Ruud Gullit
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Ruud Gullit (born September 1, 1962) was a Dutch star football player of the 80s and 90s. He was European Footballer of the Year in 1987, and World Soccer Player of the Year in 1987 and 1989.
He was born in Amsterdam and his career started with Haarlem before moving to Feyenoord and then PSV Eindhoven. He was taken to Italy by Silvio Berlusconi, who paid the then record fee of £6 million for him. Playing for the great A.C. Milan team of the late 1980s, which starred, among others, fellow countrymen Marco Van Basten and Frank Rijkaard, Italian world class players Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi, he helped Milan capture three Serie A titles and two European Cups (1989, 1990) during Milan's amazing five year reign from 1988-1992. He was well known for his heading and jumping ability, among his other creative talents as an outstanding offensive midfielder. Widely agreed to be one of the best and most creative players the Netherlands, or as a matter of fact, the world has ever seen.
He was also one of the core batch of players that led the Netherlands to the 1988 European Championship title, to date, the only international title the Netherlands has achieved.
He failed to convert his on-field magic to off-field management with any lasting success. As player-manager, Gullit took Chelsea to the F.A. Cup Final in his first post, but was released soon after.
He was appointed manager of Newcastle United in 1998 where success was initially promised, with an FA Cup Final appearance in his first season. The following season, however, results and fans began to turn against him, and a well-publicised contretemps with star striker and local hero Alan Shearer did his survival prospects no favours. He also fell out with Newcastle captain Robert Lee. Ruud Gullit resigned as manager of Newcastle United only 5 games into the 2000-2001 season, following a home defeat to local rivals Sunderland. Popular opinion had it that he resigned as manager before he was pushed out. He spent several years limited to occasional football punditry. Gullit became manager for Feynoord before the start of the 2004/2005 season, which also was the only one. He resigned at the end of the season, a season he went through without achieving any trophies.
| Preceded by: Igor Belanov | European Footballer of the Year 1987 | Succeeded by: Marco van Basten
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