Rijkaard

Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard (born 30 September
1962, in Amsterdam) is a Dutch football
manager and former player. Rijkaard has
played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and Milan, and
represented his national side 73 times,
scoring 10 goals. In his coaching career, he
has been at the helm of the Dutch national
side, Sparta Rotterdam, Barcelona and
Galatasaray. His mother is Dutch and his
father is Surinamese.

 Playing career

In 2010 Rijkaard was described by The Daily Telegraph as having been "a stylish player of faultless pedigree".

Ajax (1980–1987)
Rijkaard was just 17 when Ajax coach Leo Beenhakker gave him his senior squad debut 23 August 1980. He made an immediate impact, scoring for his team 0–3 in the 2–4 away victory over Go Ahead Eagles, the first league match in the 1980–81 season. He would play another 23 games for Ajax in his first season, netting a total of 4 goals. In 1981–82 he won his first Dutch Eredivisie championship with Ajax, and went on to successfully defend that title in the following 1982–83 season. Rijkaard stayed at Ajax for seven and a half seasons, as a central defender (1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85), a right midfielder and a central midfielder (1985–86). During this period he won the Dutch league championship three times (1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85) and the Dutch Cup (KNVB-Cup) 3 times (1982–83, 1985–86, 1986–87). In the 1986–87 season he won the European Cup II (Cup Winners' Cup) with Ajax (Final: Ajax 1–0 Lokomotiv Leipzig). In September 1987, what would have been Rijkaard's third season (1987–88) under Dutch football legend Johan Cruijff as head coach, Rijkaard stormed off the training field and vowed never to play under him again. He was signed by the Portuguese club Sporting CP, but he signed too late to be eligible to play in any competition. He was immediately loaned out to Spanish team Real Zaragoza, but upon completing his first season at Zaragoza, was signed by Italian side Milan.

Milan (1988–1993)
His five seasons at Milan made him a legend. It was coach Arrigo Sacchi who saw Rijkaard as playing a pivotal role at Milan and transformed the central defender into a world class holding midfielder, where the Dutchman's aggressive and firm style would go on to influence the likes of Patrick Vieira to replicate in future years. Playing alongside fellow country-men Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit, Rijkaard won the European Cup twice (in 1989 against Steaua Bucureşti and 1990, against Benfica) and the domestic Serie A championship twice. In the 1990 European Cup Final he scored the only goal to win the cup for Milan.

Ajax return (1993–1995)
After five seasons in Italy, Rijkaard returned to Ajax in 1993. With Louis van Gaal at the helm, Rijkaard and Danny Blind formed the experienced defensive core of the Ajax team that won the first two of three consecutive Dutch Championships. Ajax were the unbeaten champions of the Netherlands in 1994–95 season and carried that success into Europe. In his final game, Rijkaard won the European Cup (which had been renamed as the Champions League) again, with a 1–0 victory over Milan in the 1995 final at the Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna. He was named in the FIFA 100, Pele's list of the 125 World's Greatest Footballers.

International career (1981–1994)
On the international stage, Rijkaard made his debut for the Netherlands in 1981. He was part of the Dutch side that won Euro 1988 with a 2–0 win in the final over the Soviet Union, playing at center-back alongside Ronald Koeman. He won a total of 73 caps and scored 10 goals. Rijkaard also played for the Netherlands during the 1990 and 1994 FIFA World Cups and at Euro 1992.
Rijkaard was involved in an unsavoury incident with Rudi Völler when West Germany played the Netherlands in the 1990 World Cup. Rijkaard was booked for a bad tackle on Völler, as Rijkaard took up position for the free kick he spat in Völler's hair. Völler complained to the referee and was booked as well. From the resulting free kick, Völler then dived, according to himself to avoid a collision with Dutch keeper Hans van Breukelen, while others, notably Rijkaard and van Breukelen, saw it as a dive in hopes for a penalty. Van Breukelen was angry at this but Rijkaard again confronted Völler by twisting his ear and stamping on his foot. Both Völler and Rijkaard were sent off but Rijkaard again spat in Völler's hair as they left the pitch. The German press nicknamed him "Llama" for his spitting.[2]
At Euro 1992, Rijkaard scored a late equalizer for the Netherlands in a 2–2 draw with Denmark at the semi final stage but the Dutch went out on penalties. He made his final appearance for the Netherlands in the 3–2 defeat against eventual winners Brazil in the quarter-finals of the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

Managerial career

KNVB (1998–2000)

Rijkaard's coaching career began when he was appointed manager of the Netherlands national football team in 1998. He had previously served as an assistant coach, along with Johan Neeskens and Ronald Koeman under the managerial tenure of Guus Hiddink. At the time, he was not taken seriously as a manager because of his inexperience, but he was able to guide his national side to the Euro 2000 semi-finals. During the group phase, the Netherlands national football team wins slowly but sure and succeeded to get 3 victories, 1–0 against the Czech Republic, 3–0 against Denmark, and 3–2 against France. In the quarter-final, his side produced the biggest win of the competition, a 6–1 against Yugoslavia. The Netherlands played some of the best football of the tournament but lost their semi-final match to Italy on penalties, and Rijkaard resigned immediately afterwards.

Sparta Rotterdam (2001–2002)
During the 2001–02 season, he became manager of Sparta Rotterdam in the Dutch Eredivisie, the oldest professional team in the country. Rijkaard enjoyed the down-to-earth atmosphere, although the club was not financially strong. Under his leadership, the club was relegated to the first division for the first time in its history, and he was fired as a consequence.

Barcelona (2003–2008)
Rijkaard was not out of a coaching role for long, and less than a year after leaving Sparta Rotterdam, he was appointed manager of Barcelona for the 2003–04 season. The season would prove to be a watershed for the club, but not without initial instability. Rijkaard arrived at the club as it entered a new phase, having elected a new President in Joan Laporta and a new managerial board, but with fans unhappy that Laporta had let English midfielder David Beckham snub the chance to join the club. For Rijkaard, the team he inherited, with the exception of new superstar signing Ronaldinho (who was the club's second choice after Beckham), also consisted of many underachieving players from the old guard and era that failed to meet the club and its fans' demands to match arch rival Real Madrid's success in the early 2000s, having not won a trophy since 1999.

Rijkaard had a disappointing start at Barcelona that saw some sections of the club's fans call for his resignation, and he drew flak from the media when the team lost to Real Madrid in December 2003.[4] Rijkaard's resilience won through and from 2004 onwards, he achieved a massive turnaround, as the team went from strength to strength. Barcelona finished runners-up in La Liga in 2003–04, having been close to the relegation zone at one point in the earlier stages of the season. Rijkaard then took Barcelona to the next level as he phased out the old guard and rebuilt a new-look side around Ronaldinho, with new players like Deco, Samuel Eto'o, Rafael Márquez and Ludovic Giuly, along with the latest promotion of some young players from the previous era trained in the club's youth teams (i.e. Víctor Valdés, Carles Puyol, Xavi and Andrés Iniesta). He eventually succeeded in turning around the fortunes of the club, with the strong support of Laporta, and within the next couple of years finally managed to win La Liga both in 2004–05 and in 2005–06.
He became the first Barcelona coach to have won twice at Real Madrid's stadium Santiago Bernabéu, an achievement which even successful managers like Johan Cruijff, Louis van Gaal and Luis Aragonés were unable to accomplish. His no nonsense policy on and off the field, and the sparkling football played by his team, won him many plaudits and Rijkaard was among the five nominated coaches for UEFA's Team of the Year 2005. On 8 March 2006 he was also honoured by UEFA for his contributions to the European Cup Competition throughout his career as player and manager.

Rijkaard also achieved success on the European stage winning the 2005–06 Champions League with a 2–1 win against Arsenal in the final. Barcelona had been losing 1–0 for most of the match before his late tactical substitutions proved the decisive factor, as the introduction of Henrik Larsson and Juliano Belletti contributed directly to Barcelona's two goals. The win made him the fifth individual to have won the European Cup both as a player and as a manager, alongside Miguel Muñoz, Giovanni Trapattoni, Johan Cruijff, and Carlo Ancelotti, a feat later achieved also by his eventual successor, Josep Guardiola.
After losing to Manchester United in the semifinal of the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League, Rijkaard was asked whether he would quit at the end of the season seeing as though he had not won anything for two successive seasons. Rijkaard replied:
"I have no intention of leaving. It would be different if the players were saying it is time for me to go but that is not the case."
On 1 May 2008, it is reported that Frank Rijkaard allegedly confided to a colleague that he would be stepping down as Barcelona manager at the end of the season. But 24 hours later Rijkaard stated in a press conference that he had no intention of leaving Barcelona.
On 8 May 2008, the day after Barcelona's dismal 4–1 defeat to arch rivals Real Madrid, Barcelona's president Joan Laporta announced that at the end of the 2007–2008 season, Frank Rijkaard would no longer be head coach of the first team. Laporta made the announcement after a board meeting; Rijkaard was succeeded by Josep Guardiola. Joan Laporta made it clear that Frank Rijkaard's achievements "made history" and praised him for his time at the club.

Galatasaray (2009–2010)
On 5 June 2009, Rijkaard signed a two-year contract to manage the Turkish Süper Lig giants Galatasaray, following the resignation of Bülent Korkmaz two days earlier. On 20 October 2010, his job was terminated as Galatasaray Coach, following 4 defeats in 8 weeks of Süper Lig and early elimination from UEFA Europa League

Coaching philosophy and style

As a coach, Frank Rijkaard's essential philosophy is to guide his team towards playing attack-minded football as a cohesive unit. In doing this, he believes a team can achieve the dual objectives of winning games and ensuring the audience's enjoyment of the spectacle. This follows in the best coaching traditions of Rijkaard's countrymen and forebears Rinus Michels and Johan Cruijff. In this light, it is notable that Michels coached both Cruijff and Rijkaard during their respective participations with the Dutch national team, and that Cruijff himself went on to coach Rijkaard. Nonetheless, Rijkaard believes in working within a contemporary football context and is not out to imitate the styles and tactics of past masters. In his own words:

..you gain many impressions from the past. You still have it in your mind when you become a coach, and if something happens you can recall how it was dealt with. But I strongly believe that you cannot copy anyone. The decisions that a great coach made years ago will not necessarily work today

Rijkaard has evidently learned to curb the quick temper of his playing days and is often a portrait of calm and stability in training and along the touchline. He rarely courts controversy in the media and is more apt now to promote a positive environment and let his team's play speak for itself when faced with intense rivalry or criticism.
The tactics used during his tenure as manager of Barcelona best exemplify Frank Rijkaard's commitment to playing stylish attacking football. During the team's 2004–05 and 2005–06 campaigns, the coach frequently fielded a 4–1–2–2–1 formation, a system which encouraged the creativity of the players in the front third of the field and created optimal interplay between the midfielders and forwards during attacks. Within this system the four defenders also tended to play in a relatively high position on the pitch to support the midfield which frequently advanced to participate in the attack. The team generally focuses on maintaining possession in the opponents' half of the field, applying pressure in order to force the opposition to make errors in defense and offensive counter-attacking.
With regards to man-management and motivation, Rijkaard rejects the notion of a "star system" and promotes the idea that every one of his players is a valuable member of the team. He rarely praises one individual over another in the squad, although he has been known to acknowledge the outstanding contributions of a player within the context of a team performance.

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Zico

Arthur Antunes Coimbra (Portuguese pronunciation: [aʁˈtuʁ ɐ̃ˈtũnis koˈĩbɾɐ], born 3 March 1953 in Rio de Janeiro), better known as Zico ([ˈziku]), is a Brazilian coach and former footballer. Often called the "White Pelé", he is commonly considered one of the most skilled dribblers and finishers ever and possibly the world's best player of the early 80's. He was also known as one of history's greatest free kick specialists, able to bend the ball with pace and accuracy as well as having an extremely powerful shot. The gifted midfielder was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. Also according to Pelé, generally considered the best footballer ever, "throughout the years, the one player that came closest to me was Zico".

Zico scored 52 goals in 72 international matches for Brazil, and represented them in the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cups. They did not win any of those tournaments, even though the 1982 squad is considered one of the greatest Brazilian national squads ever. Zico is often considered one of the best players in football history not to have been on a World Cup winning squad. He was chosen 1983 Player of the Year.

Zico has coached the Japanese national team, appearing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and winning the Asian Cup 2004, and Fenerbahce, who were a quarter-finalist in 2007–08 in the Champions League under his command. He was announced as the head coach of CSKA Moscow in January 2009. On September 16, 2009, Zico was signed by Greek side Olympiacos F.C. for a two-year contract after the club's previous coach, Temuri Ketsbaia, was sacked. He was fired four months later, on January 19, 2010. On May 30 of 2010, Zico announced that he would become the new Soccer Executive/Director for Flamengo, coming back to the team where he won his most important honors after 25 years. One of his demands is that his salary won't be paid by the club. Instead, it will be paid by Flamengo's sponsors such as Olympikus and BMG. His contract is for four years.

Playing career

Zico came from a lower-middle-class family, in the neighborhood of Quintino, Rio de Janeiro. In common with many Brazilians, he spent much of his youth dreaming of playing professional football. In 1967, while still a teenager, he had a scheduled trial at América, where his brothers Antunes and Edu were playing at the time. But he caught the attention of the radio reporter and friend, Celso Garcia, who asked Zico's father to take him to a trial at Flamengo instead. Being a fan of Flamengo, Zico had his father's approval, beginning his path towards becoming one of the most admired players in the history of the sport.

Flamengo

Physically Zico was not strong, and his history of determination and discipline began with a hard muscle and body development program conducted by the Physical Education teacher José Roberto Francalacci. A combination of hard work and also a special diet sponsored by his team enabled him to develop a strong body and become an athlete. This later proved to be essential for his success.

In 1971, he had some appearances in the professional team but only one year later, after 116 matches and 81 goals in the youth team, Zico was promoted to Flamengo's professional squad.

While at Flamengo, Zico was a key player during the most glorious period of the team's history. Along with many other titles, in his first period at Flamengo he led the team to victory in the 1981 Copa Libertadores, the 1981 Intercontinental Cup, and four national titles (1980/82/83/87). On the field, Zico made goals in all imaginable ways, was also a great assister and team organizer, and was known for his excellent vision of the field. He was a two-footed player and an expert at free kicks.

In the 1978 World Cup against Sweden, Zico headed a corner kick into the goal in the final minute of the match, apparently breaking a 1–1 tie. However, in a call that became infamous, the Welsh referee Clive Thomas disallowed the goal, saying that he had blown the whistle to end the match while the ball was still in the air.

1982 World Cup would see Zico as part of a fantastic squad, side by side with Falcão, Sócrates, Cerezo and Júnior. In spite of his 4 goals and great skills by that squad, the team was defeated by Paolo Rossi and Italy in the second round.

Italy

After receiving offers from AS Roma and AC Milan, it seemed right to move to Italy, and in a multi-million dollar transaction he was hired to play for Udinese Calcio. Though leaving Flamengo fans in sadness, he caused a commotion in Udine by making fans to dream about better days for the city's club. In the 1983–84 Serie A, his first in Italy, his partnership with Franco Causio took Udinese to a higher level, gaining respect from giants Juventus and Roma. His personal top scorer dispute against Juventus's Michel Platini was exciting — Zico scored 19 goals, one fewer than top scorer Platini, having played 6 fewer matches than the French footballer. His following season would be punctuated by injuries, suspensions due to openly attacking referees, and a great match against Napoli's Diego Maradona – his last one as a bianconero.

Back to Brazil

On his return, he suffered a knee injury after a violent tackle from Bangu's defender Marcio Nunes, which interrupted his career for several months. He played in the 1986 FIFA World Cup while still injured, and missed a penalty during regular time in the quarter-final match against France. The match ended in a tie which led to a shootout. Zico then scored his goal but after penalties missed by Sócrates and Júlio César, Brazil were knocked out. Recovered from injuries, things improved for Zico in 1987 when he led Flamengo to their fourth national title.

In December 1989 Zico made his last official appearance for Flamengo in a Brazilian National Championship match against rivals Fluminense. Zico made the first goal and Flamengo won the match 5–0.

Two months later, he would play his last match as a Flamengo player facing a World Cup Masters team composed of names like Eric Gerets, Claudio Gentile, Franco Causio, Alberto Tarantini, Jorge Valdano, Mario Kempes, Paul Breitner, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Falcão.

With 731 matches for Flamengo, Zico is the player with the 2nd most appearances for the club. His 508 goals make him the club's top scorer ever.

The achievements of the greatest idol in Flamengo's history inspired the Brazilian singer Jorge Benjor to write a song in his honour – Camisa 10 da Gávea – helping create the mystique of the club's number 10.
Zico also represented Brazil in the World Cup of Masters, scoring in the final of the 1990 and 1991 editions.
Brief retirement

After Brazil's first presidential election in many years, the new president Fernando Collor de Mello appointed Zico as his Minister of Sports. Zico stayed at this political assignment for about a year and his most important contribution was a piece of legislation dealing with the business side of sport teams.
Japan
In 1991, Zico interrupted his political assignment when he accepted an offer to join the Sumitomo Metal Industries Soccer Club in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture, to help the club secure a place in Japan's first fully professional soccer league that was set to officially launch in 1993 — J. League. Zico played for Sumitomo in 1992, the last season before the old Japan Soccer League was disbanded, and finished as the league's top scorer. When the new league launched, the small town club, renamed Kashima Antlers, was not expected to compete with richer, more glamorous clubs like Yokohama Marinos and Verdy Kawasaki. Zico, however, helped the Antlers to win the J.League Suntory Series and a runners-up finish in its inaugural season, leading the club to cement its place among the league's elite.
His discipline, talent and professionalism meshed very well with Japanese culture, and his influence earned him the nickname, "God of Soccer" (サッカーの神様, sakkā no kamisama?) from Japanese soccer fans.
Retirement, Beach Soccer and CFZ

Zico retired from professional football during the 1994 season but received an invitation to play Beach Soccer. He returned to Kashima to become the Antlers' technical adviser in 1995, splitting his time between Japan and Brazil – where he still managed to find time to play Beach Soccer. One year later, in 1996, he founded CFZ (Zico Football Centre) in Rio de Janeiro. Zico founded another club, named CFZ de Brasília, in 1999. By this time, he was a local legend in Japan for having built a contender from almost nothing and putting the city of Kashima on the map. A statue in his honor stands outside Kashima Soccer Stadium.

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Ruud Gullit

 Ruud Gullit (help·info) (born as Ruud Dil, September 1, 1962 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the Year in 1987 and the World Soccer Player of the Year in 1987 and 1989. He was a versatile player, playing in numerous positions during his career. He last managed the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer after taking over in November 2007. Gullit was working to promote the Belgian-Dutch 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bid.

Early life

Gullit was born Ruud Dil in Amsterdam to George Gullit, a Suriname migrant, and Ria Dil, his buitenvrouw, from the Amsterdam Jordaan inner city district. The family lived in one split level room on the top floor of a small apartment building. Gullit's father worked as an economics teacher at a local school, his mother as a custodian at the Rijksmuseum.


Gullit developed his football skills in the confines of the Rozendwarsstraat, and street football was instrumental in his formative years. Gullit's first team were the Meerboys, where he joined as a junior in 1970. However, at the age of 10 Gullit moved from the Jordaan to Amsterdam Old West where he played street football alongside Frank Rijkaard. Gullit joined the DWS club after his move, and came to the attention of the Dutch youth team, where he played alongside such future greats as Erwin Koeman, Ronald Koeman and Wim Kieft.


It was during his time at DWS that Ruud first took to using his father's surname, rather than his registered surname, as he thought it sounded more like a football player. He retained his mother's surname, officially, and continues to sign all contracts as Ruud Dil.

Club career

HFC Haarlem

In 1978, he signed professionally for HFC Haarlem under coach and former West Bromwich Albion F.C. player Barry Hughes. Gullit made 91 league appearances for Haarlem, scoring 32 goals. Gullit made his debut for the club at just 16 years old, becoming at the time the youngest player in the history of the Eredivisie. In his first year at Haarlem they finished bottom of the Eredivisie, but bounced back the following season winning the Eerste Divisie. Gullit was named as the best player in the Eerste Divisie that season.in recognition of his outstanding efforts. In the 1981–2 season Gullit was in fine form as Haarlem finished 4th and qualified for Europe for the only time in their history. In that same season Gullit scored the goal he would later consider his finest, "Playing against Utrecht I went past four defenders and then the goalkeeper, and scored. It was an unforgettable goal for me." Hughes was so impressed with the young Gullit that he described him as the "Dutch Duncan Edwards"

Feyenoord

The young Gullit was considered to be signed by Premier League sides Arsenal F.C. and Ipswich Town but managers Terry Neill and Bobby Robson turned him down. Neill later told that he considered £30,000 too much for 'this wild kid'. Gullit therefore moved to Feyenoord in 1982, for a fee of £300,000, where he made 85 league appearances, scoring 31 goals. At Feyenoord Gullit found himself playing alongside Dutch legend Johan Cruijff, while the assistant manager was Wim van Hanegem, and they were to leave a lasting impression. Gullit's first season saw Feyenoord miss out on major honours, but the following year they completed the league and cup double. Gullit was named Dutch Footballer of the Year in recognition of his contribution to Feyenoord's success. At Feyenoord Gullit occupied an increasingly advanced role in midfield, having played predominantly as a sweeper at Haarlem. While at Feyenoord Gullit became the focus of a race row as manager Thijs Libregts was alleged to have referred to Gullit as "blackie" and criticised him for being lazy, though Libregts defended himself by claiming that it was merely a nickname. While playing for Feyenoord at St Mirren in September 1983 he was racially abused and spat on by Scottish supporters. Gullit called it "the saddest night of my life".

PSV Eindhoven

In 1985, he moved to PSV for ƒ1.2 million (£400,000), and wound up scoring 46 goals in 68 league appearances for the team. Gullit was again named Footballer of the Year in 1986 as he helped PSV capture the Eredivisie crown, a feat they repeated the following year. It was at PSV that Gullit really began to establish himself as a world class footballer and his distinctive, dreadlocked appearance made certain that he would catch the eye of Europe's biggest clubs. Gullit was also singled out for criticism by large numbers of Feyernoord supporters, who branded him a "wolf" and accused him of moving to Eindhoven for money.

Milan

Silvio Berlusconi signed Gullit for A.C. Milan in 1987, paying the then world record transfer fee of ƒ18 million (£6 million) as a replacement for Ray Wilkins. Among his teammates at that club were compatriots Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard, along with Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi. Gullit's exploits with first PSV and then Milan helped him win the European Footballer of the Year award in 1987 which he dedicated to Nelson Mandela.
When he arrived at Milan, Gullit initially struggled to settle as he spoke no Italian and was unused to living in a foreign country. However, Gullit's first season at Milan saw the club win Scudetto for the first time in 9 years, under coach Arrigo Sacchi. He was initially used on the right of an attacking trio alongside Van Basten and Pietro Virdis, but after an injury to Van Basten it was changed to a front two. The following season Milan built on their domestic success by adding the European Cup to their list of honours. Their scintillating 5–0 demolition of Real Madrid in the semi-final second leg came at a cost, as Gullit suffered an injury and required surgery to be fit in time for the final. That performance was followed by a 4–0 victory over Steaua Bucharest in the 1989 final with Gullit scoring two crucial goals. The following year Milan retained the trophy as they defeated Benfica in the 1990 final. However, serious injuries sustained to the ligaments of his right knee limited Gullit's playing time and he managed just 2 domestic games in the 1989–90 season before appearing in the cup final.
In 1990–91 Milan's pursuit of a third consecutive European Cup was cut short by Olympique de Marseille at the semi-final stage. Having drawn the first leg at the San Siro, Milan trailed to a Chris Waddle goal with little time remaining when the floodlights went out. After a short delay the lighting was restored, but Milan had returned to their dressing room and refused to return to complete the game. UEFA awarded Marseille a 3–0 victory and expelled Milan from all European competitions for the following season.
While Milan continued their domestic dominance by winning Serie A in both 1991–92 (a season in which they went undefeated) and 1992–93, Gullit's position was an increasingly peripheral one. This was demonstrated by his omission from the UEFA Champions League Final 1993 final as under the UEFA rules clubs were only allowed to field 3 foreigners.

Chelsea

In July 1995, he signed for Chelsea F.C. on a free transfer. Initially played as sweeper by manager Glenn Hoddle with limited success, Gullit was moved to his more familiar role in midfield, where he scored six goals. The signing of Gullit, alongside the likes of Mark Hughes and Dan Petrescu, propelled Chelsea to the semi-final of the FA Cup but their league form was disappointing.
Gullit's earliest difficulty in England was adapting to the abilities of some of his Chelsea teammates, "I would take a difficult ball, control it, make space and play a good ball in front of the right back, except that he didn't want that pass. Eventually Glenn said to me, ‘Ruud, it would be better if you do these things in midfield’." However, his adjustment was rapid and he ended the season by being named runner-up to Eric Cantona as Footballer of the Year.
Gullit has since often stated in interviews that it was in London he enjoyed his career the most and felt happiest. In moving to Chelsea, Gullit played an important part in the "foreign revolution" as numerous high profile international stars, such as the prolific German World Cup winner Jürgen Klinsmann, Italian superstar Gianfranco Zola who became a Chelsea legend, and Dutch magician Dennis Bergkamp, joined Premiership clubs and helped to increase its worldwide profile.

National team

In 1981, on his 19th birthday, Gullit made his international debut as a substitute for the Dutch national team against Switzerland, a game the Dutch lost 2–1.
Gullit's early international career was marred by disappointment as the Dutch failed to qualify for the 1982 FIFA World Cup and Euro 84. The Dutch missed out in 1984 on goals scored as the Spanish trounced minnows Malta 12–1 in their final qualifying game, when they needed an 11 goal victory to qualify.
There was further disappointment in 1986 when the Dutch missed out on qualification for the World Cup at the hands of neighbours Belgium in a play-off. Having lost 1–0 in Belgium, the Dutch appeared to be set for qualification in Rotterdam as they led 2–0 until Georges Grun put the Belgians through on away goals.
However, Gullit was one of the key players for the Dutch team helping his country win the Euro 88 under coach Rinus Michels. Having lost their opening game of the tournament to the USSR the Dutch beat England and Republic of Ireland to reach the semi-finals. After defeating West Germany 2–1 in Hamburg the Dutch faced the Soviet Union in the final. Gullit opened the scoring with a well-placed header and Marco van Basten scored an incredible volley to cap a 2–0 win. Ruud Gullit was thus the first Dutch captain to hold aloft international silverware.
The Dutch travelled to Italia 90 as one of the favourites, but the team failed to perform as expected. Gullit's knee injuries clearly hampered his play, and his only moment of brilliance was a superb dribble and shot against Ireland which helped the Netherlands qualify for the second round. There they met W Germany in one of the most exciting games of the tournament, though the game was marred by an altercation between Frank Rijkaard and Rudi Völler. The Germans gained revenge for their defeat at Euro 88, by beating the Netherlands 2–1 and going on to win the tournament.
1992 saw the Dutch again among the favourites for silverware in Sweden at Euro 92. Gullit appeared in imperious form against Scotland in their opening game of the tournament as he supplied Dennis Bergkamp with an easy goal. But after drawing with Russia and beating Germany, the Dutch suffered a shock exit on penalties to Denmark, who ended up winning the championship's Henri Delaunay Trophy.
In 1993 Gullit and Netherlands manager Dick Advocaat began what was to be a long running dispute which ultimately ended Gullit's international career. Advocaat's decision to play Gullit on the right-side of midfield, in a game against England at Wembley, rather than his usual central position upset Gullit and this was exacerbated by his substitution for Marc Overmars. Gullit refused to play for the national team following this but later changed his mind and agreed to return, facing Scotland in May 1994. Shortly before the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Gullit walked out of pre-tournament training camp and would never play international football again.

Playing style

Gullit epitomised the ethos of Total Football as he was naturally adept in several positions. His foremost attribute was his athleticism, as he used his strength and speed to great effect, as well as being excellent in the air.Yet unusually for a man of his stature Gullit also possessed outstanding natural balance and poise that gave a graceful style to his game. Gullit thus combined technical ability with physical presence to become an iconic figure in world football.
Gullit's brilliance prompted George Best to comment in 1990, "Ruud Gullit is a great player by any standards. He has all the skills. He's not afraid to do things with the ball. And he looks as if he's enjoying every second of it. By my reckoning that's what makes him an even better player than Maradona. Both have the key quality you will find in all the best players: balance. You just can't knock them off the ball. It was the same with Pelé, Beckenbauer and Cruijff."

Managerial career

Chelsea

In the summer of 1996, when Glenn Hoddle left Chelsea to become manager of the England national team, Gullit was appointed as a player-manager. Gullit made a promising start to his managerial career when in the first season as a player-manager he guided Chelsea to an FA Cup triumph in 1997, the club's first major trophy in 26 years. Gullit became the first non-British manager to win a major trophy in England. The club also finished at a credible sixth place in the Premiership.
The following season, with Chelsea in second place in the Premiership and proceeding to the quarterfinals in two cup competitions, he was sacked, allegedly for a disagreement with the club's board over the compensation, though Gullit himself disputed this.He was replaced by Gianluca Vialli, a man he had helped to bring to the club, and who went on to guide them to UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and Football League Cup glory over the remainder of the season. Gullit's last appearance as a player came in the first leg of that season's Football League Cup semi final against Arsenal,but Gullit was sacked before the second leg.
After Gullit's controversial sacking by Chelsea, chairman Ken Bates famously said of Gullit - "I didn't like his arrogance - in fact I never liked him".
Newcastle United
In 1998, he was named manager of Newcastle United F.C., and his managerial career again was on track, with an FA Cup final appearance in his first year. In the following season, fans began to turn against him after a poor run of results, and a well-publicised contretemps with star striker and local hero Alan Shearer and captain Robert Lee did not put him in a favourable light.Gullit even refused to assign Lee a squad number, giving Lee's number 7 to new signing Kieron Dyer. In a match between Newcastle and local rivals Sunderland following the latter's return to the Premiership, Gullit left the usually starting strikers Alan Shearer and Duncan Ferguson on the bench. Newcastle lost 2–1, although it was 1–1 when Shearer came on. Gullit resigned three days later, after only five games into the 1999–2000 season.
Feyenoord Rotterdam
Before the start of the 2004/2005 season, he took charge of Feyenoord, quitting at the end of that season without winning any trophies to be replaced by Erwin Koeman. Feyenoord had finished a disappointing 4th in the Eredivisie, behind Ajax, PSV and AZ.
Los Angeles Galaxy
On November 8, 2007, Ruud Gullit became head coach for the Los Angeles Galaxy, signing a 3-year contract. His $2 million per year salary was the highest ever given to an MLS head coach. Gullit arrived as replacement for Frank Yallop who was let go after Galaxy failed to make the 2007 MLS playoffs despite creating a worldwide splash by signing superstar David Beckham.
From the get go, Gullit's time with Galaxy was troublesome. Not well-versed in the intricacies of the Major League Soccer such as salary cap and draft rules, the Dutchman never adapted well to the North American league. The ill-fated January 2008 acquisition of left back Celestine Babayaro (who was brought in on Gullit's personal wishes before getting dismissed quickly and unceremoniously without even getting a chance to play any competitive matches due to extreme lack of commitment in preseason) set the tone for the league campaign that was about to start. After getting blown out 0-4 in the season opener, Gullit clashed with midfielder Peter Vagenas who criticized him for completely neglecting set play practice during training.
As the season progressed Gullit would clash with just about every player, notably Landon Donovan and also Abel Xavier who criticized the Dutchman's managerial style claiming he did not have respect for most of the players. Eventually, it also came out that Gullit's very appointment came in controversial fashion as Galaxy general manager at the time Alexi Lalas got bypassed in the process with the decision coming straight from Beckham's personal handlers - his management company 19 Entertainment as well as his personal manager Terry Byrne.
On August 11, 2008, Gullit resigned as coach from the Los Angeles Galaxy citing personal reasons. This came following a seven-game winless streak. General manager Alexi Lalas was fired on the same occasion.
Media career
In 1988 Ruud Gullit scored a No.3 hit with the anti-apartheid song South Africa in the Dutch Top 40 together with the reggae band Revelation Time. Previously he had a modest hit in 1984 with the song Not the dancing kind.
After his spell at Newcastle, Gullit spent several years working as a football commentator, having previously coined the term "sexy football"during his spell as a BBC pundit during Euro 96 which was at a time Gullit was still playing professionally for Chelsea. Gullit used the term to describe teams, such as Portugal at that tournament,who played attractive football with an emphasis on the defense-penetrating pass-and-move game.
By 2006, Gullit had a talk show on Dutch TV, where he has interviewed, amongst others, Nelson Mandela.When Gullit was named winner of the Ballon d'Or in 1987, he dedicated the award to the then imprisoned Nelson Mandela. At the time, Gullit was signed to AC Milan and the Italians raised their eyebrows, "Nelson who?". Gullit tried to explain and they said, ‘Oh, a footballer with political beliefs’. Gullit has since in interviews told that he met Nelson Mandela after he was released and Mandela said, ‘Ruud, I have lots of friends now. When I was on the inside, you were one of the few’.
In 2007 Gullit recalled, "Four months ago I visited Robben Island and met three guys who were cell-mates of Nelson Mandela. They remembered my dedicating my award in 1987 to Mandela and they said they couldn’t believe what I had done, and were sure the football authorities would withdraw the award. That's what apartheid did to them, it made them believe injustice was a normal part of life."
He also appeared as a pundit for ITV during the 2006 FIFA World Cup and works as an analyst for the UEFA Champions League games on Sky Sports and Al Jazeera Sports.
During the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Gullit worked as a studio analyst alongside former players Jürgen Klinsmann and Steve McManaman for ESPN .

Personal life

Gullit has been married three times and has six children:
Yvonne de Vries – 1984 to 1991: two children, daughters Felicity and Charmayne.
Cristina Pensa – 1994 to May 2000: two children, son Quincy and daughter Sheyenne.
Estelle Cruyff – 3 June 2000–present: She is the niece of Johan Cruyff. They have two children, son Maxim and daughter Joëlle.

Sponsors

Gullit was sponsored in 1990 to wear a black and white football boot made by Italian sports brand Lotto. The boot he wore was the Lotto Stadio 90, a boot which was initially created for the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

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