Early years, AZ Born in
Makkinga,
Friesland, Kromkamp made his professional debut for
Go Ahead Eagles in
Eerste Divisie, his first appearance in the competition being on 12 September 1998 in a 3–0 home win against
FC Top Oss. He played two full seasons with the team, scoring four goals in 33 games in
his second. Kromkamp moved to the
Eredivisie with
AZ for the
2000–01 campaign, being a regular first-team starter right away. In
his fourth year he appeared in 34 league matches as the
Alkmaar side finished fourth, thus
qualifying for the
UEFA Cup and reaching the semifinals in the continental competition.
Villarreal, Liverpool At the start of the
2005–06 season, Kromkamp signed with
Villarreal of Spain. On 29 December 2005, however, the
La Liga club agreed on an exchange deal with
Liverpool, with
Josemi going in the opposite direction. Kromkamp made his debut for the
Reds on 7 January 2006, in a 5–3 win over
Luton Town in the
third round of the
FA Cup. During his stint at
Anfield, however, he was unable to dislodge
Irish international
Steve Finnan from the starting lineup, but did make a number of appearances
from the bench, most notably in the
domestic cup final; he was described as being a fair crosser of the ball with a lack of pace, who had difficulty in stopping opposition wingers getting crosses in.
PSV, later career Kromkamp played one league game for Liverpool in the
2006–07 season. On 31 August 2006, he was sold to
PSV Eindhoven, taking over the number 2 jersey from
André Ooijer who left for
Blackburn Rovers. He appeared in 54 league games in his first two seasons combined, both ending in League championship wins, and also faced former club Liverpool in two
UEFA Champions League matches, PSV managing only one draw in four games. From 2008 to 2010, Kromkamp played rarely due to injuries. On 22 February 2011, he rejoined his first professional team, Go Ahead Eagles – effective as of July – again in the second division. On 23 June 2013, aged 33, Kromkamp announced his retirement from professional football due to chronic knee problems. ==International career==