Ruud Gullit
Encyclopedia
(ˈryt ˈɣʏɫɪt, born as Ruud Dil ˈryd ˈdɪɫ, September 1, 1962 in Amsterdam
) OON
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. Gullit was working to promote the Belgian-Dutch 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bid.
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.
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
".
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".
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 ligament
s 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.
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.
against Switzerland
, a game the Dutch lost 2–1.
Gullit's early international career was marred by disappointment as the team failed to qualify for the 1982 FIFA World Cup
and Euro 84
. The Netherlands missed out in 1984 on goals scored as Spain
trounced minnow
s 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 Netherlands appeared to be set for qualification in Rotterdam as they led 2–0 until Georges Grun
put the Belgium through on away goals
.
However, Gullit was one of the key players for the Netherlands helping his country win the Euro 88
under coach Rinus Michels
. Having lost their opening game of the tournament to the USSR the Netherlands beat England
and Republic of Ireland
to reach the semi-finals. After defeating West Germany 2–1 in Hamburg
the Netherlands 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 West 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 Netherlands 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 Netherlands 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.
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."
, 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".
, 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 had finished a disappointing 4th in the Eredivisie
, behind Ajax, PSV and AZ.
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.
From the get go, Gullit's time with Galaxy was troublesome. Not well-versed in the intricacies and specifics 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.
, a Russian Premier League
football club announced that Gullit has agreed to sign a year-and-a-half contract and become the head coach for the Chechen side. Gullit told Sovetsky Sport: "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 sacked by the club on June 14, 2011, having only won 3 games as manager. The club also said Gullit had a "party lifestyle".
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
.
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
.
Feyenoord
PSV Eindhoven
AC Milan
Sampdoria
Chelsea
Netherland
|1979–80
||rowspan="3"|Haarlem
||Eredivisie
||24||4||||||colspan="2"|––||colspan="2"|––||||
|-
|1980–81||Eerste Divisie
||36||14||||||colspan="2"|––||colspan="2"|––||||
|-
|1981–82
||Eredivisie
||31||14||||||colspan="2"|––||colspan="2"|––||||
|-
|1982–83
||rowspan="3"|Feyenoord||rowspan="3"|Eredivisie
||33||9||||||colspan="2"|––||colspan="2"|––||33||9
|-
|1983–84
||33||15||12||9||colspan="2"|––||4||1||49||25
|-
|1984–85
||19||7||4||3||colspan="2"|––||2||0||25||10
|-
|1985–86
||rowspan="2"|PSV Eindhoven||rowspan="2"|Eredivisie
||34||24||2||1||colspan="2"|––||2||0||38||25
|-
|1986–87
||34||22||3||6||colspan="2"|––||0||0||37||28
|-
|1987–88
||rowspan="6"|Milan
||rowspan="6"|Serie A
||29||9||6||3||colspan="2"|––||4||1||39||13
|-
|1988–89||19||5||1||2||colspan="2"|––||8||4||28||11
|-
|1989–90
||2||0||0||0||colspan="2"|––||1||0||3||0
|-
|1990–91
||26||7||1||0||colspan="2"|––||4||1||31||8
|-
|1991–92
||26||7||1||1||colspan="2"|––||colspan="2"|––||27||8
|-
|1992–93||15||7||6||4||colspan="2"|––||4||1||25||12
|-
|1993–94
||Sampdoria||Serie A
||31||16||10||3||colspan="2"|––||colspan="2"|––||41||18
|-
|1994–95||Milan
||Serie A
||8||3||2||0||colspan="2"|––||3||0||13||3
|-
|1994–95||Sampdoria||Serie A
||22||9||0||0||colspan="2"|––||colspan="2"|––||22||9
|-
|1995–96
||rowspan="3"|Chelsea
||rowspan="3"|Premier League||31||3||7||3||||||colspan="2"|––||38||6
|-
|1996–97
||12||1||1||0||||||colspan="2"|––||13||1
|-
|1997–98
||0||0||0||0||||||0||0||0||0
244||109||21||19||colspan="2"|––––||8||1||273||129
178||62||27||13||colspan="2"|––––||24||7||229||81
43||4||8||3||||||0||0||51||7
465||175||56||35||||||32||8||553||217
|-
|1981||1||0
|-
|1982||5||1
|-
|1983||6||4
|-
|1984||4||0
|-
|1985||4||0
|-
|1986||6||1
|-
|1987||6||5
|-
|1988||8||2
|-
|1989||2||0
|-
|1990||9||1
|-
|1991||4||1
|-
|1992||8||2
|-
|1993||2||0
|-
|1994||1||0
|-
!Total||66||17
|}
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
) OON
Order of Orange-Nassau
The Order of Orange-Nassau is a military and civil order of the Netherlands which was created on 4 April 1892 by the Queen regent Emma of the Netherlands, acting on behalf of her under-age daughter Queen Wilhelmina. The Order is a chivalry order open to "everyone who have earned special merits for...
is a 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...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
manager
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
and former football player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national 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...
that was victorious at Euro 88
1988 UEFA European Football Championship
The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany. West Germany won the right to host the tournament with five votes ahead of a joint bid from Norway, Sweden and Denmark, who gained 1 vote, and a bid from England. It was the eighth European Football...
and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
. He was named the European Footballer of the Year
European Footballer of the Year
The "", literally translated as "the golden ball" and often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year award, was an annual association football award. It was presented to the player who had been considered to have performed the best over the previous calendar 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. Gullit was working to promote the Belgian-Dutch 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bid.
Early life
Gullit was born Ruud Dil in AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
to George Gullit, a Suriname
Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
migrant, and Ria Dil, his buitenvrouw
Buitenvrouw
Buitenvrouw is a Surinamese Dutch word for a mistress. Although traditionally considered a taboo, some contemporary Surinamese cultural figures like Jetty Mathurin and Frits Wolfs are found to satirize or criticize the institution.After the Surinamese mass immigration to the Netherlands, some...
, from the Amsterdam Jordaan
Jordaan
The Jordaan is a district of the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The area is bordered by the Lijnbaansgracht canal to the west, the Prinsengracht to the east, the Brouwersgracht to the north and the Leidsegracht to the south...
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
Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam or simply Rijksmuseum is a Dutch national museum in Amsterdam, located on the Museumplein. The museum is dedicated to arts, crafts, and history. It has a large collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age and a substantial collection of Asian art...
.
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
Frank Rijkaard
Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard is a Dutch football manager of Dutch and Surinamese descent 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,...
. 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
Erwin Koeman
Erwin Koeman is a former football player and Dutch football manager. Currently he is the manager of FC Utrecht in the Dutch Eredivisie. He is the son of Dutch international footballer Martin Koeman, and, alongside his younger brother Ronald, has also represented the Netherlands...
, Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman is a former Dutch footballer, and the current manager of Feyenoord. He is the younger brother of former Feyenoord coach Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman...
and Wim Kieft
Wim Kieft
Willem "Wim" Cornelis Nicolaas Kieft is a retired Dutch footballer who played as a centre forward.A prolific goalscorer whose main asset resided in his heading ability, he played in his country for two of the most important clubs, Ajax Amsterdam and PSV Eindhoven, with equal team and individual...
.
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.
HFC Haarlem
In 1978, he signed professionally for HFC HaarlemHFC 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...
under coach and former West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
player Barry Hughes
Barry Hughes
Barry Hughes is a Welsh former professional football player and manager, active primarily in the Netherlands.-Playing career:...
. 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
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....
. In his first year at Haarlem they finished bottom of the Eredivisie, but bounced back the following season winning the Eerste Divisie
Eerste Divisie
The Eerste Divisie is the second-highest division of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via a promotion/relegation system. It is also known as the Jupiler League due to sponsorship, which is the same name as the top league in Belgium...
. 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
Duncan Edwards
Duncan Edwards was an English footballer who played for Manchester United and the England national team. He was one of the Busby Babes, the young United team formed under manager Matt Busby in the mid 1950s, and one of eight players who died as a result of the Munich air disaster.Born in Dudley,...
".
Feyenoord
The young Gullit was considered to be signed by Premier League sides Arsenal F.C.Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
and Ipswich Town but managers Terry Neill
Terry Neill
William John Terence "Terry" Neill is a Northern Ireland former football player and manager.-Playing career:Born in Belfast, Neill played as a youth for Bangor, before moving in December 1959 to Arsenal. He spent a year in Arsenal's youth side, before making his debut against Sheffield Wednesday...
and Bobby Robson
Bobby Robson
Sir Robert William "Bobby" Robson, CBE was an English footballer and manager, who coached seven European clubs and the England national team during his career....
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
Thijs Libregts
Thijs Libregts is a Dutch football coach and former player, who played professionally in the 1950s. His daughter Patricia was one of Holland's leading water polo players in the 1980s and 1990s.-Club career:...
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
St. Mirren F.C.
St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...
in September 1983 he was racially abused and spat on by Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
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 BerlusconiSilvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
signed Gullit for A.C. Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
in 1987, paying the then world record transfer fee
World football transfer record
This is a list of the progression of the world association football transfer record when measured in British pounds.-See also:*Highest transfer fees*Progression of British football transfer fee record-Notes:...
of ƒ18 million (£6 million) as a replacement for Ray Wilkins
Ray Wilkins
Raymond Colin Wilkins MBE , often known as "Butch" Wilkins, is an English former footballer and at present a television pundit...
. Among his teammates at that club were compatriots Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard
Frank Rijkaard
Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard is a Dutch football manager of Dutch and Surinamese descent 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,...
, along with Paolo Maldini
Paolo Maldini
Paolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former footballer who played as a left or central defender. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009, becoming a symbol and a legend of the club...
and Franco Baresi
Franco Baresi
Franco Baresi is an Italian football youth team coach and former player. He played as a sweeper and spent his entire career with Serie A club AC Milan, acknowledged as one of the greatest defenders ever to play the game. Baresi was nicknamed "Piscinin", Milanese for "Little one"...
. Gullit's exploits with first PSV and then Milan helped him win the European Footballer of the Year
European Footballer of the Year
The "", literally translated as "the golden ball" and often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year award, was an annual association football award. It was presented to the player who had been considered to have performed the best over the previous calendar year...
award in 1987 which he dedicated to Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
.
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
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
for the first time in 9 years, under coach Arrigo Sacchi
Arrigo Sacchi
Arrigo Sacchi is an Italian football coach. He is best known for his success coaching Italian teams, particularly with Milan where he won back to back European Cups as coach in the late eighties where he was head coach of the Italy national football team . He was twice manager of A.C...
. He was initially used on the right of an attacking trio alongside Van Basten and Pietro Virdis
Pietro Paolo Virdis
Antonio Pietro Paolo Virdis is a former Italian footballer who played for Cagliari Calcio, Juventus F.C., Udinese Calcio, AC Milan and was part of their European Cup victory in 1989.-Club:...
, 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
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
to their list of honours. Their scintillating 5–0 demolition of Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
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 ligament
Ligament
In anatomy, the term ligament is used to denote any of three types of structures. Most commonly, it refers to fibrous tissue that connects bones to other bones and is also known as articular ligament, articular larua, fibrous ligament, or true ligament.Ligament can also refer to:* Peritoneal...
s 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
Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille is a French association football club based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the club plays in Ligue 1 and have spent most of its history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions nine times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In...
at the semi-final stage. Having drawn the first leg at the San Siro, Milan trailed to a Chris Waddle
Chris Waddle
Christopher Roland "Chris" Waddle is a former footballer from England. He played for a number of clubs in the 1980s and 90s, including Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield Wednesday in England, and Olympique de Marseille in France...
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
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
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
1993 UEFA Champions League Final
The 1993 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match between French club Marseille and Italian club Milan, played on 26 May 1993 at the Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany....
final as under the UEFA rules clubs were only allowed to field 3 foreigners.
Sampdoria
In 1993, Gullit moved to Sampdoria and led them to victory in the Italian Cup in the 1993/4 season. He also scored the winner in a 3-2 victory over AC Milan. He was briefly re-signed by a very impressed AC Milan in 1994, but quickly returned to Sampdoria before the culmination of the 1994/5 season. During his time at Sampdoria, he served under manager Sven Goran Erikson and the two had a strong understanding and mutual respect. In his brief time at Sampdoria he managed 15 goals.Chelsea
In July 1995, he signed for ChelseaChelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
on a free transfer. Initially played as sweeper by manager Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle is an English former footballer and manager who played as an attacking midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, AS Monaco, Chelsea and Swindon Town and at international level for England....
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
Mark Hughes
Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE , is a former Welsh international footballer. As an international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals....
and Dan Petrescu
Dan Petrescu
Daniel Vasile Petrescu is a Romanian football manager and former player, currently the manager of Kuban Krasnodar in the Russian Premier League....
, 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
Eric Cantona
Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona is a French actor and former French international footballer. He played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United before ending his professional footballing career at Manchester United, where he won four Premier League titles in...
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
Jürgen Klinsmann
Jürgen Klinsmann is a German football manager and former player who is currently the coach of the United States Men's National Team. As a player, Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe and was part of the West German team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup and the German one that...
, Italian superstar Gianfranco Zola
Gianfranco Zola
Gianfranco Zola, OBE, Ufficiale OMRI is a retired Italian footballer and manager, who most recently managed West Ham United from 2008 to 2010, after having been assistant manager of the Italy U-21 under Pierluigi Casiraghi...
who became a Chelsea legend, and Dutch magician Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Nicolaas Bergkamp , is a former Dutch professional footballer who is currently the assistant manager to Frank de Boer at Ajax. At club level he played for Ajax, Internazionale, and Arsenal, and also represented the Netherlands at international level...
, 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 Netherlands national teamNetherlands 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...
against Switzerland
Switzerland national football team
The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...
, a game the Dutch lost 2–1.
Gullit's early international career was marred by disappointment as the team failed to qualify for the 1982 FIFA World Cup
1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July. The tournament was won by Italy, after defeating West Germany 3–1 in the final.-Host selection:...
and Euro 84
1984 UEFA European Football Championship
The 1984 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in France. West Germany also bid for the hosting of this event. It was the seventh European Football Championship, held every four years and endorsed by UEFA...
. The Netherlands missed out in 1984 on goals scored as Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
trounced minnow
Underdog (competition)
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, frequently in electoral politics, sports and creative works, who is popularly expected to lose. The party, team or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the rare case where an underdog wins, the outcome is an upset. These...
s Malta
Malta national football team
The Malta national football team is the national football team of Malta and is controlled by the Malta Football Association. Malta played its first international game in February 1957, and began competing for qualification to major tournaments in 1962. The side's first competitive victory came in...
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 Netherlands appeared to be set for qualification in Rotterdam as they led 2–0 until Georges Grun
Georges Grün
Georges Serge Grün is a former Belgian football defender and is now a TV presenter for the UEFA Champions League matches at RTL TVI....
put the Belgium through on away goals
Away goals rule
The away goals rule is a method of breaking ties in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. By the away goals rule, the team that has scored more goals "away from home" will win if scores are otherwise equal...
.
However, Gullit was one of the key players for the Netherlands helping his country win the Euro 88
1988 UEFA European Football Championship
The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany. West Germany won the right to host the tournament with five votes ahead of a joint bid from Norway, Sweden and Denmark, who gained 1 vote, and a bid from England. It was the eighth European Football...
under coach Rinus Michels
Rinus Michels
Marinus Jacobus Hendricus Michels OON was a Dutch association football player and coach...
. Having lost their opening game of the tournament to the USSR the Netherlands beat England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
and Republic of 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....
to reach the semi-finals. After defeating West Germany 2–1 in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
the Netherlands 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
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
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 West 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
Rudi Völler
Rudolf 'Rudi' Völler is a German former international football striker, and a former manager of the German national team...
. 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 Netherlands again among the favourites for silverware in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
at Euro 92
1992 UEFA European Football Championship
The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth European Football Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. Eight national teams contested the championship, which was won by Denmark, one of...
. Gullit appeared in imperious form against Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
in their opening game of the tournament as he supplied Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Nicolaas Bergkamp , is a former Dutch professional footballer who is currently the assistant manager to Frank de Boer at Ajax. At club level he played for Ajax, Internazionale, and Arsenal, and also represented the Netherlands at international level...
with an easy goal. But after drawing with Russia
Russia national football team
The Russia national football team represents Russia in association football and is controlled by the Russian Football Union , the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home grounds are Luzhniki Stadium, Lokomotiv Stadium , and Petrovsky Stadium in St.Petersburg and their head coach is...
and beating Germany, the Netherlands suffered a shock exit on penalties to Denmark
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
, who ended up winning the championship's Henri Delaunay
Henri Delaunay
Henri Delaunay was a French football administrator.After playing for the Paris team Étoile des Deux Lacs, he became a referee...
Trophy.
In 1993 Gullit and Netherlands manager 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...
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
Marc Overmars
Marc Overmars is a retired Dutch footballer. He is best known as a right-footed left winger, although he is able to use both his feet with equal precision and power...
. 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
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...
, Gullit walked out of pre-tournament training camp and would never play international football again.
Playing style
Gullit epitomised the ethos of Total FootballTotal Football
"Total Football" is the label given to an influential tactical theory of association football in which any outfield player can take over the role of any other player in a team. It was pioneered by Dutch football club Ajax from 1969 to 1973, and further used by the Netherlands National 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
George Best
George Best was a professional footballer from Northern Ireland, who played for Manchester United and the Northern Ireland national team. He was a winger whose game combined pace, acceleration, balance, two-footedness, goalscoring and the ability to beat defenders...
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
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting...
. 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
Pelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
, Beckenbauer
Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Anton Beckenbauer is a German football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed Der Kaiser because of his elegant style, his leadership, his first name "Franz" , and his dominance on the football pitch...
and Cruijff."
Chelsea
In the summer of 1996, when Glenn Hoddle left Chelsea to become manager of the England national teamEngland national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
, 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
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
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
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
.
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
Gianluca Vialli
Gianluca Vialli is an Italian football manager and former player. Since retiring, he has gone into management and punditry and is a commentator for Sky Sport Italia....
, a man he had helped to bring to the club, and who went on to guide them to UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
and Football League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
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
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
semi final against Arsenal, but Gullit was sacked before the second leg.
After Gullit's controversial sacking by Chelsea, chairman Ken Bates
Ken Bates
Kenneth William Bates is a British businessman and football executive. The current chairman and now owner of Leeds United AFC, Bates was previously chairman and majority shareholder of Chelsea FC from 1982 until 2003....
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.Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
, and his managerial career again was on track, with an FA Cup final
1998 FA Cup Final
The 1998 FA Cup Final was contested by Arsenal and Newcastle United at Wembley. Arsenal won 2–0, with goals by Marc Overmars and Nicolas Anelka to complete their second league and cup double....
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
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...
and captain Robert Lee
Rob Lee
Robert Martin "Rob" Lee is a retired English footballer who played the majority of his career for Charlton Athletic and Newcastle United.-Charlton Athletic:...
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 Dyer
Kieron Courtney Dyer is an English footballer who plays for Queens Park Rangers. Born in Ipswich, he is an attacking midfielder who played youth football for his home club before going on to make nearly 100 league appearances for the club's first team...
. 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
FA Premier League 1999-00
The FA Premier League 1999–2000 season was the eighth season of the FA Premier League, and Manchester United secured their sixth Premiership title. Like the previous season, they lost only three league games all 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 KoemanErwin Koeman
Erwin Koeman is a former football player and Dutch football manager. Currently he is the manager of FC Utrecht in the Dutch Eredivisie. He is the son of Dutch international footballer Martin Koeman, and, alongside his younger brother Ronald, has also represented the Netherlands...
. Feyenoord had finished a disappointing 4th in the 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....
, behind Ajax, PSV and AZ.
Los Angeles Galaxy
Los Angeles Galaxy
The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second...
, 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
Frank Yallop
Frank Walter Yallop is an English-born Canadian former professional association football player. He is currently the head coach of San Jose Earthquakes in Major League Soccer....
who was let go after Galaxy failed to make the 2007 MLS playoffs.
From the get go, Gullit's time with Galaxy was troublesome. Not well-versed in the intricacies and specifics of the Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
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
Celestine Babayaro
Celestine Hycieth Babayaro is a former Nigerian footballer.-Club career:Babayaro began his playing career at Nigerian side Plateau United, before moving to Belgium club Anderlecht in 1994, and eventually would make a name for himself, quickly gaining first-choice status although still a...
(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
Peter Vagenas
Panayiotis Alexiou "Peter" Vagenas born February 6, 1978 in Pasadena, California is an American soccer player who currently plays for Vancouver Whitecaps FC in Major League Soccer.-High School and College:...
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
Landon Donovan
Landon Timothy Donovan is an American soccer player for the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer in the United States. He usually plays as a withdrawn forward, and can also be used as an attacking midfielder on either wing....
and also Abel Xavier
Abel Xavier
Faisal Xavier is a retired Portuguese footballer who played as a full back. He last played for Los Angeles Galaxy and also made 20 appearances for the Portuguese national team.-Career:...
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
Alexi Lalas
Panayotis Alexander Lalas is a retired American soccer player who played mostly as a defender for the United States national team in the 1994 FIFA World Cup...
got bypassed in the process with the decision coming straight from Beckham's personal handlers - his management company 19 Entertainment
19 Entertainment
19 Entertainment, based in Los Angeles, United States, is a creator and producer of entertainment properties based around the areas of Music and Television / Film, including American Idol in the United States, Pop Idol in the United Kingdom as well as versions of the Idol series in more than...
as well as his personal manager Terry Byrne
Terry Byrne
Terry Byrne is an English businessman, director of various companies connected to football that are active in the United Kingdom and the United States...
.
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.
Terek Grozny
On January 18, 2011, FC Terek GroznyFC Terek Grozny
FC Terek Grozny is a Russian football club, currently playing in the Russian Premier League....
, a Russian Premier League
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League , currently called SOGAZ Russian Football Championship due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of Russian football. There are 16 teams in the competition...
football club announced that Gullit has agreed to sign a year-and-a-half contract and become the head coach for the Chechen side. Gullit told Sovetsky Sport: "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 sacked by the club on June 14, 2011, having only won 3 games as manager. The club also said Gullit had a "party lifestyle".
Media career
In 1988 Ruud Gullit scored a No.3 hit with the anti-apartheid song South Africa in the Dutch Top 40Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...
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
Portugal national football team
The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...
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
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
. 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
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
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
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
during the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
and works as an analyst for the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
games on Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
and Al Jazeera Sports
Al Jazeera Sports
Al Jazeera Sports is a popular Arabic-language sports channel launched in November 2003 by the well-known Al Jazeera network.Al Jazeera Sports also owns the exclusive broadcasting rights in the Middle East for major football leagues, such as the Spanish La Liga, the French Ligue 1 and the Italian...
.
During the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
, Gullit worked as a studio analyst alongside former players Jürgen Klinsmann
Jürgen Klinsmann
Jürgen Klinsmann is a German football manager and former player who is currently the coach of the United States Men's National Team. As a player, Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe and was part of the West German team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup and the German one that...
and Steve McManaman
Steve McManaman
Steven McManaman is a retired English footballer who played as a midfielder, winger and playmaker. Having spent his playing career at two of European football's most successful clubs of the 20th century, Liverpool and Real Madrid, as well as a spell at Manchester City, McManaman is the most...
for ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.
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 CruyffJohan CruyffHendrik Johannes Cruijff OON , known as Johan Cruyff, is a retired Dutch footballer and is currently the manager of the Catalan national team as well as a member of the AFC Ajax board of directors. He won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974, which is a record jointly held with...
. They have two children, son Maxim and daughter Joëlle.
Sponsors
Gullit was sponsored in 1990 to wear a black and white football bootFootball boot
Football boots, called cleats or soccer shoes in North America, are an item of footwear worn when playing association football. Those designed for grass pitches have studs on the bottom to aid grip...
made by Italian sports brand Lotto
Lotto Sport Italia
Lotto Sport Italia is an Italian sports apparel manufacturer. Its products are now distributed in more than 60 countries.-History:Lotto was established in 1973 by the Caberlotto family in Montebelluna, northern Italy, the world centre of footwear manufacturing. In June 1973, Lotto made its debut...
. The boot he wore was the Lotto Stadio 90, a boot which was initially created for the 1990 FIFA World Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
.
Player
Haarlem- Eerste DivisieEerste DivisieThe Eerste Divisie is the second-highest division of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via a promotion/relegation system. It is also known as the Jupiler League due to sponsorship, which is the same name as the top league in Belgium...
(1): 1981
Feyenoord
- EredivisieEredivisieThe 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): 1984 - KNVB CupKNVB CupThe 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): 1984
PSV Eindhoven
- EredivisieEredivisieThe 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....
(2): 1986, 1987
AC Milan
- Serie ASerie ASerie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
(3): 1988, 1992, 1993 - Supercoppa ItalianaSupercoppa ItalianaThe Supercoppa Italiana is a pre-season football competition held the week before the season begins in Italy every year. It is contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season, as a curtain raiser to the new season. It is usually played at the home of the Serie A...
(3): 19881988 Supercoppa ItalianaThe 1988 Supercoppa Italiana was a match played by the 1987–88 Serie A winners Milan and 1987–88 Coppa Italia winners Sampdoria. It took place on 14 June 1989 at the San Siro in Milan, Italy, and was the first edition of the trophy...
, 19921992 Supercoppa ItalianaThe 1992 Supercoppa Italiana was a match played by the 1991–92 Serie A winners Milan and 1991–92 Coppa Italia winners Parma. It took place on 30 August 1992 at the San Siro in Milan, Italy. A.C...
, 19941994 Supercoppa ItalianaThe 1994 Supercoppa Italiana was a match played by the 1993–94 Serie A winners Milan and 1993–94 Coppa Italia winners Sampdoria. It took place on 28 August 1994 at the San Siro in Milan, Italy. A.C... - European CupEuropean Champion Clubs' CupThe European Champion Clubs' Cup, also known as Coupe des Clubs Champions Européens, or simply the European Cup, is a trophy awarded annually by UEFA to the football club that wins the UEFA Champions League...
(2): 1989, 1990 - UEFA Super Cup (2): 19891989 UEFA Super CupThe 1989 European Super Cup was the 14th UEFA Super Cup, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's European Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup competitions. The 1989 Super Cup was played on a home-and-away basis, and was contested by Milan, winners of the 1988–89...
, 19901990 UEFA Super CupThe 1990 UEFA Super Cup was played between A.C. Milan and U.C. Sampdoria, with A.C. Milan winning 3–1 on aggregate.-First leg:-Second leg:-External links:*... - Intercontinental CupIntercontinental Cup (football)The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...
(2): 19891989 Intercontinental CupThe 1989 Intercontinental Cup was a football match played on 17 December 1989 between Milan of Italy, winners of the 1988–89 European Cup, and Atlético Nacional of Colombia, winners of the 1989 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the neutral venue of the National Stadium in Tokyo in front of...
, 19901990 Intercontinental CupThe 1990 Intercontinental Cup was a football match played on 9 December 1990 between Milan of Italy, winners of the 1989–90 European Cup, and Olimpia of Paraguay, winners of the 1990 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the neutral venue of the National Stadium in Tokyo in front of 60,228...
Sampdoria
- Coppa ItaliaCoppa ItaliaThe Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
(1): 1994
Chelsea
- FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
(1): 1997
Netherland
- European Championship (1): 1988
Individual
- Netherlands Player of the Year (2° level) (1): 1981
- Dutch Footballer of the YearDutch Footballer of the YearThe title Dutch Footballer of the Year has been awarded in the Netherlands since 1984. The award is determined by a poll of Dutch professional footballers playing in the First and Second leagues....
(2): 1984 1986 - Netherlands Cup Top Scorer (1): 1984 (9 goals)
- Dutch Golden Shoe WinnerDutch Footballer of the YearThe title Dutch Footballer of the Year has been awarded in the Netherlands since 1984. The award is determined by a poll of Dutch professional footballers playing in the First and Second leagues....
(1): 1986 - Netherlands League Top Scorer: 1986 (2nd, 24 goals)
- Dutch Sportsman of the YearDutch Sportsman of the yearThe Dutch Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year are chosen annually by Dutch athletes from a shortlist compiled by sports journalists. The elections are organized by the Dutch Olympic Committee.- Sporter of the Year :...
(1): 1987 - Ballon d'Or (1): 1987, 1988 (silver)
- World Soccer Magazine World Footballer of the Year (2): 1987 (39% of the votes), 1988 (2nd), 1989 (24% of the votes), 1993 (3rd)
- Onze d' Silver (2nd place)Onze MondialOnze Mondial is a French magazine. Onze Mondial was known as Onze until the name was changed in 1989.Every year, Onze Mondial hands out the European Footballer of the Year award, as well as awards for coaches....
(2): 1988, 1989 - IFFHS Best World Player of the Year: 1988 (bronze), 1989 (bronze)
- UEFA European Championship Dream Team (2): 1988, 1992
- 1988 European Championship Silver ball
- UEFA Player of the Year: 1989 (2nd)
- Silver Ball English League Player of the Year: 1996
- Chelsea Player of the Year (1): 1996
- FIFA 100FIFA 100The FIFA 100 is a list of the world-renowned Brazilian striker Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Fédération Internationale de...
Statistics
|-|1979–80
Eredivisie 1979-80
The Dutch Eredivisie in the 1979/1980 season was contested by 18 teams. Ajax won the championship.-League standings:1 Winners KNVB Cup. 2 Clubs participating in the Intertoto Cup 1980.-References:* *...
||rowspan="3"|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...
||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....
||24||4||||||colspan="2"|––||colspan="2"|––||||
|-
|1980–81||Eerste Divisie
Eerste Divisie
The Eerste Divisie is the second-highest division of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via a promotion/relegation system. It is also known as the Jupiler League due to sponsorship, which is the same name as the top league in Belgium...
||36||14||||||colspan="2"|––||colspan="2"|––||||
|-
|1981–82
Eredivisie 1981-82
The Dutch Eredivisie in the 1981/1982 season was contested by 18 teams. Ajax won the championship. From this season onwards, three clubs relegated instead of two.-League standings:1 Winners KNVB Cup.-References:* *...
||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....
||31||14||||||colspan="2"|––||colspan="2"|––||||
|-
|1982–83
Eredivisie 1982-83
The Dutch Eredivisie in the 1982/1983 season was contested by 18 teams. Ajax won the championship.-League standings:1 Ajax also won the KNVB Cup, thereby taking the double. They would participate in the European Cup, so finalists NEC could play in the Cup Winners' Cup...
||rowspan="3"|Feyenoord||rowspan="3"|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....
||33||9||||||colspan="2"|––||colspan="2"|––||33||9
|-
|1983–84
Eredivisie 1983-84
The Dutch Eredivisie in the 1983/1984 season was contested by 18 teams. Feyenoord won the championship.-League standings:1 Feyenoord also won the KNVB Cup, thereby taking the double. They would participate in the European Cup, so finalists Fortuna Sittard could play in the Cup Winners' Cup. 2 Clubs...
||33||15||12||9||colspan="2"|––||4||1||49||25
|-
|1984–85
Eredivisie 1984-85
The Dutch Eredivisie in the 1984/1985 season was contested by 18 teams. Ajax won the championship.-League standings:1 Winners KNVB Cup. 2 FC Twente would play in the Intertoto Cup 1985.-References:* *...
||19||7||4||3||colspan="2"|––||2||0||25||10
|-
|1985–86
Eredivisie 1985-86
The Dutch Eredivisie in the 1985/1986 season was contested by 18 teams. PSV won the championship.-League standings:1 Winners KNVB Cup. 2 NEC would participate in the Intertoto Cup 1986.-References:* *...
||rowspan="2"|PSV Eindhoven||rowspan="2"|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....
||34||24||2||1||colspan="2"|––||2||0||38||25
|-
|1986–87
Eredivisie 1986-87
The Dutch Eredivisie in the 1986/1987 season was contested by 18 teams. PSV Eindhoven won the championship. At the beginning of the season, AZ '67 from Alkmaar changed their name to AZ.-League standings:...
||34||22||3||6||colspan="2"|––||0||0||37||28
|-
|1987–88
Serie A 1987-88
The 1987/1988 Serie A season marked A.C. Milan's first Scudetto under the Silvio Berlusconi era and their first since the 1978/1979 season. S.S.C. Napoli, with a team including Diego Maradona, Ciro Ferrara and Careca were pre-season favourites. The championship went down to the last day of the...
||rowspan="6"|Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
||rowspan="6"|Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||29||9||6||3||colspan="2"|––||4||1||39||13
|-
|1988–89||19||5||1||2||colspan="2"|––||8||4||28||11
|-
|1989–90
Serie A 1989-90
Another dominant year for Napoli, with Diego Maradona being among the leading goalscorers in Serie A , behind Marco Van Basten of Milan and Roberto Baggio of Fiorentina .-Final classification:-Results:-Top scorers:...
||2||0||0||0||colspan="2"|––||1||0||3||0
|-
|1990–91
Serie A 1990-91
-Final classification:-Results:-Top scorers:19 goals* Gianluca Vialli 16 goals* Lothar Matthäus 15 goals* Carlos Aguilera * Tomáš Skuhravý 14 goals* Roberto Baggio...
||26||7||1||0||colspan="2"|––||4||1||31||8
|-
|1991–92
Serie A 1991-92
During this season, under the guidance of Fabio Capello, AC Milan completed a remarkable unbeaten season, a run that eventually totalled 58 games.- Final classification :- Results :-Top scorers:25 goals* Marco van Basten 18 goals...
||26||7||1||1||colspan="2"|––||colspan="2"|––||27||8
|-
|1992–93||15||7||6||4||colspan="2"|––||4||1||25||12
|-
|1993–94
Serie A 1993-94
The 1993–94 Serie A was won by A.C. Milan, being the 14th title for the rossoneri.-Final classification:-Results:-Top scorers:23 goals* Giuseppe Signori 18 goals* Gianfranco Zola 17 goals* Roberto Baggio...
||Sampdoria||Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||31||16||10||3||colspan="2"|––||colspan="2"|––||41||18
|-
|1994–95||Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
||Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||8||3||2||0||colspan="2"|––||3||0||13||3
|-
|1994–95||Sampdoria||Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||22||9||0||0||colspan="2"|––||colspan="2"|––||22||9
|-
|1995–96
FA Premier League 1995-96
-Promoted teams:Due to the decision to reduce the number of clubs in the Premier League from 22 to 20, only two clubs were promoted this season: Middlesbrough as Football League First Division champions, and Bolton Wanderers who won the 1994-95 playoff.-Transfers:...
||rowspan="3"|Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
||rowspan="3"|Premier League||31||3||7||3||||||colspan="2"|––||38||6
|-
|1996–97
FA Premier League 1996-97
The 1996–97 FA Premier League season was the fifth season of the competition, since its formation in 1992. The majority of the season was contested by the reigning champions, Manchester United, along with Newcastle United, Arsenal and Liverpool...
||12||1||1||0||||||colspan="2"|––||13||1
|-
|1997–98
FA Premier League 1997-98
The FA Premier League 1997-98 season saw Arsenal lift their first league title since 1991, and also become only the second team to win the 'double' of the FA Cup and league title twice...
||0||0||0||0||||||0||0||0||0
244||109||21||19||colspan="2"|––––||8||1||273||129
178||62||27||13||colspan="2"|––––||24||7||229||81
43||4||8||3||||||0||0||51||7
465||175||56||35||||||32||8||553||217
|-
|1981||1||0
|-
|1982||5||1
|-
|1983||6||4
|-
|1984||4||0
|-
|1985||4||0
|-
|1986||6||1
|-
|1987||6||5
|-
|1988||8||2
|-
|1989||2||0
|-
|1990||9||1
|-
|1991||4||1
|-
|1992||8||2
|-
|1993||2||0
|-
|1994||1||0
|-
!Total||66||17
|}
Managerial stats
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | D | Win % | |||
| Chelsea Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four... |
May 10, 1996 | February 12, 1998 | 83 | 41 | 24 | 18 | 49.39 |
| Newcastle United Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger... |
August 27, 1998 | August 28, 1999 | 52 | 18 | 20 | 14 | 34.61 |
| Feyenoord | August 13, 2004 | May 22, 2005 | 45 | 25 | 8 | 12 | 55.56 |
| Los Angeles Galaxy Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second... |
November 8, 2007 | August 11, 2008 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 50.00 |
| FC Terek Grozny FC Terek Grozny FC Terek Grozny is a Russian football club, currently playing in the Russian Premier League.... |
January 18, 2011 | June 14, 2011 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 27.27 |
External links
- Gullit's international record (Dutch)
- Gullit's unofficial page
- Gullit's emotional South African journey – fifa.com/worldcup/ – FIFAFIFAThe Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
, 2007 – retrieved 20 July. - European Champions Cup/UEFA Champions League Winning Squads