Denzel Dumfries

Denzel Justus Morris Dumfries (born 18 April 1996) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a right-back or right wing-back for club Inter Milan and the Netherlands national team.

Denzel Justus Morris Dumfries was born on 18 April 1996 in Rotterdam, South Holland, to a Surinamese mother and Aruban father.

His parents named him after American actor Denzel Washington.

Growing up, Dumfries said he was determined to make it as a professional footballer, for which he was ridiculed and mocked by his peers, due to his lack of technical skills at the time.

But Dumfries proved his doubters wrong, saying in an interview with Voetbal International: "I knew I would become a professional football player and I said it to everyone: I'm sure I'll make the Dutch national team. I knew that they all thought that doesn't make sense. But I have always proclaimed it. The people who have not seen it in me have been limited in their vision. They only looked at me at the time, but they should have looked further. How can he develop? I think everyone should look at themselves that way, not limit yourself to someone small. You have to look up, not down. What can I achieve, what is my potential and how am I going to get there? I knew exactly what I had to do to take certain steps."

As a Rotterdam native, Dumfries began his football career at Spartaan '20 and spent two years before he was released by the club for being "not considered good enough as a boy" and was not well liked by teammates and even trainers.

Shortly after, Dumfries then joined Smitshoek, having to "sign up for himself" and said about his time at the club, saying: "As a youth I could already go to Spartaan'20, but that was difficult. My parents always had to bring me, I had to wait until I could ride my own bike. It took some getting used to. Smitshoek was a village, this was in the city. You had to fight for your place, maybe I was a bit too timid among all those city boys. You might find it hard to believe now, but I was a bit shy and reserved. They were all men, tough guys."

When he started out playing football, Dumfries played as a striker before converting to defender.

Dumfries then signed up for amateur side Barendrecht and spent a year at the club.

At one point, Feyenoord scouted the player but they rejected him, claiming that "he's not good enough."

Dumfries began his senior career in 2014 at Sparta Rotterdam, helping them gain promotion to the Eredivisie in 2016 as the Eerste Divisie Talent of the Year.

Born in the Netherlands to an Aruban father, Dumfries initially represented Aruba internationally in 2014, before switching allegiance to the Netherlands.

Dumfries then left Barendrecht for Sparta Rotterdam in 2014.

He later made two more appearances in the 2014–15 season, both coming on as a substitute.

Dumfries then made his professional debut on 20 February 2015 against FC Emmen, coming on as a second-half substitute, in a 2–1 loss.

At the start of the 2015–16 season, Dumfries started out on the substitute bench before he established himself in the first team, playing in the right–back position and helped Sparta Rotterdam become contenders for promotion to Eredivisie.

On 7 November 2015, Dumfries signed a contract extension with the club, keeping him at the club until 2019.

Throughout the 2015–16 season, Dumfries' performance led to Dutch media, calling him the best player in the league.

For his performance, he won both Eerste Divisie Talent of the Year Award and the Bronze Bull.

At the end of the 2015–16 season, Dumfries went on to make thirty–three appearances and scoring once in all competitions.

He then scored his first goal in his professional career, in a 5–2 win against RKC Waalwijk on 18 January 2016.

Dumfries started in every match, playing in the right–back position, to help the club maintain their promotion to Eredivisie until he was suspended for one match for picking up five yellow cards this season.

After serving a one match suspension, Dumfries returned to the starting line–up against Almere City on 14 March 2016, as Sparta Rotterdam lost 1–0.

He later helped the club beat Jong Ajax 3–1 on 11 April 2016 to confirm their promotion to the Eredivisie next season.

At the start of the 2016–17 season, Dumfries said about the new season, saying: "So the Eredivisie came for me at a good time. I want to keep developing myself, so it's good to have better and smarter opponents against me now. They force me to be smarter in choosing the moments I can come up with, but I think I picked this up pretty quickly."

He continued to establish himself in the first team, playing in the right–back position.

However, Dumfries received a red card for a second bookable offence, in a 1–1 draw against AZ Alkmaar on 2 October 2016.

After serving a one match suspension, he returned to the starting line–up, in a 1–0 loss against PSV Eindhoven on 22 October 2016.

Dumfries then scored his first Eredivisie goal, in a 3–2 loss against Excelsior on 19 November 2016.

After serving a one match suspension in the next match, he returned to the starting line–up, in a 6–1 loss against Feyenoord on 4 December 2016.

However, Dumfries found himself competing with new signing Janne Saksela over the right–back position.

As a result, he was dropped to the substitute in favour of Saksela for two separate matches.

Despite this, Dumfries continued to regain his first team place, playing in the right–back position for the rest of the 2016–17 season.

He later helped Sparta Rotterdam avoid relegation after the club won the last two matches of the season against FC Twente and Go Ahead Eagles.

A month after leaving Sparta Rotterdam, Dumfries was given a farewell send-off prior to the club's match against PEC Zwolle, along with departing teammates Mart Dijkstra, Rick Ketting and David Mendes da Silva.

In October 2016, Dumfries stated that he wanted to leave Sparta Rotterdam in hopes of playing in a higher level.

In 2017, he joined Heerenveen, before moving to PSV the following year, eventually becoming the club captain.

In 2021, Dumfries joined Serie A side Inter Milan.

Having progressed with the club's youth system within months, he signed his first professional contract with Sparta Rotterdam on a multi-year contract, keeping him at the club until 2017.

He made his senior debut in 2018, and represented the Netherlands at UEFA Euro 2020 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.