Kappelhof was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Whilst being in Ajax's youth academy for 13 years he moved from being a right winger to a defender.^[2]

At Groningen he made his debut in 2011 before helping the Green-White Armes win the KNVB Cup in 2014–15 against defending champions PEC Zwolle. It was their first major trophy and they qualified for the UEFA Europa League.^[3][4] He played in all six of Groningen's Europe league group games.

 

Lampson, Kappelhof, and de Leeuw of Chicago Fire defend against FC Cincinnati's Jimmy McLaughlin in the 2017 U.S. Open Cup.

Chicago Fire

On 2 February 2016, Kappelhof joined American Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire.^[5] Following the 2017 season, he was voted the club's defender of the year after earning 4 assists in 33 matches.^[6]

Following the 2021 season, Kappelhof's contract with Chicago expired and he became a free agent.^[7]

Real Salt Lake

On 18 February 2022, Kappelhof signed as a free agent with Real Salt Lake.^[8] Following the 2022 season, his contract option was declined by Salt Lake.^[9]

Personal life

Kappelhof has a Ghanaian mother and a Dutch father.^[10]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 8 October 2020^[11]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Groningen	2011–12	Eredivisie	23	0	1	0	—		—		24	0
	2012–13		21	0	3	0	—		—		24	0
	2013–14		36	2	3	0	—		—		39	2
	2014–15		29	0	6	1	2^[a]	0	—		37	1
	2015–16		18	1	2	0	6^[a]	0	—		26	1
	Total		127	3	15	1	8	0	0	0	150	4
Chicago Fire	2016	Major League Soccer	33	0	4	0	—		—		37	0
	2017		33	0	2	0	—		1^[b]	0	36	0
	2018		29	0	3	0	—		—		32	0
	2019		29	0	1	0	0	0	—		30	0
	2020		4	0	—		—		—		4	0
	Total		128	0	10	0	0	0	1	0	139	0
Career total			255	3	25	0	8	0	1	0	289	0

1. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs

Honours

Club

Groningen

• KNVB Cup: 2014–15

References

1. "Johan Kappelhof profile". Real Salt Lake. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
2. "Dutch defender Johan Kappelhof 'feels at home' with the Fire". NBC Sports. 5 August 2016.
3. "Groningen claim first trophy with KNVB Cup triumph". Goal.com. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
4. "PEC Zwolle vs. Groningen - 3 May 2015 - Soccerway". za.soccerway.com.
5. "Johan Kappelhof officially signs with Chicago Fire". Hot Time in Old Town. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
6. "Johan Kappelhof". Chicago Fire. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
7. "Chicago Fire FC Announce 2021 Roster Decisions | Chicago Fire FC". chicagofirefc.
8. mlssoccer (18 February 2022). "Real Salt Lake sign free-agent defender Johan Kappelhof | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
9. "Real Salt Lake Announces 2023 Roster Decisions | Real Salt Lake". rsl.
10. "Ghanaian defender Johna Kappelhof scores in FC Groningen goal rout in Dutch Cup". Ghana Soccernet. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
11. Johan Kappelhof at Soccerway. Retrieved 4 January 2021.

External links

• Voetbal International profile (in Dutch)
• at the Wayback Machine (archived 2012-09-22)
• Johan Kappelhof at Major League Soccer
• Johan Kappelhof Interview