) is a retired Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 footballer. He played as a left back and was a regular fixture in Netherlands national football team

Netherlands national football team

The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...

. He is currently the team manager for the Netherlands B squad and a scout for Aston Villa FC.

Early career

He started his career with the amateur club SV Beverwijk and was spotted by Haarlem

HFC Haarlem

HFC Haarlem was a Dutch football club from the city of Haarlem, established in 1889. The club won the Dutch national title in 1946 and reached five Cup finals, winning in 1902 and 1912...

, who handed him his first professional game against DS '79 on 26 March 1988 which his team won 2–0. He originally played in a more attacking role, but his long-time mentor Dick Advocaat

Dick Advocaat

Dirk Nicolaas "Dick" Advocaat is a Dutch football manager and former player currently the manager of the Russia national football team.He has been moderately successful as a football player and as a coach, which included two stints with the Dutch national football team...

, then the coach of Haarlem

HFC Haarlem

HFC Haarlem was a Dutch football club from the city of Haarlem, established in 1889. The club won the Dutch national title in 1946 and reached five Cup finals, winning in 1902 and 1912...

, positioned him as a left fullback.

PSV Eindhoven

Numan joined Twente

FC Twente

FC Twente is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, playing in the Eredivisie. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Eredivisie Champions, Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys...

 at the close of the 1990–91 season where he has scored goals even as a defender. He was named team captain for the Enschede

Enschede

Enschede , also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region...

 team and also captained the Dutch Under 21 national team

Netherlands national under-21 football team

The Netherlands national under-21 football team is the national under-21 team of the Netherlands and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association. The team competes in the European Under-21 Championship, held every two years....

. However, it was not until he joined PSV Eindhoven that his talents were fully appreciated. He was drafted into the Dutch team for a World Cup qualifying game against Poland

Poland national football team

The Poland national football team represents Poland in association football and is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for football in Poland...

 which ended in a 2–2 draw on 14 October 1992. Numan was substituted after forty minutes by Advocaat, who was then the national team coach and brought on PSV teammate Gerald Vanenburg

Gerald Vanenburg

Gerald Mervin Vanenburg is a retired Dutch footballer who played as a right winger.He amassed Eredivisie totals of 372 games and 112 goals for Ajax and PSV combined, winning fifteen major titles between the two clubs, including the 1988 European Cup with the latter...

 as his team was 2–0 down early in the game.

Rangers

A £4.5 million deal took him to Rangers

Rangers F.C.

Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

 in May 1998, but Numan's time in Scotland was then blighted by injuries that forced him to sit out many games. Dick Advocaat, who managed the team at that time, waited for Numan to recover, a move which was rewarded when he helped the team to considerable league success as well as the treble in his penultimate season at Rangers. Numan was awarded the teams vice-captaincy serving as deputy to captain Lorenzo Amoruso

Lorenzo Amoruso

Lorenzo Pier Luigi Amoruso is a former Italian Assocation footballer who played for seven teams during his footballing career but is perhaps best known for his six-year spell with Glasgow side Rangers...

. He had a particularly prolific relationship with German international

Germany national football team

The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....

 left sided midfielder Jorg Albertz

Jörg Albertz

Jörg Albertz is a retired German professional footballer. Between 1996 and 1998 he played three international games for the German national football team.-Career:...

. However, at the end of the 2002–03 season, he and the club could not agree a new contract so he left at the end of that season. He stated that he was willing to accept a pay-cut offer but felt that his club wanted too large a drop in wages. He soon announced his retirement. A late offer by Villarreal

Villarreal CF

Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. , usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or just Villarreal, is a Spanish Primera División football club based in Vila-real, a city in the province of Castellón within the Valencian Community...

 failed to change his mind and he refused to continue his career in Holland. He was not looking forward to start afresh training and playing hectic games every week.

International career

Numan was included in the squad for the 1994 World Cup

1994 FIFA World Cup

The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, although he was never included in the starting line-up for any of the matches. His World Cup debut came against the Ireland

Republic of Ireland national football team

The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....

 as a substitute 75th minute substitute. He was also selected for Euro 1996, yet also failed to start a match at the tournament.

Numan was chosen to captain the team. He featured in most of the qualification games for the 1998 World Cup

1998 FIFA World Cup

The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...

. Numan played in all of the group matches in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, although the quarter final game against Argentina

Argentina national football team

The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...

 was marred with his second yellow card of the game (after a tackle on Diego Simeone). He missed the crucial clash with eventual finalist Brazil

Brazil national football team

The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...

. He played in the third placing match against Croatia

Croatia national football team

The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...

, but could not help his team win the bronze medal.

Numan continued to feature in the Dutch national team, representing his country on home soil during the Euro 2000 tournament. By 2000, Numan's career at the international stage appeared to wane and his automatic leftback spot was open to his contenders Winston Bogarde

Winston Bogarde

Winston Bogarde is a retired Dutch professional footballer.A player of immense physical strength, he played mostly as a central defender, although he could occasionally appear on the left, and was best known for his spells at Ajax, FC Barcelona and Chelsea.With the latter side, he garnered...

 and Giovanni van Bronckhorst

Giovanni van Bronckhorst

Giovanni Christiaan van Bronckhorst OON , known as Gio in Spain, is a retired Dutch footballer of Moluccan descent who served as the captain of the Dutch national team from August 2008 until his retirement....

. He was to play for the remaining games of his team's failed attempt to capture their first major trophy since 1988 culminating in the semi-final loss to Italy

Italy national football team

The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...

 on penalties.

He was determined to assist his national team to qualify for the 2002 World Cup

2002 FIFA World Cup

The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...

 in South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

 and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 under manager Louis van Gaal

Louis van Gaal

Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal OON is a Dutch football manager formerly in charge of Ajax, Netherlands, Barcelona, AZ and Bayern Munich...

 but the crucial game against Ireland

Republic of Ireland national football team

The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....

 at Landsdowne Road stadium in late 2001 was lost 1–0. He retired from international football after his final international game against United States

United States men's national soccer team

The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...

 on 19 May 2002, which the Dutch won 2–0 away.

Managing career

Numan was a regular pundit on Scotsport SPL

Scotsport

Scotsport was a Scottish sports television programme, broadcast on STV in northern and central Scotland, as well as on Border Television in southern Scotland. It was recognised as the world's longest-running sports television magazine....

, Scottish and Grampian TV's round-up of Scottish Premier League

Scottish Premier League

The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

 action and stayed in Hamilton, Scotland post retirement. He was also appointed treasurer of the Rangers Charity Trust.

He has taken up the position of team manager for the Netherlands B squad in December 2008.

Numan signed a one year contract with Aston Villa FC to become their scout in the Netherlands and surrounding areas in mid-2011.

Honours

PSV Eindhoven

• Eredivisie
  Eredivisie
  The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
  
  : 1

1997

• KNVB Cup
  KNVB Cup
  The KNVB Cup is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association since 1899. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside of the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup...
  
  : 1

1996

• Johan Cruijff Shield: 4

1992, 1996, 1997, 1998

Rangers

• Scottish Premier League
  Scottish Premier League
  The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
  
  : 3

1999, 2000, 2003

• Scottish Cup
  Scottish Cup
  The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
  
  : 4

1999, 2000, 2002, 2003

• Scottish League Cup
  Scottish League Cup
  The Scottish League Cup is a football competition open to all Scottish Football League and Scottish Premier League clubs. At present it is also known as the Scottish Communities League Cup owing to the sponsorship deal in place with the Scottish Government. In the past it has been sponsored by...
  
  : 3

1999, 2002, 2003

External links