Johnny Gijsbert Alan Heitinga (born 15 November 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former player, most recently an assistant coach at Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.
A centre-back and product of the Ajax Academy, he played for their first squad from 2001 to 2008, winning two Eredivisie and three KNVB Cup titles. After a one-year spell at Atlético Madrid in Spain, he signed for Everton in 2009. He joined Fulham at the start of 2014 then signed with German side Hertha BSC later that year. In June 2015, he returned to his Ajax for a single season before retiring in 2016.
After making his debut for the Netherlands national team in February 2004, Heitinga earned 87 caps and represented his country at two World Cups (2006 and 2010) and three European Championships (2004, 2008, and 2012). He helped the Dutch to the World Cup final in 2010, in which he was sent off in a loss to Spain. In 2008, he was named Dutch Footballer of the Year.
Heitinga was born in Alphen aan den Rijn, South Holland, and raised in Amsterdam. He is of Indonesian descent through his paternal grandfather.
Heitinga was part of the Ajax youth team, before making his debut for the first team on 26 August 2001 against Feyenoord. 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 Ibrahimović and Cristian Chivu. 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.
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. 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.
He made his second comeback at the start of the 2003–04 season and impressed in his first game since injury against 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. When it was announced that he would be leaving Ajax at the end of the 2007–08 season, the fans gave him a fitting send-off by displaying a mosaic of him on the stands.
Heitinga moved to Atlético Madrid at the end of the 2007–08 season for a fee of £8.8 million. His first season in Spain ended with Heitinga making 32 appearances – 27 in La Liga – and scoring three goals for Atlético.
In September 2009, aged 25, Heitinga joined English Premier League club Everton on a five-year contract for a fee of around €7.04 million (£6.2 million). He was given squad number 5, though he was not eligible to represent Everton in the UEFA Europa League, having already played for Atlético Madrid in the qualifying stage of the Champions League. Heitinga made his debut for Everton on 13 September against Fulham after coming on for the injured Phil Neville. In his first season for the club, Heitinga made 35 appearances in all competitions.
In the 2010–11 FA Cup, Everton held holders Chelsea 1–1 in a replay at Stamford Bridge, sending the tie to penalties. Heitinga took Everton's fourth and scored. Phil Neville went on to score the winning penalty for Everton. Later that season, Heitinga scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw at home to Birmingham City. Heitinga was voted Everton's Player of the Season for 2011–12 by the club's supporters. He then scored against Newcastle on the final day of the season with an unmarked header which put Everton 3–0, his second Premier League goal and his first in over 14 months.
In 2012–13 season, manager David Moyes opted to play Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin in central defence for much of Everton's season. Heitinga had to wait until an injury to Jagielka gave him a sustained run in the team but poor performances which included him being culpable for all three goals in a 3–3 draw with Aston Villa led to him being criticised by fans. However, in April Moyes praised Heitinga's mental strength for battling back after his earlier form in the season would have "broken" most players. Despite this, Heitinga revealed that he had rejected Everton's offer of a new contract at the end of the year. In January 2014, Everton and West Ham United agreed terms for the transfer of Heitinga. He turned down the move however saying: "You have to be convinced that you are taking the right step and I was not". He scored his last goal for the team in his last outing, Everton's 4–0 FA Cup win against Stevenage.
On 31 January 2014, Heitinga signed for Fulham for a six-month deal on a free transfer. In a 3–1 loss against Chelsea on 1 March, Heitinga scored the only goal for Fulham. On 23 May 2014, he was released from the club at the end of his contract.
Heitinga signed a two-year contract with German club Hertha BSC in June 2014.
On 25 June 2015, Ajax announced that Heitinga would return to the club on a free transfer. He signed a one-year contract with the option of a second year. However, after playing only two Eredivisie matches in the first half of the season, Heitinga decided to retire from professional football on 1 February 2016.
Having been part of Dutch international youth teams, Heitinga made his senior debut for the Netherlands on 18 February 2004 in a friendly game against the United States. Several months later, he scored his first goal from a Rafael van der Vaart free kick in a friendly against Greece.
Although he did not take part in qualifying, Heitinga was later included in the squad for the Euro 2004 in Portugal since the Dutch under-21 team had failed to qualify for the European Championships. He started as first choice right back in the first two group stage matches but was suspended for the last match when he was sent-off for two bookable offences. After serving his suspension, he returned in the quarter-final against Sweden as a second-half substitute for Edgar Davids and converted his penalty as the Dutch won 5–4 on penalties. The Dutch, however, were eliminated by the hosts Portugal in the semi-finals.
Heitinga was selected by Marco van Basten for the Dutch national team of 23 players to compete in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, hosted by Germany. The Dutch reached the second round before again being knocked out by Portugal.
Heitinga was also called up to the Dutch squad for Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland. Since Euro 2008, he has been a regular in the right back position and has occasionally deputised in other defensive positions during an injury crisis. He made his 50th appearance for the Netherlands in a friendly against Paraguay on 18 November 2009.