Germinal Ekeren to Barcelona: Thomas Vermaelen's rise to the top

Humility and hard work have marked Thomas Vermaelen's career. Small virtues which he learned from watching his father fixing pipes, taps and doing all kinds of repair work from sunrise to sunset.

Vermaelen grew up away from the luxuries of elite football and his environment has shaped his personality. The son of a plumber, his father -- who has kept his business and doesn't live off Thomas's income -- continues to be a reference to him. A culture of effort has always accompanied the Belgian defender on his path to success.

The 29-year-old's attitude has never caught people's attention. On the contrary, he was a shy, quiet kid who dreamed of being a goalkeeper. His life changed at 15, though, when Ajax signed him from Germinal Ekeren and earmarked him as a central defender. 

It was a tough change for the young football player. But at that time, he preferred to remain quiet. The excitement at moving to Amsterdam diluted with each passing day in Holland. He missed his family a lot, but he knew he could not allow that to affect such a bug opportunity. 

There was nothing left to do but to cry in silence, to resist and to try to make it in professional football. His family never learned of how he felt or what he was thinking. It's a philosophy which has followed him: not even during his worst injuries has he complained. 

At Ajax he progressed towards the first team... who were managed at the time by a man he had always admired. Ronaldo Koeman was a reference for Vermaelen. His positioning, strength and ability on the ball caught his attention, as did his ability to score goals, despite being a defender. 

Koeman would go on to give Vermaelen his first team debut on Febraury 15, 2004, against Volendam. However, Vermaelen and Koeman's path would not cross for too long. Just 10 days after handing the young defender his debut, Koeman was sacked after Ajax were knocked out of Europe by Auxerre. 

Discrepancies between Louis van Gaal and Koeman were irreparable and Koeman was dismissed. Van Gaal would only remain with Ajax until the end of the season, while Vermaelen was loaned to RKC Waalkwijk in search of game time. 

His return to Ajax the following season saw him explode under Danny Blind and he would remain a regular fixture under the following managers as well: Ten Cate, Adrie Koster, Van Basten and Van't Schip. In 2010, Arsenal called. They paid 15 million euros for him, despite Martin Jol being angry at his sale. 

Arsene Wenger had received good reports on Vermaelen. He was descirbed as a "strong, agressive player, good on the ball and capable of adding to attacks." They were qualities which paired well with features of his personality, like being "serious and very disciplined."

If anything, the reports came up short as Vermaelen produced outstanding performances from the off in London. He scored four goals in nine matches and was baptised as the 'Verminator', a nickname which he loved. 

One of the players at Arsenal who was most in awe of Vermaelen was Ignasi Miquel. The young defender, who is currently playing for Ponferradina, came through the ranks at Arsenal and in Vermaelen he saw "a footballer who could put out fires.

"He was shy, calm and quiet, but at the same time friendly and very respectful. On the pitch he would transform, though, and be very aggressive." Of his characteristics as a player, Miquel talks about his ability to "make impossible blocks and recoveries, he was always in the right place at the right time." 

Vermaelen took strides forward when he was named captain and Miquel remembers how he took on the responsibility and how "he spoke with people, making sure we were all awake for the upcoming game." Thomas had spent a lot of time before with Cesc Fabregas, one of the players he was closes to in the dressing room, as he was with Robin van Persie, too. 

Away from the pitch, Vermaelen is a man of simple habits. In London he would disconnect by passing time at the park, with Hampstead Heath his favourite area. He would also spend time finding places to eat in all four corners of the city -- always taking care of his diet, of course. His professionalism is extreme. 

When he had his first child, he would sleep in a separate room to make sure he would be well rested for training. Another example is that he had no rest this summer, instead making sure he arrived for pre-season in top shape. In his free time he played a bit of golf and went on bike rides. It's a summer that has allowed him to begin the season well and to demonstrate that he's a player who can bring a lot to FC Barcelona.