Erik Pieters

Who Is Erik Pieters?

Erik Pieters is a famous footballer. He is known for playing football and is very good at it. He is a great player and people like to watch him play.

Early Life and Background

Erik Pieters was born on August 7, 1988.

Career and Claim to Fame

Erik Pieters is a Dutch footballer. He played as a left-back and centre-back. He even played with Stoke City U21s as an overage player and coach. You can find out more about him on his official website.

His website has all the information you need to know about him. It is a great place to learn more about this famous footballer.

Birthday, Age and Zodiac

Erik Pieters was born on August 7, 1988. He is 38 years old. His zodiac sign is Leo. People who are Leos are very strong and confident. They are natural leaders and like to be in charge.

What It Means To Be A Leo

Leos are very outgoing and like to have fun. They are also very kind and care about their friends and family. Erik Pieters is a Leo, so he might have some of these qualities.

Fun Facts and Legacy

Erik Pieters is a famous footballer who played as a left-back and centre-back. He is 38 years old and a Leo. We know he played with Stoke City U21s and was a coach too. He is a great player and people like to watch him play.

We can find out more about him on his website. Erik Pieters is a great footballer and we can learn more about him there.

Erik Pieters - Quick Facts

Profile Overview of Erik Pieters

Erik Pieters (born 7 August 1988) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a left-back and centre-back with Stoke City U21s as a overage player and coach.

This profile of Erik Pieters covers Early Career and Breakthrough, Utrecht, PSV Eindhoven, Stoke City and Burnley.

Pieters began his career with Utrecht and made his professional debut in August 2006. He impressed enough at the Stadion Galgenwaard to earn a move to PSV Eindhoven in July 2008 for €2.5 million. At PSV, he won the Johan Cruijff Shield in 2008 and the KNVB Beker in 2011–12 and also became a regular member of the Dutch national team. Injuries hampered his progress in 2012–13 before he moved to English side Stoke City in June 2013 for €3.6 million.

Pieters spent six years with Stoke and made 206 appearances before joining Burnley in July 2019. He signed for Championship club West Bromwich Albion in September 2022 for a further two seasons. He had a short term spell at Luton Town without making a first-team appearance prior to moving to Championship side Derby County in late March 2025 in a deal until the end of the season; he left the club in June 2025.

Early Career and Breakthrough of Erik Pieters

Born in Tiel, Pieters grew up in Enspijk and started as a central midfielder in the juvenile ranks of VV Rhelico in Rumpt. There he was scouted by Utrecht and, after a trial period, he joined the Utrecht youth academy.

Utrecht of Erik Pieters

Pieters made his Eredivisie debut for Utrecht in a 2–1 defeat against Willem II and went on to make 29 appearances in his maiden season as Utrecht finished the 2006–07 season in ninth place and they went on to win in the Intertoto Cup playoffs. In the 2007–08 season, Pieters made his European debut in July in the Intertoto Cup. He made 35 appearances and scored twice against Willem II and Groningen as Utrecht finished in tenth place. His solid performances attracted the interest of PSV Eindhoven.

PSV Eindhoven

On 9 July 2008, it was confirmed that Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven had signed the left-back for reportedly €2.5 million. Pieters was given the number 14 shirt, which was previously worn by Slobodan Rajković. He made his PSV debut in the league against his former club in a 5–1 win. His UEFA Champions League debut came in September against Atlético Madrid. After a bright start to his PSV career, he was benched after some indifferent performances. In 2008–09 Pieters played 23 times for PSV as they finished in 4th position, winning the 2008 Johan Cruijff Schaal by beating Feyenoord 2–0.

The following season, Pieters regained his place in the starting eleven and played his part as PSV went on an unbeaten run for the last two months leading up to the winter break. His season was interrupted by a knee injury sustained while on international duty and he returned to within two weeks. The 2009–10 campaign saw PSV finish in 3rd position and reach the round of 32 in the UEFA Europa League. Pieters played 48 times in 2010–11 as PSV came close to reclaiming the Dutch title, finishing third four points off champions Ajax and he also helped PSV beat Feynoord 10–0. The 2011–12 season saw Pieters struggle with a fractured metatarsal and played 25 times before deciding to undergo foot surgery.

He made his return from injury in a league match against PEC Zwolle on 18 January 2013 after a nine-month layoff, and with PSV losing 3–1 Pieters was sent-off for a foul on Fred Benson. Such was Pieters' anger that he ran down the players entrance and punched a window, badly cutting his arm and was ruled out for a further three months. He returned in the top-of the table clash with Ajax towards the end of the 2012–13 season, replacing Jetro Willems after 73 minutes. A mix up with Pieters and PSV goalkeeper Boy Waterman allowed Derk Boerrigter to scoring the winning goal and Ajax went on to win the Eredivise.

Stoke City

Pieters signed for English club Stoke City on 28 June 2013 on a four-year contract for a fee of €3.6 million (£3 million). After agreeing to join Stoke, Pieters revealed that his main ambition was to play in England. – "Of course, I've always wanted to play in the Premier League. It's one of the hardest competitions to play in with some great players and teams and I'm really excited about it. I'm really looking forward to playing for this Club. It's important for me that the first impression is good and I've got a great feeling about Stoke City." He made his debut for Stoke on 17 August 2013 in a 1–0 defeat against Liverpool. Pieters scored his first goal for Stoke on 12 April 2014 in a 1–0 win over Newcastle United after his intended cross beat Tim Krul. Pieters played 39 times for Stoke in 2013–14 as they finished in ninth position in the Premier League.

Pieters retained his place at left-back under Mark Hughes in 2014–15, playing in 32 matches as Stoke finished in ninth position. Stoke suffered several defensive injuries during the season with Pieters suffering from a groin injury. Stoke ended the campaign with a 6–1 victory against Liverpool. Pieters signed a contract extension in December 2015, keeping him contracted at the club until 2020. Pieters played 41 times for Stoke in 2015–16 as the Potters again finished ninth. At the end of the season Opta Sports revealed that Pieters made more tackles than any other defender in the Premier League during the campaign.

Pieters again remained Hughes' first choice left-back in 2016–17, making 38 appearances as Stoke finished in 13th position. Pieters was criticised at times during the campaign by supporters due to some poor performances and assistant manager Mark Bowen admitted that Pieters "has come off his standards". Pieters was fined £70,000 by manager Paul Lambert in March 2018 after attending a late night party just hours before a league fixture against Everton. Pieters played 32 times in 2017–18 as Stoke suffered relegation to the EFL Championship. Pieters began the 2018–19 season with two rare goals against Preston North End and West Bromwich Albion.

On 31 January 2019, Pieters joined French club Amiens on loan for the remainder of the 2018–19 season. Pieters played 15 times for Amiens, helping them to avoid relegation.

Burnley

On 8 July 2019, Pieters signed for Burnley for an undisclosed fee. On 10 June 2022, Burnley announced Pieters would leave the club at the end of June when his contract expired.

West Bromwich Albion

On 13 September 2022, Pieters joined EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion on a free transfer, signing a deal until the end of the season. He made his Albion debut the following day, coming on as a substitute in a home defeat to Birmingham City. On 22 May 2024, the club announced he would be leaving in the summer when his contract expired.

Source: adapted from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Pieters), text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.