Marco van Basten

Marco van Basten

Marco van Basten, born on 31 October 1964, is a Dutch former football manager and player. He played as a striker for Ajax and AC Milan, and for the Netherlands national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest attacking players of all time.

Van Basten scored over 300 goals during his career. He played his last game at age 28 and retired early at age 30 because of an ankle injury.

He was known for his good ball control, smart attacking, and powerful shots. He won the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 1992 and the Ballon d'Or three times. He won titles with Ajax and AC Milan, and with the Netherlands, he won the UEFA Euro 1988, scoring five goals in the tournament.

Playing career

Marco van Basten was born on 31 October 1964 in Utrecht. He started playing football at six years old for a local team called EDO, then moved to UVV Utrecht a year later. At 16, he joined Ajax, where he quickly became an important player.

Van Basten played for Ajax from 1982 to 1987. He scored many goals and was the top scorer in the league for four years. One of his most famous moments was scoring an amazing overhead kick against FC Den Bosch.

In 1987, he moved to AC Milan in Italy. There, he won many awards, including the Ballon d'Or for Europe's best footballer. He also helped Milan win several important trophies. However, Van Basten had ankle problems. After many surgeries and breaks, he had to stop playing at the age of 30 in 1995. Despite this, he is remembered as one of football's greatest strikers.

International career

On 7 September 1983, Marco van Basten began playing for the Netherlands national football team in a game against Iceland.

At the UEFA Euro 1988, van Basten helped the Dutch team win. He scored five goals, including three in one game against England. He also scored the winning goal against West Germany in the semi-final and made an amazing goal in the final against the Soviet Union. He was chosen as the best player of the tournament. In a 2002 vote in the UK, his amazing goal was picked as one of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.

The Dutch team did not go far in the 1990 World Cup, losing to West Germany. At UEFA Euro 1992, the Netherlands beat Germany but later lost to Denmark in a penalty shoot-out, where van Basten missed a penalty kick. Even though he did not score, he was again chosen as one of the best players of the tournament.

Player profile

Marco van Basten was a strong forward who played close to the goal. He could see the game well and pass the ball to help teammates score. Even though he was big, he was very skilled and moved gracefully.

Sadly, Van Basten had many injuries during his career. These injuries made him stop playing at just 28 years old. His early retirement led people to talk about how to keep players safer in football games.

Managerial career

Van Basten decided to become a manager after he stopped playing football. He first helped Ajax as an assistant coach in 2003.

In 2004, he became the manager of the Netherlands national team. Some people thought he wasn’t ready because he didn’t have much experience yet. He led the team in important matches and tournaments. In 2008, he managed Ajax again but left in 2009 after the team didn’t qualify for a big competition.

Later, he managed other teams like Heerenveen and AZ Alkmaar. In 2016, he joined FIFA to help develop football around the world.

After retirement

Van Basten played in a special match honoring Demetrio Albertini at the San Siro in March 2006. He scored a goal before leaving the game early. Later that year, he joined a match celebrating Dennis Bergkamp’s 11 years with Arsenal at the new Emirates Stadium. He played for the Ajax legends team and shared the field with Johan Cruyff. Van Basten also appeared in an advertisement for Tyskie, a Polish beer company, with Luís Figo and Zbigniew Boniek.

Media and sponsorship

Marco van Basten appeared in the popular FIFA video game series made by EA Sports. He was chosen as a legend in FIFA 14. When he was a player, he worked with the Italian sportswear company Diadora. They made special football boots for him called the San Siro Van Basten.

After he stopped coaching, van Basten became a sports analyst. In 2016, ESPN praised him for his deep thinking about the game. However, in November 2019, while working for the Dutch edition of Fox Sports, he made an inappropriate comment during a live broadcast. He later apologized, saying it was a joke that went too far. The network suspended him for a short time. His cards were removed from FIFA 20 but returned in FIFA 21.

Career statistics

Club

International

Scores and results list the Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Van Basten goal.

Managerial statistics

As of 16 September 2014.

International matches

• Matches as manager

  Win   Draw   Loss

Honours

Marco van Basten won many awards when he was a player. With Ajax, he helped the team win the Eredivisie and the KNVB Cup. At AC Milan, he won Serie A and the European Cup. With the Netherlands national team, he was part of the team that won the UEFA European Championship.

He also got several personal awards, including the Ballon d’Or three times and was named FIFA World Player of the Year. He was known for his great skills and ability to score goals, earning many top scorer titles and other honors.