John Gijsbert Alan "Johnny" Heitinga (born 15 November 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former player who played as a centre-back.

After making his debut for the Netherlands national team in February 2004, Heitinga earned over 85 caps and represented his country at two World Cups (2006 and 2010) and three European Championships (2004, 2008, and 2012).

He was part a new wave of talent that fielded the likes of homegrown stars Rafael van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder, as well as Zlatan Ibrahimović and Cristian Chivu.

Heitinga quickly established himself as a strong addition to the team and became first-choice player under coach Co Adriaanse and later Ronald Koeman until he suffered a serious knee injury which kept him on the sidelines for over six months.

When it was announced that he would be leaving Ajax at the end of the 2007–08 season, the fans gave him a fitting send-off by displaying a mosaic of him on the stands.

[11] He finally had an extended run of play as centre back, showing the passion and the commanding skills he always put on the field in the orange shirt.

He then scored against Newcastle on the final day of the season with an unmarked header which put Everton 3–0, his second Premier League goal and his first in over 14 months.

[12] Heitinga had to wait until an injury to Jagielka gave him a sustained run in the team but poor performances which included him being culpable for all three goals in a 3–3 draw with Aston Villa led to him being criticised by fans.

[13] However, in April Moyes praised Heitinga's mental strength for battling back after his earlier form in the season would have "broken" most players.

[19] On 25 June 2015, Ajax announced that Heitinga would return to the club, joining on a free transfer from German side Hertha BSC.

[22] On 27 January 2023, Heitinga was appointed interim manager of Ajax's first team for the remainder of the season, following the dismissal of Alfred Schreuder.

[26] On 1 June 2023, it was announced that Heitinga would not continue as manager of Ajax beyond his interim spell, with the club deciding to appoint Maurice Steijn instead.

[27] In September 2023, Heitinga was appointed first-team coach at West Ham United as assistant to David Moyes, his former manager at Everton.

He would also be selected by Van Basten for the Dutch national team of 23 players to compete in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, hosted by Germany.

[31] Heitinga was included in the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa,[32] and was in the starting line-up for the Netherlands' first match in the competition, a 2–0 victory over Denmark.