Ruud Gullit (; born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a Dutch footballer and subsequent manager who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s as a
defender,
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
or
forward. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
He captained the
Netherlands national team that was victorious at
UEFA Euro 1988
The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany from 10 to 25 June 1988. It was the eighth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA.
The tournament crowned the Nethe ...
and was also a member of the squad for the
1990 FIFA World Cup and
Euro 1992.
At club level, in 1987 he moved from
PSV to
AC Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...
for a
world record transfer fee.
["The history of the world transfer record"](_blank)
BBC News. Retrieved 10 May 2014 Nicknamed "the black Tulip", he was part of a notable Dutch trio at Milan which included
Marco van Basten and
Frank Rijkaard. Gullit won three
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
titles and two
European Cups with Milan. In 1995, he signed for
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
and a year later was appointed the club's player-manager. In his debut season, he led Chelsea to
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
success, the club's first major title for 26 years, and in doing so became the first overseas manager to win the FA Cup.
Gullit won the
Ballon d'Or
The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Pl ...
in 1987 and was named the
World Soccer Player of the Year in 1987 and 1989. Normally an
attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
,
he was a versatile player, playing in numerous positions during his career. In 2004, he was named one of the
Top 125 greatest living footballers as part of
FIFA's 100th anniversary celebration.
Early life
Gullit was born as Rudi Dil in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
to George Gullit, a
Surinamese who arrived in the Netherlands with
Herman Rijkaard (father of
Frank Rijkaard), and Dutch
mistress Ria Dil from the
Jordaan district of Amsterdam. The Gullit 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. At the age of ten, however, 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 future full international teammates,
Erwin Koeman
Erwin Koeman (born 20 September 1961) is a Dutch retired professional football player and retired football manager.
Personal life
He is the son of Dutch international footballer Martin Koeman, and, alongside his younger brother Ronald, has also ...
,
Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is the younger brother of his former international teammate Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman. Koeman was cap ...
and
Wim Kieft
Willem Cornelis Nicolaas "Wim" Kieft (born 12 November 1962) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Kieft went into punditry in 2001, occasionally appearing on football talk show ''Voetbal Inside''
A prolific ...
.
It was during his time at DWS that Gullit first took to using his father's surname, rather than his registered surname (from his mother), as he thought Gullit sounded more like a football player. However he retained his mother's surname, officially, and continues to sign all contracts as Ruud Dil.
Club career
HFC Haarlem
September 22nd 1978, Gullit signed professionally for
HFC Haarlem under coach and former
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
player
Barry Hughes. Gullit made 91 league appearances for Haarlem, scoring 32 goals. He made his debut for the club at just 16 years and 11 months old, on August 19th 1979 (Haarlem-MVV Maastricht 2-2), becoming at the time the youngest player in the history of the
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...
. In his first year at Haarlem, the club finished bottom of the Eredivisie, but bounced back the
following season winning the
Eerste Divisie
The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as t ...
. Gullit was named as the best player in the Eerste Divisie that season.
[Ruud Gullit, My Autobiography, p35] In the
1981–82 season, Gullit was in fine form as Haarlem finished fourth 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
Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...
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 as a signing by English sides
Arsenal and
Ipswich Town, but managers
Terry Neill
William John Terence Neill (8 May 1942 – 28 July 2022) was a Northern Irish football player and manager. A centre-back, he captained and later managed Arsenal, guiding the club to a European final in 1980 and three consecutive FA Cup final ...
and
Bobby Robson
Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich ...
turned him down. Neill later told that he considered
£30,000 too much for "this wild kid". Gullit therefore moved to
Feyenoord in 1982, where he made 85 league appearances, scoring 31 goals. At Feyenoord, Gullit found himself playing in his second season 1983/84, alongside Dutch legend
Johan Cruyff
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a ...
, 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.
[Glanville, p4] While playing for Feyenoord at
St Mirren in September 1983, he was racially abused and spat on by supporters of the Scottish club. Gullit called it "the saddest night of my life".
PSV
In 1985, Gullit moved to
PSV for 1.2 million
Dutch guilders 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 Feyenoord supporters, who branded him a "wolf" and accused him of moving to Eindhoven for money.
AC Milan
Gullit signed for
AC Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...
in 1987, paying the then
world record transfer fee of 18 million guilders as a replacement for
Ray Wilkins
Ray may refer to:
Fish
* Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea
* Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin
Science and mathematics
* Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point
* Ray (gra ...
. Milan's club leader
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies f ...
had ambition to revive the fortunes of the Italian club which had stagnated after its glory days in the 1960s. Among Gullit's teammates at that club were compatriot
Marco van Basten, who came at the same time. A year later they'd be joined by another compatriot and old friend Frank Rijkaard. The club also had then young Italian rising stars
Paolo Maldini
Paolo Cesare Maldini (; born 26 June 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer who played primarily as a left back and centre back for AC Milan and the Italy national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of a ...
and
Franco Baresi. Gullit's exploits with first PSV and then Milan helped him win the
Ballon d'Or
The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Pl ...
award in 1987 which he dedicated to
Nelson Mandela.
When he arrived at Milan, Gullit initially struggled to fit in as he spoke no
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
and was unused to living in a foreign country. Gullit's first season at Milan, however, saw the club win the ''
Scudetto'' for the first time in nine 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 București in the
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...
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 two 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
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
at the quarter-final stage. Having drawn the first leg at the
San Siro
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums i ...
, 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
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
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
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
in both
1991–92 (a season in which they went undefeated) and
1992–93
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...
, Gullit's position became an increasingly peripheral one under new coach
Fabio Capello. This was demonstrated by his omission from the
1993 Champions League final, as under the UEFA rules clubs were only allowed to field three foreigners.
Torino
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...
was interested in signing him, with the chairman claiming that an agreement with Milan was likely.
Bayern Munich was also in talks with Gullit, but an agreement fell through. Instead, Gullit was loaned to
Sampdoria.
Sampdoria
In 1993, Gullit moved to
Sampdoria and led them to victory in the
Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
in the
1993–94 season. He also scored the winner in a 3–2 victory over Milan. Gullit was briefly re-signed by Milan in 1994, but quickly returned to Sampdoria before the culmination of the
1994–95 season. During his time, he served under manager
Sven-Göran Eriksson and the two had a strong understanding and mutual respect. In his brief time at Sampdoria, he scored 15 goals.
Chelsea
In July 1995, Gullit signed for
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
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
Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City.
During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, an ...
and
Dan Petrescu
Daniel Vasile Petrescu (; born 22 December 1967) is a Romanian football manager and former player, who is currently in charge of Liga I club CFR Cluj.
As a player, Petrescu was deployed as a full-back or a winger and represented Premier Leag ...
, propelled Chelsea to the semi-final of the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
but their league form was disappointing.
Gullit had some difficulties adapting to the style of play at Chelsea: "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.'"
His adjustment, however, 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
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
he enjoyed his career the most and felt happiest: "Every time I played for Chelsea, I thought, 'Nice game, beautiful stadium, great crowd, I'm playing well.' It was the only time I really had fun."
In moving to Chelsea, Gullit played an important part in the "foreign revolution" as numerous high-profile international stars, such as Italian
Gianfranco Zola and Dutchman
Dennis Bergkamp, joined Chelsea and
Arsenal respectively, which helped to increase its worldwide profile.
International career
In 1981, on his 19th birthday, Gullit made his international debut as a substitute for the
Netherlands national team against
Switzerland, a game the Dutch lost 2–1. During his early international career, the team failed to qualify for both the
1982 FIFA World Cup and
UEFA Euro 1984
The 1984 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in France from 12 to 27 June 1984. It was the seventh UEFA European Championship, a competition held every four years and endorsed by UEFA.
At the time, only eight countries ...
- missing out on the latter tournament on
goals scored
Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...
as
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, needing an 11-goal victory to qualify, trounced
minnow
Minnow is the common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish, belonging to several genera of the families Cyprinidae and Leuciscidae. They are also known in Ireland as pinkeens.
Smaller fish in the subfamily Leusciscidae are c ...
s
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
12–1 in their final qualifying game.
There was further frustration in 1985 when the Dutch missed out on qualification for the
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
at the hands of neighbours
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
in a
play-off
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
. Having lost 1–0 in Belgium, the Netherlands appeared to be set for qualification in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...
as they led 2–0 until a late
Georges Grün
Georges Serge Grün (born 25 January 1962) is a retired Belgian football defender, who currently works as a television presenter for the UEFA Champions League matches at RTL TVI.
Club career
Grün started his career with Anderlecht in Belgiu ...
goal put Belgium through on
away goals
The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...
.
Gullit, however, was one of the key players for the Netherlands as he helped his country win
Euro 1988 under coach
Rinus Michels
Marinus Jacobus Hendricus Michels (; 9 February 1928 – 3 March 2005) was a Dutch football player and coach. He played his entire career for AFC Ajax, which he later managed, and played for and later managed the Netherlands national team ...
. Having lost their opening game of the tournament to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
, the Netherlands beat
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
to reach the semi-finals. After defeating
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
2–1 in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
, the Netherlands faced the Soviet Union again in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
* Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
. Gullit opened the scoring with a header and Marco van Basten scored a volley from a narrow angle to cap a 2–0 win. Gullit was thus the first Dutch captain to hold aloft international silverware.
The Dutch travelled to the
1990 World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being ...
as one of the favourites, but the team failed to perform as expected. There was also internal trouble related to selection of the national team coach (players consulted had voted for Johan Cruijff, but the Dutch FA and especially its leader
Rinus Michels
Marinus Jacobus Hendricus Michels (; 9 February 1928 – 3 March 2005) was a Dutch football player and coach. He played his entire career for AFC Ajax, which he later managed, and played for and later managed the Netherlands national team ...
snubbed them and chose
Leo Beenhakker). Gullit's knee injuries also hampered his play, but his dribble and shot against Ireland helped the Netherlands qualify for the second round. There they met West Germany, in a game marred by an altercation between Frank Rijkaard and
Rudi Völler
Rudolf "Rudi" Völler (; born 13 April 1960), nicknamed "''Tante Käthe''" ("Aunt Käthe"), is a German former professional football player and manager who serves as the sporting director for Bayer Leverkusen.
A forward, Völler won the FIFA W ...
. The Germans gained revenge for their defeat at Euro 1988 by beating the Netherlands 2–1 and going on to win the tournament.
1992 saw the Netherlands again among the favourites for silverware in
Sweden at
Euro 1992. Gullit appeared in strong form against
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
in their opening game of the tournament as he supplied
Dennis Bergkamp with a goal. But after drawing with
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
and beating Germany, the Netherlands suffered a shock exit on penalties to
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
, who ended up winning the championship's
Henri Delaunay Trophy.
In 1993, Gullit and Netherlands manager
Dick Advocaat
Dirk Nicolaas Advocaat (; born 27 September 1947) is a Dutch former football player and coach who is currently the head coach of Eerste Divisie side ADO Den Haag.
Advocaat was successful as a football player and as a coach, including three stint ...
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
Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
, 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 World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...
, Gullit walked out of the pre-tournament training camp and would never play international football again. In December 2013, while appearing on Dutch television program ''Studio Voetbal'', Gullit and Advocaat stated they were both at fault in the matter and regretted it.
Style of play
A complete and versatile player, Gullit epitomised the ethos of
Total Football as he was naturally adept in several positions, and was capable of aiding his team defensively as well as offensively due to his work-rate, ball-winning abilities, and tactical intelligence in addition to his skill and physical qualities.
Normally deployed as an
attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
or as a
second striker
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
, he was capable of playing anywhere in
midfield
Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...
or along the
front-line, on either
wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...
or even in the
centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
* Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...
, and could also play as a
sweeper.
Regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, his foremost attribute was his athleticism, as he used his strength and speed, combined with his technique, to great effect; he was also strong in the air, as he was tall, powerful, and an excellent jumper.
Yet, unusually for a man of his stature, Gullit was an elegant player, who also possessed outstanding natural balance, poise, technical ability, and
dribbling
In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score.
A ...
skills, which gave a graceful style to his game.
Gullit also was noted for his intelligence, creativity, vision, and spatial abilities, qualities that helped him score goals early in his career and enabled him to play in a
deeper role as a playmaker late in his days, where he was known for
creating chances for teammates.
Gullit thus combined physical presence with flair, mental acuity, formidable technique and natural touch, to become an iconic figure in world football.
He was also an accurate
free kick
A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play.
Association football
In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...
taker. Beyond his qualities as a footballer, Gullit also stood for his leadership and tenacity. Despite his talent, however, he struggled with injuries throughout his career, which later affected his fitness.
Gullit's brilliance prompted
George Best
George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest p ...
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
Cruyff."
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 becoming the first Dutch manager in the Premier League. 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
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
, the club's first major
trophy in 26 years. In doing so he became the first manager from outside the British Isles and the
first black manager to win a major British football trophy. The club also finished at a creditable
sixth place in the Premiership.
The following season, with Chelsea in second place in the Premiership and proceeding to the quarter-finals in two cup competitions, he was sacked, allegedly for a disagreement with the club's board over 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 League Cup semi-final against Arsenal, but Gullit was sacked before the second leg. After Gullit's controversial sacking by Chelsea, chairman
Ken Bates
Kenneth William Bates (born 4 December 1931) is a British businessman, football executive and hotelier. He was involved in the development of Wembley Stadium and is the former owner and chairman of football clubs Chelsea and Leeds United.
Bate ...
said of Gullit, "I didn't like his arrogance – in fact I never liked him."
Newcastle United
In August 1998, Gullit was named manager of
Newcastle United two games into the new league season and reached the
1999 FA Cup Final in his first year. Fans remained supportive despite a poor run of results, although a well-publicised contretemps with the team's top scorer
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
Kieron Courtney Dyer (born 29 December 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was recently the U23s manager at Ipswich Town.
Born in Ipswich, Dyer played youth football for his home club Ipswich Town ...
. In a match between Newcastle and local rivals
Sunderland following the latter's return to the Premiership, Gullit left the usual starting strikers Shearer and
Duncan Ferguson on the bench. Newcastle lost 2–1, and Gullit resigned three days later, five games into the
1999–2000 season.
Feyenoord
Before the start of the
2004–05 season, Gullit took charge of Feyenoord, quitting at the end of that season without winning any trophies, being replaced by
Erwin Koeman
Erwin Koeman (born 20 September 1961) is a Dutch retired professional football player and retired football manager.
Personal life
He is the son of Dutch international footballer Martin Koeman, and, alongside his younger brother Ronald, has also ...
. Feyenoord had finished a disappointing fourth in the
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...
, behind
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
,
PSV and
AZ.
Los Angeles Galaxy
On 8 November 2007, Gullit became head coach for the
LA Galaxy, signing a three-year contract. His US$2 million per year salary was the highest ever given to a
Major League Soccer (MLS) head coach. Gullit arrived as replacement for
Frank Yallop who was let go after Galaxy failed to make the 2007 MLS playoffs despite having record signing
David Beckham on the roster.
From the start, Gullit's time with Galaxy was troublesome. Not well-versed in the intricacies and specifics of the MLS such as salary cap and draft rules, the Dutchman never adapted well to the North American league. The ill-fated acquisition in January 2008 of left back
Celestine Babayaro, who was signed on Gullit's personal wishes before being dismissed without playing a competitive match, set the tone for the league campaign. After losing 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 clashed with several players, notably
Landon Donovan and
Abel Xavier, the latter who criticized Gullit's
managerial style and claimed he did not have respect for most of the players. It was later reported that Gullit's appointment had been made in controversial fashion as Galaxy general manager,
Alexi Lalas
Panayotis Alexander "Alexi" Lalas ( el, Αλέξης Λάλας; born June 1, 1970) is an American retired soccer player who played mostly as a defender. Lalas is best known for his participation with the United States men's national soccer te ...
, had been bypassed in the process, with the decision being led by David Beckham's advisers: his management company
19 Entertainment
19 Entertainment is a producer of entertainment properties for television with a focus on music. Founded by Simon Fuller in London in 1985, the company co-produced ''Pop Idol'' in the United Kingdom with Thames Television in 2001. The ''Idol serie ...
and his personal manager
Terry Byrne
Terry Byrne (born 4 June 1966) is an English businessman and a director of various companies connected to football that are active in the United Kingdom and the United States. He is best known for his business relationship and close friendship ...
.
On 11 August 2008, Gullit resigned as coach of the Galaxy, citing personal reasons. This came following a seven-game winless streak. General manager Lalas was fired at the same time.
Terek Grozny
On 18 January 2011,
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...
side
Terek Grozny announced that Gullit has agreed to sign a year-and-a-half contract and become the head coach for the Chechen side. Upon signing, Gullit told ''
Sovetsky Sport
, logo = SovSport.png
, image = Sovetskiy Sport nameplate May 19 1988.png
, caption = ''Soviet Sports'' nameplate on the May 19, 1988 issue
, type =
, format =
, own ...
'', "I'd like to believe that I can bring joy into the lives of the Chechen people through football... Of course, I won't deny that I'm getting lots of money from Terek." Gullit was let go by the club on 14 June 2011.
Media career
In 1988, 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". Gullit also notably joined his band in front of 3000 people at concerts in Italy, in the year he made a move to AC Milan.
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 #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
while still playing professionally for Chelsea. Gullit used the term to describe teams, such as
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,
.
When Gullit was named winner of the Ballon d'Or in 1987, he dedicated the award to the then imprisoned Nelson Mandela. Gullit has since said in interviews that he met Mandela after he was released, and that Mandela had said to him, "Ruud, I have lots of friends now. When I was on the inside, you were one of the few."
and met three guys who were cell-mates of Nelson Mandela. They remembered me 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."
. During the
. He subsequently worked as an analyst for Al Jazeera Sports during
alongside Glenn Hoddle and Terry Venables, among others.
In 2013, Gullit and many other former footballers were brought into
'' as "Legends" cards in FIFA Ultimate Team; his card is one of the highest rated in the game.
In 2014, Gullit joined BBC's
.
Gullit is a Feyenoord supporter. His son
.
:''Scores and results list the Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gullit goal.''
All competitive league games (league and domestic cup) and international matches (including friendlies) are included.
* ''Ruud Gullit: My Autobiography'' (1998) with Harry Harris
* ''Kijken naar voetbal'' (2016); English translations: ''How to Watch Football'' (2016), ''How to Watch Soccer'' (2017)