Despite being born in Ireland, van Zanten has played his entire senior career in Scotland after signing for Celtic in 1999 from Tolka Rovers.
After leaving Celtic at the age of 21, van Zanten signed for St Mirren; he made almost 200 appearances for the Paisley side.
Van Zanten joined St Mirren after impressing their manager John Coughlin in a trial match at Easter Road.
[3] On 6 May 2008 it was reported by the Glasgow Evening Times that van Zanten had made a pre-contract agreement to sign for SPL rivals Hibernian in the summer of 2008.
[6] Towards the end of the season, van Zanten admitted that he had been "disappointed with my performances" and went on to say that it was probably the worst time to lose form, as he had just joined a new club.
[7] After his release from Hibs, van Zanten (along with another former Hibee Alan Reid) appeared on trial for Greenock Morton against Partick Thistle in November 2009.