Koen Bucker


Koen Bucker is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Emmen.

Career

Jong AZ

Bucker was born in Wormer, and began his football journey in the youth teams of WSV '30 and later joined the ranks of AZ's youth setup in 2011.
In 2015, he received a promotion to the club's reserves, Jong AZ. While he made three appearances for Jong AZ, he primarily served as the backup to Nick Olij during the 2016–17 season, a campaign that culminated in Jong AZ clinching the Tweede Divisie championship and promotion to the Eerste Divisie. Bucker made his professional debut with Jong AZ in a 1–0 loss to RKC Waalwijk on 12 January 2018.

Heracles Almelo

On 31 July 2018, Bucker signed with Eredivisie club Heracles Almelo on a two-year deal with an option for an additional season. He was slated to take over as the third goalkeeper on the depth chart, following the retirement of Harm Zeinstra on the same day.
In 2020, Bucker was promoted to backup goalkeeper for Heracles. On 1 November 2020, Bucker made his Eredivisie debut for the club, as Janis Blaswich and Michael Brouwer were absent. He started in a 4–1 victory against Utrecht, in what newspaper Tubantia described as an "outstanding debut".

Roda JC

On 14 August 2023, Bucker joined Eerste Divisie club Roda JC on a two-year contract with the option for a further year. There, he was set to compete with Rody de Boer for starting goalkeeper position. Four days later, Bucker made his debut for Roda as a starter in a 3–0 away victory against ADO Den Haag, confirming himself as first goalkeeper on the depth chart for De Koempels. In December 2023, he suffered an arm injury, which ruled him out for several months.
In May 2025, Roda JC announced that Bucker would depart the club at the end of the 2024–25 season, following the decision not to activate the option to extend his contract.

Emmen

On 7 August 2025, Bucker signed a one-year contract with Eerste Divisie club Emmen, including an option for a further season, after training with the first team during pre-season. He joined the squad as the designated understudy to first-choice goalkeeper Luca Unbehaun.
Bucker made his competitive debut for Emmen on 28 October 2025 in the first round of the KNVB Cup, starting in a 1–0 defeat to amateur fourth-tier side Hoogeveen. The decisive goal came from a penalty awarded after a foul committed by Bucker, a decision he disputed after the match, arguing that the opposing forward had gone to ground too easily.

Career statistics

Honours

Jong AZ
Heracles Almelo