Gijs Smal

Biography

Gijs Smal (born 31 August 1997) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Eredivisie club Feyenoord. Born in De Rijp, Smal made his Eerste Divisie debut for FC Volendam on 22 September 2017 in a game against De Graafschap. He then managed to establish himself in the starting line-up and made 28 league appearances in his first season. The following season, Smal lost the competition for left-back to Robin Schouten, who had come over from Jong Ajax, and mainly appeared as a substitute. However, he did become champion of the Derde Divisie Sunday with the reserve team, Jong Volendam. Under the new head coach Wim Jonk, he again became a starter for the first team in the 2019–20 season. With six goals and ten assists, he was a key player in the second-tier that season, which was suspended and later abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 26 June 2020, Smal signed a three-year contract with Eredivisie club FC Twente, coming over on a free transfer.