Frank Rijkaard

Frank Rijkaard (Amsterdam, the Netherlands, September 30, 1962) is a Dutch former soccer player and coach. /i> in Utrecht.

On December 14, 2020, he was included as a defensive midfielder in the second historic Ballon d'Or Dream Team.

Biography

His football career is divided into two stages: player (1980-1995) and coach (1998-2013). His resume as a player elevates him to the pantheon of players who have won everything at the European level, including three Champions Leagues and a Euro Cup.

Sports career

Player

Rijkaard playing in Amsterdam Ajax

Rijkaard in the Ajax in 1981

Trained in the youth ranks of Ajax, he played for the Amsterdam team between the 1980/1981 and 1987/1988 seasons. In this last season he also played in the ranks of Real Zaragoza, where he played 11 games. But his greatest successes as a footballer were achieved at AC Milan, where he coincided with his compatriots Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten, a team in which He played between 1988 and 1993 and in which he won the Champions League twice (1988/89 and 1989/90), even scoring the winning goal in the final against Benfica. He ended his career playing two years (1993-95) at his home club, Ajax Amsterdam, where he won another Champions League (1994/95) before retiring.

He was known worldwide as the "all-fielder" or "comet", given his ability to play in all positions, from defensive midfielder to scoring midfielder.

In addition, they won a European Championship (1988, with the Netherlands), a European Cup Winners' Cup (1986/1987), two European Super Cups (1989 and 1990), two Intercontinental Cups (1989 and 1990), five Dutch leagues (1981 /1982, 1982/1983, 1984/1985, 1993/1994 and 1994/1995), two Italian leagues (1991/1992 and 1992/1993), two Italian Super Cups (1989 and 1994) and three Dutch Cups (1982/1983, 1985/1986 and 1986/1987).

In 1992 he was awarded the title of best player in the Italian league. He played 337 games for Ajax and 201 games for Milan.

Coach

Rijkaard at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center with its Barcelona players Xavi Hernández, Ronaldinho and Carles Puyol.

Selection of the Netherlands

He made his debut in 1998, where he was the assistant to Dutch coach Guus Hiddink, at the World Cup held in France. That same year, he would go on to occupy the "oranje" bench, as the head of the Dutch team; but two years later, he resigned from the position and was replaced by Louis van Gaal, since he did not meet the objective he had set. had scored to win the Eurocup (the Netherlands fell in the semifinal penalty shootout against Italy).

Sparta Rotterdam

In the 2001/02 season, he took charge of Sparta Rotterdam, which ended up being relegated to the Eerste Divisie, for which he decided to resign. His style of football is attacking, marked by the Dutch school, giving importance to the game for the bands, without forgetting the important defensive aspect, which comes from his time as a player in the Italian league.

F. C. Barcelona

In 2003 he joined F. C. Barcelona, presented by the then president Joan Laporta. The first season, after a difficult start, he ended up being runner-up in the League, and once again encouraged the fans in search of a new title. The following two seasons were successful, where they won two Leagues (2005 and 2006); two Spanish Super Cups (2005 and 2006) and one Champions League (2006). It should be noted that Barcelona had not won any official competition since 1999.

With the conquest of the European Cup, he became the fifth person in chronological order to achieve it as a player and coach. The coaches to achieve it up to that moment had been Miguel Muñoz, Giovanni Trapattoni, Johan Cruyff and Carlo Ancelotti.

In May 2008, after two years without winning more titles than a Spanish Super Cup, his personal assistant announced on his website that at the end of June Frank Rijkaard would cease to be the coach of F.C. Barcelona, a position he had held since June 2003. A few days later, on May 8, Joan Laporta confirmed that the Dutchman would not continue as coach at the end of the season, introducing Josep Guardiola, who in his day was a player for the same club, as a substitute.

Galatasaray SK

On June 5, 2009, Rijkaard reached an agreement with Galatasaray Spor Kulubu to coach him for two seasons, finishing in third place in his first campaign (2009-10). However, on October 20, 2010 he was dismissed due to poor results in the Turkish League (he was 9th after 8 games) and elimination in the previous round of the Europa League.

Selection of Saudi Arabia

In the summer of 2011, he committed to Saudi Arabia to be its new coach. In January 2013, he was fired due to the poor performance of the Saudi team in the Gulf Nations Cup, failing to advance to the final phase of that tournament. competition.

Withdraw

On March 18, 2014, Rijkaard announced his retirement from the bench.

Statistics

As a player

Equipment	Country	Year	PJ	Goles
A. F. C. Ajax	NetherlandsNetherlands	1980-1987	206	46
Sporting Lisboa	Portugal	1987-1988	0	0
Real Zaragoza (given)	SpainSpain	1987-1988	11	0
A. C. Milan	ItalyItaly	1988-1993	142	16
A. F. C. Ajax	NetherlandsNetherlands	1993-1995	55	12
Total		1980 - 1995	414	74

As a coach

Equipment	Country	Year	P	PG	PE	P	% v.
Selection of the Netherlands	NetherlandsNetherlands	1998-2000	22	8	12	2	54.55%
Sparta Rotterdam		2001-2002	38	6	12	20	26.32%
F. C. Barcelona	SpainSpain	2003-2008	273	160	63	50	66.3%
Galatasaray S. K.	TurkeyTurkey	2009-2010	67	37	15	15	62.69%
Selection of Saudi Arabia	Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia	2011-2013	27	7	9	11	37.04%
Total			427	218	111	98	59.72%

Honours of Prizes

As a footballer

National Championships

Title	Club	Country	Year
Eredivisie	Ajax Amsterdam	NetherlandsNetherlands	1981/82
Eredivisie			1982/83
Cup of the Netherlands			1982/83
Eredivisie			1984/85
Cup of the Netherlands			1985/86
Cup of the Netherlands			1986/87
Supercopa de Italia	Milan	ItalyItaly	1988
Series A			1991/92
Supercopa de Italia			1992
Series A			1992/93
Super Cup of the Netherlands	Ajax Amsterdam	NetherlandsNetherlands	1993
Eredivisie			1993/94
Super Cup of the Netherlands			1994
Eredivisie			1994/95

International tournaments

Title	Club	Headquarters	Year
Coup Europe	Ajax Amsterdam	Athens	1987
Euro	Netherlands	GermanyGermany	1988
European Cup	Milan	Barcelona	1989
European Super Cup		ItalyItaly	1989
Intercontinental Cup		Tokyo	1989
European Cup		Vienna	1990
European Super Cup		ItalyItaly	1990
Intercontinental Cup		Tokyo	1990
UEFA Champions League	Ajax Amsterdam	Vienna	1995

Individual awards

As a coach

National Championships

Title	Club	Country	Year
First Division of Spain	F. C. Barcelona	SpainSpain	2005
Supercopa de España			2005
First Division of Spain			2006
Supercopa de España			2006

International Tournaments

Title	Club	Headquarters	Year
UEFA Champions League	F. C. Barcelona	Paris	2006

Individual distinctions