Marco van Basten

Marco van Basten (born October 31, 1964 in Utrecht) is a former Dutch football player who played for Ajax Amsterdam and A.C. Milan in the 1980s. He is regarded as one of the finest strikers of all time and scored 276 goals in a career cut short by injury, known for his strength on the ball, his tactical awareness and spectacular volleys. He is currently the coach of the Dutch national team.

Coaching career

Van Basten officially left Milan in 1995 and retired from football, stating he would never try management. However, he eventually realized that football was too important for him and successfully took a course with the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB). His first stint as a coach was as an assistant to his former teammate John van't Schip managing the second team of Ajax in 2003-2004. On 29 July 2004, van Basten was named as the new head coach of the Dutch national team, with van't Schip as his assistant.

Related Topics:
Royal Netherlands Football Association - John van't Schip - 29 July - 2004 - Dutch national team

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As a coach, he soon established himself as a man of strong principles. Like many others, he declared he would pick players only "by performance", but he was unusual in actually following this policy. Van Basten famously dropped superstars like Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf and Patrick Kluivert, who were either past their best or constantly underachieving, and picked previously little-known players like Khalid Boulahrouz, Denny Landzaat, Barry van Galen, Ron Vlaar, Jan Kromkamp, Romeo Castelen and Joris Matthijsen. To date, his selections have proven successful in rejuvenating the Dutch national side.

Related Topics:
Edgar Davids - Clarence Seedorf - Patrick Kluivert - Khalid Boulahrouz - Denny Landzaat - Barry van Galen - Ron Vlaar - Jan Kromkamp - Romeo Castelen - Joris Matthijsen

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