Glenn Loovens (born 22 September 1983) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Club career Early career Loovens is the son of Hans Loovens, who played for FC Twente. He also has a brother called Ivo. He signed for the Feyenoord youth academy when he was twelve years old, where his teammates included Robin van Persie and Said Boutahar. In 2001, manager Bert van Marwijk promoted him to the first team. Netherlands Loovens came through the Feyenoord youth system and made his debut against PSV Eindhoven in the 2001–02 season in the Feyenoord team that later won the UEFA Cup, alongside Robin van Persie, Civard Sprockel and Ferne Snoyl. In the later seasons, he failed to make good on his promising start as he quickly lost his position in defence to Patrick Paauwe again. He made his European debut at 19 years old, in a 2–0 defeat to Dynamo Kyiv at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv on 23 October 2002. Cardiff City Loovens spent the 2005–06 season on loan at Championship side Cardiff City and impressed enough so that they signed the promising young defender on a permanent deal after several months of negotiations for a reported fee of £250,000. He originally formed a defensive partnership with club captain Darren Purse but the 2007–08 season saw Purse lose his place in the side to Roger Johnson and the pair went on to form a vital base for the team to build on, including playing alongside each other in all six matches during the club's run to the 2008 FA Cup Final. Loovens found the back of the net in the final against Portsmouth but it was disallowed for an earlier infringement. The 2007–08 season also saw Loovens make his 100th appearance in all competitions for Cardiff by playing against Hull City on 12 March. Celtic Loovens was the subject of transfer interest for most of summer 2008, with Old Firm rivals Celtic and Rangers emerging as leading candidates to secure his signing. Walter Smith, manager of Rangers, declared his interest in Loovens and made an offer for his services but their valuation of the defender was rejected by Cardiff. On 16 August 2008, Loovens joined Scottish champions Celtic on a four-year contract for a fee of around £2.1 million Loovens stated that Parkhead was his preferred destination as he will get the chance to play in