1. Overview
Daniel "Danny" Hoesen is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born on January 15, 1991, in Heerlen, Netherlands, he embarked on his youth career at Fortuna Sittard before making his senior debut with the club in 2008. His career spanned across several countries, including spells at Fulham in England, Ajax and Groningen in the Netherlands, and San Jose Earthquakes and Austin FC in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States. Hoesen also had loan stints with HJK Helsinki in Finland and PAOK in Greece. A two-time Eredivisie champion with Ajax, he also won the Veikkausliiga with HJK and the KNVB Cup with Groningen. He represented the Netherlands national youth teams at both the U-17 and U-21 levels. Hoesen retired from professional football on April 21, 2023, due to persistent injuries, concluding his career at Emmen.
2. Early Life and Background
Daniel "Danny" Hoesen was born on January 15, 1991, in Heerlen, Netherlands. He holds dual nationality, being born to a Moroccan father and a Dutch mother.
3. Youth Career
Hoesen began his football journey with short stints at local amateur clubs, including SV Eikenderveld and RKSV Groene Ster. In 2001, he enrolled in the youth academy of Fortuna Sittard, where he developed his skills for seven years until 2008.
4. Club Career
Danny Hoesen's professional club career began in the Netherlands before taking him to England, Finland, Greece, and the United States, where he played for several prominent teams and achieved notable successes.
4.1. Fortuna Sittard
After progressing through their youth academy, Hoesen was promoted to the first team of Fortuna Sittard in the summer of 2008. He made his professional debut for the club on August 15, 2008, appearing as a substitute in an away match against Go Ahead Eagles.
4.2. Fulham
In August 2008, at the age of 17, Hoesen signed with English club Fulham for a transfer fee of 400.00 K GBP. Upon joining, he was immediately integrated into the club's Development squad. Towards the end of the 2010-11 Premier League season, on April 30, 2011, Hoesen was named on the bench for a league game against Sunderland, although he did not make an appearance. On May 23, 2011, Fulham confirmed that Hoesen had signed a contract extension, which would keep him at the club until June 2012, with an option to extend his terms until the summer of 2013.
4.2.1. HJK Helsinki (loan)
In April 2010, Fulham announced that Hoesen would join Finnish club HJK Helsinki on a loan deal from April 9 until August 30. He made his debut for HJK on April 16, 2010, in a 5-0 league victory over KuPS. His first goal for HJK came on May 29, 2010, in a 2-1 away win against IFK Mariehamn. However, his loan spell was cut short on July 25, 2010, more than a month before its scheduled expiry, due to a serious hip injury.
4.2.2. Fortuna Sittard (loan)
In August 2011, Hoesen returned to his former Dutch club, Fortuna Sittard, on a season-long loan. He remained with Fortuna Sittard for the entire 2011-12 season, before returning to Fulham on May 31, 2012.
4.3. Ajax
On August 29, 2012, Hoesen signed a three-year contract with Dutch giants Ajax. As part of the transfer agreement, his former club, Fulham, retained a 30% interest in the player. He made his senior debut for Ajax on October 3, 2012, in a UEFA Champions League group stage match against Real Madrid, coming on as a 66th-minute substitute for Tobias Sana in a 1-4 home loss.
Hoesen made his Eredivisie debut for Ajax on November 17, 2012, in a match against VVV-Venlo. He entered the game as a 72nd-minute substitute for Christian Eriksen and scored the second goal in the 84th minute, securing a 2-0 home victory. Four days later, on November 21, 2012, he made his second UEFA Champions League appearance in a home group stage match against Borussia Dortmund. He came on as a substitute in the 63rd minute for Eyong Enoh and scored Ajax's only goal in a 1-4 loss, assisted by Christian Eriksen. A significant moment in his Ajax career was scoring a crucial goal on November 26, 2013, in a Champions League game against FC Barcelona, which Ajax won 2-1.
4.3.1. PAOK (loan)
On January 30, 2014, it was announced that Danny Hoesen would spend the remainder of the 2013-14 season on a six-month loan deal with Thessaloniki club PAOK FC in the Superleague Greece. During this period, he had the opportunity to work under Dutch coach Huub Stevens.
4.4. Groningen
On May 28, 2014, Hoesen signed with Eredivisie side FC Groningen.
4.4.1. San Jose Earthquakes (loan)
On February 2, 2017, it was announced that Hoesen was acquired by Major League Soccer side San Jose Earthquakes on a season-long loan, with an option to buy. He recorded his first MLS assist in stoppage time during a 2-1 loss at Sporting Kansas City on March 18. His first MLS goal came in a 4-2 home loss to the LA Galaxy on May 27, where he also registered his second assist. Hoesen earned MLS Team of the Week honors after again tallying a goal and an assist in a 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake on June 24.
He scored the game-winning goal off the bench in the knockout round of the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup against Seattle Sounders FC on June 28. This marked his first cup goal for the club and gave San Jose its first-ever US Open Cup victory over an MLS side, advancing the team to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2012. In an interview with Dutch website FC Update on July 7, Hoesen expressed his desire to stay at San Jose permanently. He scored another winning goal in the US Open Cup quarterfinals on July 10, 2017, in a 3-2 victory over LA, sending San Jose to the semifinals for the first time since 2004 and only the second time in club history.
4.5. San Jose Earthquakes
On December 29, 2017, the San Jose Earthquakes announced the permanent transfer and signing of Hoesen. He made an immediate impact, scoring two goals in his first game as a permanent member of the team on March 3, 2018. In March 2019, Hoesen obtained a U.S. green card, which qualified him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.
4.6. Austin FC
On December 15, 2020, Hoesen was selected with the first pick in the MLS Expansion Draft by Austin FC. After making just five appearances with the club, Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff announced that Hoesen would miss the remainder of the 2021 season due to a hip injury that required surgery. Hoesen was subsequently released by Austin FC following their 2022 season.
4.7. Emmen
On February 13, 2023, Hoesen signed with Emmen until the end of the season. However, his tenure was short-lived. On April 21, 2023, FC Emmen announced that Hoesen had been forced to retire from professional football due to recurring injuries.
5. International Career
Hoesen represented the Netherlands national youth teams at various levels.
He received his first international call-up for the Netherlands U-17 team, playing a significant role in their qualifying campaign for the 2007 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship in Belgium. He made his international debut for the U-17 side on October 23, 2007, in a 3-0 victory over Albania U-17 during the European Championship qualifying rounds. Despite their efforts, the Netherlands finished third in their group, failing to advance past the group stage of the main tournament. He recorded 10 appearances and 1 goal for the U-17 team.
On March 22, 2013, he was called up by head coach Cor Pot for the Netherlands U-21 side for a friendly match against Norway U-21 on March 25, replacing the injured Jean-Paul Boëtius. Hoesen came on in the second half of the game and scored on his debut for the U-21 side in a 4-1 home victory. He was also initially selected for the squad in the qualifying rounds ahead of the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in Israel but did not make the final squad for the tournament. However, he later joined the team in Israel to replace the injured Jürgen Locadia. He scored the fourth goal in a 5-1 win over Russia U-21 on June 9 in the final group stage match of the tournament. He also played the full 90 minutes against eventual champions Spain U-21 in the team's final match of the tournament. He made 3 appearances and scored 2 goals for the U-21 team. Hoesen never played for the Netherlands senior men's national team.
6. Playing Style
Danny Hoesen primarily played as a forward, specifically as a centre-forward. He was known for being right-footed. His physical attributes included a height of 73 in (186 cm) and a weight of 165 lb (75 kg).
7. Personal Life
Danny Hoesen was born to a Moroccan father and a Dutch mother. In June 2017, he and his girlfriend welcomed their first child, a son named Damian. In March 2019, Hoesen obtained a U.S. green card, which allowed him to be classified as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes, providing greater flexibility for his clubs in managing their international player slots.
8. Career Statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Fortuna Sittard | 2008-09 | Eerste Divisie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 | ||
| Club Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Fulham | 2009-10 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2010-11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Club Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| HJK (loan) | 2010 | Veikkausliiga | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 15 | 2 | |
| Club Total | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | ||
| Fortuna Sittard (loan) | 2011-12 | Eerste Divisie | 33 | 13 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 34 | 14 | ||
| Club Total | 33 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 14 | ||
| Ajax | 2012-13 | Eredivisie | 18 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | 25 | 7 | |
| 2013-14 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 6 | ||
| Club Total | 32 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 12 | ||
| Jong Ajax | 2013-14 | Jupiler League | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | 4 | 1 | |||
| Club Total | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | ||
| PAOK (loan) | 2013-14 | Superleague | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 11 | 1 | ||
| Club Total | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | ||
| FC Groningen | 2014-15 | Eredivisie | 21 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | 28 | 4 | |
| 2015-16 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 5 | ||
| 2016-17 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 12 | 5 | ||||
| Club Total | 57 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 14 | ||
| San Jose Earthquakes (loan) | 2017 | MLS | 32 | 5 | 4 | 3 | - | 1 | 0 | 37 | 8 | |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 2018 | MLS | 34 | 12 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 35 | 12 | ||
| 2019 | 30 | 5 | - | - | - | 30 | 5 | |||||
| 2020 | 8 | 1 | - | - | - | 8 | 1 | |||||
| Club Total | 104 | 23 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 110 | 26 | ||
| Austin FC | 2021 | MLS | 5 | 0 | - | - | - | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2022 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | 1 | 0 | 15 | 3 | |||
| Club Total | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 272 | 60 | 26 | 11 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 312 | 75 | ||
9. Honours
9.1. Club
HJK
- Veikkausliiga: 2010
Ajax
- Eredivisie: 2012-13
- Johan Cruyff Shield: 2013
Groningen
- KNVB Cup: 2014-15
9.2. Individual
San Jose Earthquakes
- Audi Player Index Performance of the Week: March 5, 2018
- Alcatel MLS Player of the Week: March 6, 2018
10. Retirement
Danny Hoesen's professional playing career came to an end on April 21, 2023. His retirement was necessitated by persistent injuries, as announced by his final club, FC Emmen.