In his first season for the club, Heitinga made 35 appearances in all competitions. Heitinga made his debut for Everton on 13 September against Fulham after coming on for the injured Phil Neville. He was given squad number 5, though he was not eligible to represent Everton in the UEFA Europa League, having already played for AtlГ©tico Madrid in the qualifying stage of the Champions League.

In September 2009, aged 25, Heitinga joined English Premier League club Everton on a five-year contract for a fee of around в‚¬7.04 million (ВЈ6.2 million). His first season in Spain ended with Heitinga making 32 appearances - 27 in La Liga - and scoring three goals for AtlГ©tico. Heitinga moved to AtlГ©tico Madrid at the end of the 2007вЂ“08 season for a fee of ВЈ8.8 million. When it was announced that he would be leaving Ajax at the end of the 2007вЂ“08 season, the fans gave him a fitting send-off by displaying a mosaic of him on the stands. He made his second comeback at the start of the 2003вЂ“04 season and impressed in his first game since injury against FC Volendam, from where he went on to become a first choice central defender for the remainder of the season as well as a popular figure amongst the fans. His comeback was short-lived, as he played only one game before suffering yet another injury which again sentenced him to a long period of recovery. Heitinga quickly established himself as a strong addition to the team and became first-choice player under coach Co Adriaanse and later Ronald Koeman until he suffered a serious knee injury which kept him on the sidelines for over six months. He was featured in a documentary entitled Ajax: Hark the Herald Angel Sings alongside Ajax academy pupils Gregory van der Wiel, Mitchell Donald, Jeffrey Sarpong, Donovan Slijngard, Nordin Amrabat, Evander Sno, and Jeremain Lens. He was part a new wave of talent that fielded the likes of homegrown stars Rafael van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder, as well as Zlatan IbrahimoviД‡ and Cristian Chivu. Heitinga was part of the AFC Ajax youth team before making his debut for the first team on 26 August 2001 against Feyenoord. Heitinga (right, with Urby Emanuelson, Wesley Sneijder, Maarten Stekelenburg, and ZdenД›k Grygera) played for Ajax from 2001вЂ“2008. In 2008, Heitinga was named Dutch Footballer of the Year. Since his debut for Dutch national team in February 2004, Heitinga has over 85 caps, and he has represented his country at two World Cups ( 20) and three European Championships ( 2004, 2008, and 2012). In June 2015 he returned to his first club Ajax. Joining Fulham for six months in January 2014, he then signed with German side Hertha BSC the following Summer, signing a two-year deal with the club from Berlin. After a one-year spell at AtlГ©tico Madrid in Spain, he signed for Everton in 2009. ДЄ product of the Ajax Youth Academy, he played for their first squad from 2001 to 2008. He currently manages Jong Ajax the reserves team of AFC Ajax. John Gijsbert Alan Heitinga (born 15 November 1983) is a Dutch football coach and a former player who played as a centre back.

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

John heitinga football manager 2005