Bart Vriends

Bart Vriends (; born 9 May 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Adelaide United in the A-League Men. He previously played for FC Utrecht, Go Ahead Eagles and most notably Sparta Rotterdam, having played over 200 games for the club.

Career Utrecht Born in Amersfoort, Vriends began his senior career through FC Utrecht's youth program. On the list for the Eredivisie team in the 2012-13 season, Vriends went on loan to Go Ahead Eagles before he was able to make his senior debut.

Go Ahead Eagles Playing 15 games while on loan and helping the club reach promotion out of Eerste Divisie, GA Eagles eventually bought Vriends from Utrecht ahead of the 2013-14 Eredivisie season.

Vriends gave his club a first victory of the 2014-15 season when his goal against Willem II was without response in August 2014. In the same match, Vriends received his only senior red card, just five minutes after his 64th-minute winner.

Sparta Rotterdam In 2016, Vriends made a free transfer from GA Eagles to Sparta Rotterdam following 113 appearances for the former. The move proved to be highly successful for Vriends, who captained the club across eight years and made 215 total appearances, becoming the first Sparta Rotterdam player to do so in over 20 years. Vriends captained Sparta to a first-place finish in the 2015-16 Eerste Divisie, achieving promotion to the Eredivisie after six years in the Dutch second division. He also captained the club to a semi-final in the 2016–17 KNVB Cup.

Following another few years which included a brief relegation and subsequent promotion, Vriends would go on to leave the club in 2024 following an eighth-placed 2023-24 Eredivisie finish for Sparta.

Adelaide United Vriends signed to Australian A-League club Adelaide United in July 2024 on a free transfer. Vriends did not play in the 2024 Australia Cup due to injury fears from coach Carl Veart. He went on to make his Adelaide debut early in the 2024-25 season, and scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 draw against Perth Glory. Vriends again scored for Adelaide, this time in the 98th minute to equalise 4–4 against Auckland FC.

Career statistics

Honours Individual Eredivisie Team of the Month: November 2023