Ruud Gullit. Ruud gullit - how to watch football What is ruud gullit currently doing

The career of a football player with the appearance of a rock star Ruud Gullit has developed so brilliantly that the Dutchman got into all sorts of symbolic teams, lists of the best players of all time. He is the first foreign coach to win a title in the English Premier League. And according to former colleagues, he is a lover of conflicts and a master of showing off at someone else's expense.

Childhood and youth

Ruud Deal was born on the first day of September 1962 in Amsterdam. Gullit is the surname of George's father, who had his own family, and the man just met with the boy's mother Maria. The football player signs all documents as Dil.

Ruud was chasing the ball with the neighboring guys, and he tried to choose opponents older than himself in age. In the game, Gullit was distinguished by an elusive ability to combine athleticism with refined technique.

The amateur Mer Boys became the first club, at the age of 15 the guy was called to defend the honor of the country's national team, assembled from schoolchildren. However, when Ruud came to the Ajax academy, he got a turn from the gate. The young athlete was advised to choose a more modest school.

Later, Ajax will come to bow and ask Ruud to come with his parents. Those due to employment will not be able to, and the club did not want to see Gullit alone. In an interview, the footballer recalled that he had not heard anything more stupid - they were waiting for the player, so what did the parents have to do with it.

Football

A professional sports page in Ruud's biography opened with the first contract with Harlem. The youngest player in the top division of the national championship scored 32 goals in 91 matches and led the team to European competition for the first time. Then Gullit made his debut in the national team.

A football player with impressive dimensions (weight - 83 kg, height - 190 cm) played in all positions except the goalkeeper. Started as a libero, tried in attack and stopped in midfield. Gullit's usual number was 10, only in Sampdoria he got 4 - do not take away the T-shirt from.

In 1982, Ruud moved to Rotterdam, to Feyenoord, where he found. Working next to such a master gave a lot to the midfielder professionally. The second season of performances for Pride of the South brought Gullit the title of football player of the year, the Cup and victory in the Dutch championship.

At the next club, PSV, Ruud took on the role of playmaker. That's where outside-the-box thinking, vision of the game situation and sprint speed came in handy. For the team from Eindhoven, Gullit scored 46 goals, helped to regain and defend the title of the best club in the country.

In 1987, the idol of the Netherlands went abroad - the president of Milan was in a hurry, who paid a record $ 9 million for the transfer of a player at that time. ". For the sake of Milan, the midfielder “sacrificed” his knee, entering the field with an untreated injury.

The best goals of Ruud Gullit

In the Apennines, the Dutchman collected three Italian Super Cups, two UEFA Super Cups, a pair of Intercontinental and European Cups. Speaking for Sampdoria, he also got Coppa Italia. In the final of the 1988 European Championship, the Dutch team, with the participation of Gullit, scored 2 unanswered goals against the USSR national team. But before such an important match, the midfielder's team had a stormy evening at a concert.

After two seasons at Chelsea, Ruud remained there as player-manager, under him the Blues won their first FA Cup in 26 years. Gullit left Newcastle due to a conflict with leading players, although he denied it.

Sporting troubles led to the resignation from Feyenoord. Then, during the season, Ruud "steered" the American "Los Angeles Galaxy" with the lineup. The former football player came to the post of coach of the Russian club "Terek" from Grozny on advice.

But, despite the fact that the contract was for 1.5 years, Gullit was shown the door after 6 months. The last straw was an own goal. In addition, the Dutchman was accused of not finding a common language with the players, did not understand the essence of the team, walked with the players in nightclubs and allowed himself to speak incorrectly about the Chechen Republic.

True, during this time, Ruud managed to hold a friendly match between the symbolic teams of Brazil and with the participation of Vladimir Beschastnykh and Vagiz Khidiyatullin and Romario, Cafu and Bebeto.

After unsuccessful attempts by the Netherlands to break into the 2018 World Cup and the resignation of Danny Blinda, Gullit said he was ready to lead his native team. However, they were invited to the leadership of the Orange, and Ruud got the post of his assistant.

Personal life

Ruud got married for the first time at the age of 22. Yvonne de Vries gave her husband two daughters, but the athlete left the family, barely waiting for the birth of the youngest, Charmaine. For the second time, the football player went down the aisle with the Italian model Christina Penza. Despite the birth of his daughter Sheyenne and son Quincy, Gullit again started the divorce proceedings.

It seemed that Ruud found family happiness with the niece of the player and coach of Barcelona, his teammate Johan Cruyff. With Estelle Cruyff, the former footballer raised his daughter Joel and son Maxim. But in 2012, the family boat cracked.

A couple of years later, Gullit met a girl named Margarita Jimenez. And now in the comments to the photo in "Instagram" Ruud calls the spectacular brown-haired Karin de Rooy a friend.

Ruud Gullit now

In 2018, Ruud Gullit assembled a three-person e-football team, two members have already received tickets to the FIFA eWorld Cup. The former member of the Dutch national team does not play himself, he says that people who are well versed in computers do this. It has only the functions of leadership, funding and expert analysis. In addition, Gullit wants to dispel the myth about computer games as a useless hobby for home recluses. By the way, the winner of the 2017 championship received a check for £150,000.

The Dutch football player himself became the hero of the computer game-simulation Pro Evolution Soccer-2018 by the Japanese company Konami. The update package includes Italian clubs Milan and Inter. Ruud and Paolo Maldini play for the Devils, Javier Sanetti, Dejan Stankovic, Francesco Toldo play for the Serpents.

The “Black Tulip” also visited the “live” world championship in Russia, was delighted with its organization and suggested that the championship cup would go to France. A fly in the ointment in the overall picture of Gullit's impressions was the constant delays in aircraft departures at airports.

Awards

Dutch Cup Winner
Three-time winner of the highest football league in the Netherlands
Three-time winner of the Italian Serie A
Three-time Italian Super Cup winner
Two-time UEFA Super Cup winner
Two-time UEFA Champions League winner
FA Cup Winner
1988 European Championship Winner
Ballon d'Or winner

RUUD GULLIT

(Born in 1962)

He played in the Dutch clubs DSV Amsterdam, Haarlem, Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven, the Italian clubs Milan and Sampdoria, the English club Chelsea. In 1981-1994 he played 66 matches for the Dutch national team.

Ruud Gullit belongs to the second "wave" of brilliant players who impressed the entire football world with little Holland. If the brightest stars of the first galaxy were Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens, then the second - Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten. Fortunately, they had a chance to play together for a long time not only in the Dutch national team, but also in the same club - the Italian Milan. It was this Dutch trio that ensured the bright rise of the Milan club in the late 1980s and early 1990s of the 20th century.

Ruud Gullit, in addition, stood out on the field not only with a brilliant game, but also with a colorful appearance - huge growth, a hairstyle similar to a lion's mane, braided into separate pigtails, and dark skin color, to which he owes his origin: his father is a native of the South American country of Suriname , a former Dutch colony. He came to Amsterdam and married a Dutch woman. Ruud Gullit was born here.

It can be assumed that Surinamese men are endowed with some kind of "football genes" that make themselves felt after moving to Holland in the next generations. In any case, the story of the birth of Frank Rijkaard is exactly the same as that of Gullit. There are later examples - the father of Patrick Kluivert is also a Surinamese who moved to Amsterdam. The only difference is that Patrick's mother is not Dutch, but comes from Curaçao, one of the islands of the Lesser Antilles archipelago.

A brilliant career as a football player Ruudu began to be predicted from an early age. In 1973, he joined the Mer Boys amateur club and played in children's teams. When he was fifteen, he showed himself superbly in the Dutch team of schoolchildren. But the following year, sixteen-year-old Gullit experienced a huge disappointment. He came to see the famous Ajax football school, and it was then that fate first brought him to Frank Rijkaard, but after watching him they took him, but Gullit was not, recommending that he try his hand at some other team where the requirements for players are not very high.

So Ruud ended up at DSV Amsterdam, and a year later, when he was seventeen, he signed his first professional contract with Haarlem. In this modest club, Gullit, who plays in midfield, was noticed by the coaches of the Dutch national team, where on September 1, 1981, on his birthday, he first came on as a substitute in a match against Switzerland. The following year he played for Feyenoord Rotterdam. In this club, in the 1983-1984 season, Gullit became the champion of Holland for the first time, in addition, the club won the National Cup. Interestingly, in that season, Johan Cruyff himself played for Feyenoord, who was already completing his career as a football player at that time.

In the mid-1980s, Gullit proved himself to be a truly versatile player. Before joining Feyenoord, he played in midfield, holding the midfield. In the Rotterdam club, after a series of experiments, the coaches assigned him the role of a free defender. And when he moved to PSV Eindhoven in 1985, he became an attacking midfielder and scored many goals. In his first season, he hit the opponents' gates twenty-four times. Largely thanks to Gullit's bombarding sight, the Eindhoven club became the champion of Holland. The following season, the club repeated its success, with Gullit scoring 22 goals this time.

By this time, the Dutch national team had already formed a brilliant trio of Ruud Gullit, who plays at PSV Eindhoven, and two Ajax players - Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard - the very one with whom Gullit tried out for the famous school of the Amsterdam club. These three players formed the central axis of the entire team: Rijkaard was a stronghold of defense, Gullit dominated the center of the field, although he often scored goals, and Marco van Basten acted at the forefront of the attack.

True, in 1986, the Dutch team had an embarrassment - it did not pass the qualifying tournament for the next World Cup. But any football player from a magnificent trio would be happy to get the most eminent European clubs. The quickest and most generous of all was the Italian TV magnate Silvio Berlusconi, who just then became the president of the Italian Milan and longed to return his club to its faded glory. In 1987, he acquired both Gullit and van Basten at once. A year later, Frank Rijkaard joined them.

However, in his first season for Milan, almost one Gullit was leading the whole game, and Marco van Basten healed the injury. Nevertheless, "Milan" really changed. The Italian champion then was Napoli, where Maradona shone, but Milan beat the Neapolitans on their field with a score of 3:2. The 1987-1988 season has not yet ended, and Gullit has already received the France Football weekly prize as the best football player in Europe in 1987. In the spring of next year, Milan became the champion of the country - for the first time in ten years.

And the following year, the Dutch team also celebrated the victory, winning the European Championship, which was then held in Germany. In the final match, the Dutch defeated the USSR national team - 2:0. Football fans remember this game most of all, of course, for the magnificent goal of Marco van Basten, scored against Dasaev with a kick from the very corner flag. But it was already the second goal of the Dutch national team, and Ruud Gullit opened the score in the first half, and also very beautifully. Van Basten headed the ball to the center of the penalty area, where Gullit raced. With an aimed strong header, Ruud drove the ball into the goal.

After the European Championships, Frank Rijkaard joined Gullit and van Basten. They formed the same main axis in the club as in the national team. In "Milan" the "Dutch era" began.

In April 1989, one of the brightest matches in the history of the club was played. Real Madrid were beaten 5-0 in the semi-finals of the European Cup. Each of the three Dutchmen scored a goal. In the final "Milan" defeated "Steaua" Bucharest - 4:0. Van Basten scored two goals, Gullit scored two. So after a nineteen-year break, the club again won the most prestigious football award in Europe. A year later, in the final of the same European Cup, Milan defeated Benfica. The only goal was scored by Frank Rijkaard.

However, Gullit's own football career was now overshadowed by a permanent injury. Back in 1988, he injured his knee, and since then, surgery has followed surgery. Gullit went to the final match with Steaua without recovering, and then did not play for almost a year. Gullit was not quite healthy on the day of the final match with Benfica, but it was he who led the Portuguese Rijkaard to the gates with a magnificent pass.

At the 1990 World Cup in Italy, due to the same injury, Gullit played clearly below his capabilities. The Dutch team reached only one-eighth of the finals, where they lost to the German team - 1:2. True, in 1992 the Dutch took revenge from the Germans by defeating the already united Germany at the 1992 European Championship. However, they themselves lost in the semi-finals in the penalty shoot-out to the Danish national team, the future champion.

In 1993, Gullit left Milan. He did not have a relationship with the new coach Fabio Capello, who took over the club in 1991. He played the season at Sampdoria, and played brilliantly, winning the Coppa Italia with the team and scoring 15 goals. After that, Gullit was even called back to Milan, but history repeated itself - new disagreements with the coach, and Ruud again ended up in Samdporia.

The great Dutchman ended his football career in England. In 1995, he was invited to Chelsea, where he no longer played in midfield, but in the place of a free defender, as he had once in Feyenoord Rotterdam. The following year, another change took place in Gullit's life - he became the club's playing coach. His biggest achievement in this position was winning the FA Cup in 1997. Chelsea defeated Middlesbrough 2-0 in the final.

In early 1998, Gullit unexpectedly left the London club, citing overwork. A year later, he took over as manager of Newcastle. Under his leadership, this club also reached the FA Cup final, but lost to Manchester United - 0:2. Gullit soon left Newcastle as well.

From the book Football in 3D Scandals: Fools, Money, Agreements author

TRAINED MONKEY GULLIT? There are enough scandals in the troubled region. If in itself today's Chechnya is a political project, then Grozny's "Terek" is a triple political project. Although the club is based in Kislovodsk, coming to the republic only for home

From the book All the ins and outs of football. ANTIencyclopedia of the folk game (collection) author Yaremenko Nikolay Nikolaevich

0:10 Trained monkey Gullit? There are enough scandals in the troubled region. If in itself today's Chechnya is a political project, then Grozny's "Terek" is a triple political project. Although the club is based in Kislovodsk, coming to the republic only for home

From the book My Autobiography author Ferguson Alex

CHAPTER 11 Ruud van Nistelrooy On a snowy evening in January 2010, I received a text message: “I'm not sure if you remember me, but I need to talk to you. Ruud van Nistelrooy. Lord, what could that mean? “He left the team four years ago,” I told Cathy. She answered.

Position: Midfielder

Team number: -

Date of Birth: 01.09.1962

Citizenship: Netherlands

Height: 186 cm

Weight: 83 kg

Biography

Ruud Gullit (birth name Rude Deal) was born on September 1, 1962 in Amsterdam. Ruud's parents were an immigrant from Suriname, George Gullit, and his mistress Maria Deal. Ruud's father worked as an economics teacher at a school, had three children and lived with an official family, but Ruud often met with his half-siblings, and his father fully supported Ruud financially with his mother, who worked as a cleaner at the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum.

In the formation of Gullit as a football player, street football in the Amsterdam district of Jordan played an important role. His first team was a youth club Meyerboys, which he joined in 1970. When Ruud was 10 years old, the family moved from Jordan, where they lived in a room measuring 6.5 by 4 meters, to the Oud West district of Amsterdam, where Ruud continued to play football on the street, already at this stage meeting another future Dutch football star, by his peer Frank Rijkaard. At the same time, little Ruud began to suffer because of his skin color:

When you are young, you are a lovely little boy with curly hair. But as you get older, that [skin color] becomes a problem. When I was 12 or 13, I tried to break up a fight that a friend of mine was involved in. The police arrested us. I had my school books and the cop said, "Ah, a nigga is learning. This nigga can count." I went home and told my mother everything. She went out, found this policeman and began to scold him. And because my mother was white, he was surprised and embarrassed. He didn't want to insult a black boy who had a white mother.

Gullit's performance for the local DVS team attracted the attention of the coaches of the Dutch youth team, where he began playing alongside future stars Erwin and Ronald Koeman. It was during his performances for DVS that Ruud first began using his father's surname, as his mother's surname was consonant with an offensive word in Dutch. However, officially he retained his mother's surname and continues to sign Ryud Deal contracts.

After Gullit's performances for the youth teams of the Netherlands, he received a call from the Ajax football academy, inviting him to talk with his parents about the transfer of the player. But since his parents worked, Ruud suggested that the representatives of the club come themselves, but they insisted that it was he who should go. Gullit later recalled: “They say that since that day I hate Ajax, but that was never true. They were just incredibly vain. They wanted me, but I had to go with my parents to them. I've never heard anything dumber in my life."

Club career

"Harlem"

In 1978, Gullit signed a professional contract with the Eredivisie club Haarlem and soon made his debut in the main team, becoming at the age of 16 the youngest player in the history of the top division of the Dutch championship. In his first season at Haarlem, the team finished last in the Eredivisie and were relegated to the second division. The following year, Harlem returned to the big leagues, taking first place in the second, and Gullit was recognized as the best player in the second division. In the 1981/82 season, Gullit was in good shape, the team took 4th place in the championship and for the first time in the history of the club won a ticket to European competition. At the same time, Gullit scored a goal that he would later call the best of his career: “In the game against Utrecht, I beat four defenders and the goalkeeper and scored. It was an unforgettable goal for me." Harlem coach Englishman Barry Hughes was so impressed with the young Gullit that he called him "Dutch Duncan Edwards."

Feyenoord

In 1982, Gullit moved to Feyenoord, the transfer amount was 550 thousand dollars. The team at that time played the legend of Dutch football Johan Cruyff, with whom he won both the championship and the Dutch Cup as part of the club. In the first season of Gullit in the Feyenoord team, he was left without trophies, but the very next year he made a double, winning both the championship and the National Cup. In 1984, Gullit was recognized as the best football player in the Netherlands. At Feyenoord, Ruud moved into midfield, while at Haarlem he usually played as a libero. While at Feyenoord, Gullit also found himself at the center of a racial scandal - coach Thijs Liebregts allegedly called Gullit "black", although Liebregts claimed that it was just a nickname.

PSV Endhoven

In 1985, Gullit moved to the PSV club for 600 thousand dollars, playing for which he was again recognized as the best player in Holland. Ruud helped the club regain and defend the Dutch league title in 1987. It was at PSV that Gullit truly established himself as a world-class player, and was also remembered by many for his characteristic hairstyle. At the same time, he became the subject of criticism from many Feyenoord fans, who called him a "wolf", accusing him of moving to Eindhoven for the sake of money.

"Milan"

In 1987, Italian Milan president Silvio Berlusconi secured Gullit's transfer to his team for a then-record sum of $8.9 million. The player's partners in the new team were his compatriots Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard, who had known him from a young age, as well as Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi. The Dutch trio formed the backbone of Milan's attacking formations and have earned comparisons with the legendary Swedish trio Gre-No-Li that played with the Rossoneri in the 1950s and 1960s.

At first, Gullit had difficulty adapting, because he did not know the Italian language and had no experience of living abroad. However, already according to the results of the first season in Italy, the player won the Scudetto with Milan, which became the club's first title in the last 9 years. Thanks to his game for PSV and Milan in 1987, Gullit received the Golden Ball of the best player in Europe, which he dedicated to Nelson Mandela, a prisoner at that time by the South African authorities, a fighter against apartheid: “The Italians raised their eyebrows:“ Nelson who? ”He tried to explain, and they said, 'Oh, a football player with political convictions!'"

At first, the head coach of the Milan team, Arrigo Sacchi, used Gullit on the right flank of the attacking trio next to van Basten and Pietro Paolo Virdis, but later, due to van Basten's injury, Milan switched to a game with two strikers. From next season, Milan added the European Cup to their list of trophies. Gullit was injured during an impressive 5-0 victory over Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the competition, but he recovered quickly and scored two goals in the final game against Steaua (Milan won 4-0, scored two more goals on his own). van Basten account). The following season, Milan continued their triumphal procession and defended the title of European club champion, defeating Benfica in the Champions Cup final with a score of 1: 0, while Ruud made an assist, from which the only goal in the game was scored. During this season (from June 1989 to April 1990) Gullit was injured and played only two matches in Serie A, but played all 90 minutes in the final of the European tournament.

In the 1990/91 season, Milan's procession for the third consecutive Champions Cup was interrupted by Marseille at the semi-final stage. After a draw in the first leg at the San Siro, Milan were 0-1 down in the second leg when the stadium's lighting went out shortly before the final whistle. After a short break, the lighting was restored, but the Milan players returned to the dressing room and refused to continue the game. UEFA assigned Marseille a 3-0 technical victory, and Milan were punished with the deprivation of the right to play in next season's European competition.

Although Milan continued to dominate Italian football, winning Serie A in the 1991/92 and 1992/93 seasons (in the first of which the club did not suffer a single defeat), Gullit played a decreasing role in the team. In the final match of the 1992/93 Champions League against the same Marseille, which ended in a 0-1 defeat of Milan, Gullit did not even get into the application, because, according to the UEFA rules of that time, clubs were allowed to declare no more than three foreigners.

"Sampdoria"

In 1993, Gullit moved to Sampdoria, where he received a T-shirt with number 4, since team leader Roberto Mancini played under his usual number 10. In the 1993/94 season, Sampdoria won the Coppa Italia and finished third in Serie A, and Gullit himself, playing in the position of a “free artist”, scored the decisive goal in the victory for his new team against the former club, Milan (3 :2). In total, he scored 15 goals during the season. Gullit's performances were so convincing that in 1994 Milan returned him to their ranks, although due to a lack of playing practice (8 matches, 3 goals), shortly before the end of the 1994/95 season, he again ended up in Sampdoria, which in finished 8th in the championship that year.

Chelsea

In July 1995, Gullit joined Chelsea on a free transfer. By that time, the team was a solid middle peasant in the Premier League. Their most significant success in recent years has been in the FA Cup final. Coach Glenn Hoddle first put Gullit in the libero position, where the Dutchman played without much success, after which he moved him to a more familiar midfield position. The signing of the likes of Gullit, Mark Hughes and Dan Petrescu helped Chelsea reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup, but did not bring success in the Premier League.

One of Gullit's initial problems in English football was the difficulty of adjusting to the abilities of some teammates. “I get a hard pass, handle the ball, get off the mark and give a good pass to the right back – the only problem is he doesn’t want that pass. Finally Glenn said to me, 'Ruud, it would be better if you tried your hand at midfield.'" But Gullit got used to it quickly, and, according to the results of the season, he was recognized as the second best player in the league.

Gullit has repeatedly stated that the period in London was perhaps the happiest in his career: “Having reached Piccadilly Circus by car, contemplating all the views, for the first time in a very, very long time, I felt really happy. It felt like Oh, here it is. This is for me …" . Gullit's move to Chelsea was part of the "legionnaire revolution" in England, with a large number of international star players such as Jurgen Klinsman, Gianfranco Zola and Dennis Bergkamp moving to Premier League clubs, boosting its international prominence.

coaching career

Chelsea

In the summer of 1996, when Glenn Hoddle left Chelsea to take charge of the England national team, Gullit was named head coach of the Aristocrats. In his first season, he led the club to victory in the FA Cup, the team's first trophy in 26 years. Gullit also became the first non-British coach to win the trophy. Chelsea finished 6th in the league. Halfway through the following season, with the club in 2nd place in the Premier League and reaching the quarter-finals of both English Cups, Rudd was sacked. The reason for this was a dispute with the board of directors. However, the Dutchman himself rejected this. He said: “In my life, this dismissal has affected me the most. I was in a state of shock for 3 months. I couldn't even imagine that the people I worked with every day could do this." Instead, the current player Gianluca Vialli, who came to the club thanks to Gullit, became the head coach.

"Newcastle United"

Rudd became manager of Newcastle United in 1998. In the first season, Gullit led the team to the final of the Cup of the country. However, after a series of bad results and a conflict with the club's star, Alan Shearer, and the captain, Rob Lee, who was stripped of the captain's armband, the fans began to treat the head coach coolly. Rudd resigned just five rounds into the next season. He said:

When I set out for England four years ago, I hoped to regain my private life here - something that was impossible in Italy. At Chelsea, I had the feeling that I could be myself again - calmly walk the streets, go to the movies, go shopping. However, last year the nightmares from the past returned. Reporters and photographers were all over my house in Newcastle, they were literally on my heels. But that's half the trouble. The trouble is that they began to persecute my family in Holland. And under no circumstances should she suffer because of my profession. That's why I made this decision.

Feyenoord

Before the start of the 2005/06 season, Gullit took charge of his former club, Feyenoord. However, the team's season failed: the club took 4th place, and dropped out of all cup tournaments.

"Los Angeles Galaxy"

On November 8, 2007, Ruud became the head coach of the American Los Angeles Galaxy, signing a 3-year contract with an MLS-record salary of $ 2 million per year. On August 20 of the following year, he resigned after seven winless meetings.

"Terek"

On January 18, 2011, Gullit became the head coach of the Russian club Terek, signing a contract for a year and a half. Ruud was advised to accept the Terek offer by the former head coach of the Russian national team, Guus Hiddink. On June 14, Terek terminated the contract with Gullit because "under his leadership, the team performed with exceptionally poor results this season." Before being fired, Gullit was heavily criticized on the club's official website.

Achievements

As a player

« haarlem»

First Division Champion ( 1 ): 1980/81
Total: 1 trophy

« Feyenoord»

Eredivise Champion ( 1 ): 1983/84
Dutch Cup Winner 1 ): 1984
Total: 2 trophies

« PSV»

Eredivise Champion ( 2 ): 1985/86, 1986/87
Total: 2 trophies

« Milan»

Serie A Champion 3 ): 1987/88, 1991/92, 1992/93
Italian Super Cup Winner 3 ): 1988, 1992, 1994
European Cup Winner ( 2 ): 1989, 1990
UEFA Super Cup Winner 2 ): 1989, 1990
Intercontinental Cup Winner ( 2 ): 1989, 1990
Total: 12 trophies

« Sampdoria»

Italian Cup Winner 1 ): 1994
Total: 1 trophy

« Chelsea»

FA Cup winner 1 ): 1997
Total: 1 trophy

« Netherlands national team»

European Champion ( 1 ): 1988
Bronze medalist of the European Championship: 1992
Total: 1 trophy

As a coach

« Chelsea»

FA Cup winner 1 ): 1997
Total: 1 trophy
Top scorer in the Dutch Cup: 1983/1984 (9 goals)
Dutch Footballer of the Year: 1984, 1986
Dutch Golden Boot Winner: 1986
Ballon d'Or winner: 1987
World Soccer Player of the Year: 1987, 1989
Dutch Sportsman of the Year: 1987

Personal life

Gullit was married three times. First wife - Yvonne de Vries (Dutch. Yvonne de Vries), whom they married on August 30, 1984. From de Vries, Gullit had two daughters - Felicity (niderl. Felicity) and Charmaine (Netherl. Charmayne). After Ruud left, she said:

He just said, “I've had enough. I'm leaving you". These were very harsh words. My life has been devoted to Ruud, supporting him and creating a good family. But that wasn't enough. Ruudi decided he didn't want to be with me anymore and took me out of his life. In this he was very ruthless. Charmaine cried a lot when she was born, I suffered from postpartum depression and we needed his support, but Ruud decided to leave us.

The second wife was an Italian, model Christina Penza (Italian. Christina Pensa). They got married on May 12, 1994. With her, Gullit had two children - the son of Quincy (niderl. Quincy) and daughter Cheyenne (niderl. Sheyenne). After the divorce, the couple had a long legal battle regarding alimony.

Last wife - Estelle Cruyff (Dutch. Estelle Cruijff), niece of Johan Cruyff (married June 3, 2000). It is curious that on the eve of the wedding, Ruud cut his hair short for the first time in many years, thus showing that he is starting a new life. They have two children - son Maxim (Dutch. Maxim; born in 2001) and daughter Joelle (Dutch. Joelle; was born in 1997). Even before marriage, Estelle left Ruud, after reports of a love affair between Gullit and waitress Lisa Jensen.

Simultaneously with football, Ruud was engaged in music. While not a professional football player, he played bass guitar in a reggae band. Having signed a professional contract, he continued to make music in his spare time. In 1984, he released his reggae record. The single from this record "Not The Dancing Kind" became very popular in the Netherlands and even got to 4th place in the country's national hit parade. Subsequently, Gullit took part in the recording of the composition “Captain Dread”, which the musicians of the Revelation Time group, where Ruud began to play as a teenager, dedicated to the player himself; Gullit in the song played along with the musicians on the usual bass guitar. He also participated in the recording of the group's album "South Africa", dedicated to the problem of apartheid in South Africa. The song of the same name became very popular, reaching #3 on the Dutch charts and #9 on the Norwegian charts. In 1988, Gullit, among other players of the Netherlands national team, took part in the recording of the song "Wij houden van Oranje" by artist Andre Hezis; the song dedicated to the victory in the European Championship took 1st place in the national hit parade.

Gullit also worked on television as a commentator, in particular, he commented on matches on Sky Sports and Al Jazeera.

Ruud Gullit, in my opinion, is the brightest representative of the incredibly talented generation of the Dutch national team, which brought this football country its only official title so far.

Ruud Gullit

Country - Holland.
Position - attacking midfielder.
Born: September 1, 1962.
Height: 186 cm.

Biography and career of a football player

Ruud Gullit is the son of a native of Suriname, George Gullit, and a native of Amsterdam, Maria Deal. Since childhood, Gullit knew only one hobby - football and stood out among his peers with his ability to handle the ball.

However, when he came to the world-famous Ajax school, he was disappointed.

“I was advised to start with a more modest team, where the requirements for players are not so high,” the football player recalled much later.

I think it would not be a big exaggeration to say that this was the biggest mistake of the Amsterdam club breeders.

"Harlem"

1979-1982

Gullit signed his first professional contract at the age of 16 and became the youngest player to enter the field in the Eredivisie match, the top division of the Dutch championship. The child prodigy played just great - 24 matches and 4 goals for an actual schoolboy, the result is simply outstanding. I don’t know about you, but I just don’t recall such examples offhand.

True, Harlem was relegated to the second division, but returned a year later. And Gullit became a real leader of the team - 36 matches, 14 goals scored and the title of the best player in the second division. And this at the age of 17!

Feyenoord

1982-1985

Naturally, such a talent did not go unnoticed by the leading Dutch clubs, of which Feyenoord turned out to be the most agile, paying half a million dollars for the transfer of a football player - an amount more than serious at that time.

In Rotterdam, Gullit crossed paths with the great, who was ending his career, but according to the football player himself, performing next to such a master gave a lot professionally.

In addition to improving his skills, at Feyenoord, Gullit won his first trophies - the championship and the Dutch Cup, and in 1984 he became the best player in the national championship.

PSV

1985-1987

It seemed that Gullit had already demonstrated all his abilities, but in Eindhoven, where he moved for 600 thousand dollars, his bombarding talent was revealed.

Acting closer to the attack, Gullit began to score a lot, only in the Dutch championship in two seasons he hit the gates of PSV rivals 46 times. No, of course, Ruud has scored before, but more than 20 goals in a season is an indicator of a serious striker.

And if earlier they spoke of Gullit as a huge talent, then in two years at PSV he finally formed into a mature master, an extra-class player. Good speed, vision of the field, passing, placed shot, heading, plus versatility made him a transfer target for all top clubs without exception.

"Milan"

1987-1993, 1994

The Italian tycoon Silvio Berlusconi turned out to be the quickest of all, having laid out $ 9 million unthinkable for those times for Gullit, which became a transfer record.

Together with Gullit, his partner in the Dutch national team arrived in Milan, and a year later, Frank Reikaard. The then coach of Milan, Arigo Sacchi, made a bet in the attack on the Dutch trio - the lion's share of Milan's goals was scored with their direct participation.

It is not surprising that in the two Champions Cup finals victorious for Milan of that time, only the Dutch differed - in 1989 against Steaua (4: 0) Gullit and van Basten made a double, and in 1990 the only one in the match with Benfica The goal was scored by Reikaard from Gullit's pass.

These years have become truly golden for Milan - in addition to the above-mentioned victories in the main club tournament of the Old World, Milan, after a nine-year break, was able to win the Italian championship and never fell out of the top three during the Dutch period.

But these were also Gullit's best years - it was when he was a Milan player that he would receive his Ballon d'Or and become European champions in the national team.

True, the parting with the Dutchman did not turn out very beautiful - Gullit's contract with Milan expired, and he moved to Sampdoria for the amount of one million dollars established by UEFA for such cases (the concept of "free agent" did not exist then).

This was due to the arrival of Fabio Capello to the club, who won everything possible with Milan, but drove the players into strict limits. In my opinion, it was hard for such an extraordinary person as Gullit to act with such restrictions.

A year later, Milan will regain Gullit, but he will spend several months at the club, after which he will leave him completely.

"Sampdoria"

1993-1994, 1994-1995

And at the age of 31, Gullit played in Sampdoria as it seems he had never played before. Having received complete freedom of action (Fabio Capello had him tied to the right flank of midfield), he managed literally everywhere, quickly found a common language with the team leader and himself entered the leading positions in the team.

He played one of his best matches in Turin against Torino, when two of his goals turned the tide of an unsuccessful match for Sampdoria - 3:2. After the game, all Italian newspapers circulated Berlusconi's statement:

"I'm sorry Ruud, I did something stupid."

But already in the next round, Sampdoria hosted Milan and by the 25th minute they were on fire 0:2. However, a genius is a genius: first, Gullit organized the first return ball, and then, with a score of 2: 2, scored the winning goal. I wonder what Berlusconi said after this meeting?

As a result, Sampdoria became the third in the 1993-1994 season, and Gullit, with 15 goals, became the club's top scorer. By the way, in Milan, he could not boast of such performance.

Gullit spent the beginning of the next season in Milan, and upon returning to Genoa, he again began to delight the fans with his game, playing in 22 league matches and scoring 9 goals in them.

Chelsea

1995-1998

Graduated from Gullit in England. Chelsea were then one of the middle peasants of the newly created Premier League, and English club football of that time was different from the current one - the emphasis then was on flanking passes, sheds and fighting in the air.

But even here Gullit did not get lost, despite the fact that he was already over 30. And after the departure of head coach Glen Hoddle, he became a playing coach and in this capacity won his only English trophy - the FA Cup.

Holland national team

1981-1994

Ruud Gullit played his first match for the national team at the age of 19 - it was a friendly game against the Swiss national team. But Gullit, as well as the entire Dutch team, managed to get to a major tournament only in 1988 - the Dutch managed not to qualify for the 1982 and 1986 World Championships and Euro 1984.

But it became a triumph for the magnificent "orange" team. Gullit himself played excellently, however, he scored only one goal, but this goal was the first in the final match against the USSR national team.

On which much was expected of a breakthrough from the Dutch, the leaders of the team failed. With all this, there were fewer complaints against Ruud Gullit. He went to the tournament, not gaining optimal form after another injury. Gullit tried, made partners, ran a lot. But ... the ball bounced off his foot, his sharp passes, passes and blows disappeared. It was clear that soon Gullit would regain his former condition, but the World Cup could not wait. As a result, the Dutch team could not win a single match and left the tournament after the 1/8 finals meeting with the German team.

The Dutch team was the best team in the championship, but in football, if you are the best, it does not mean that you are the winner. Someone who, but the Dutch have long learned this truth. Here, in the semifinals, they could not cope with the Danish national team and lost to it in a penalty shootout.

And the departure of Ruud Gullit from the Dutch national team still makes me personally bitter. After all, he was part of the team preparing for the World Cup in the United States, but at the last moment, the then coach of the Dutch, Dick Advokaat, did not include Gullit in the final application. The reason was far from playing - the player was in great shape. Gullit just did not like the way the national team played, the situation in the team, which he did not consider it necessary to keep silent about.

I don't know who was right in this situation, but the Dutch team played first of all. She then represented an interesting fusion of experience and youth: Frank Reikaard, young, but already matured. And who knows, maybe Gullit's skill and charisma were not enough for the Dutch in that breathtaking quarterfinal, lost to the future world champion - the Brazilian national team with a score of 2:3.

Gullit always proudly wore the jersey of the national team:

“Playing for your country is the best thing that can happen to a football player,” is one of his most famous quotes.

Titles of Ruud Gullit

Command

Three-time Dutch champion.
Dutch Cup Winner.
Three-time Italian champion.
Winner of the Italian Cup.
Three-time winner of the Italian Super Cup.
FA Cup Winner.
Two-time winner of the Champions Cup.
Two-time winner of the European Super Cup.
Two-time winner of the Intercontinental Cup.
European Champion 1988.

Individual

Winner of the Golden Ball in 1987.
Dutch Footballer of the Year 1984 and 1986.
Athlete goal in Holland - 1987.
Included in the FIFA 100 list.

Ruud Gullit - coach

After leaving Chelsea as a playing coach, Ruud Gullit worked for Newcastle, Feyenoord, Los Angeles Galaxy, and the Dutch youth team. But Gullit did not achieve any success in the coaching field.

The last place of his work was the Grozny "Terek" - in 2011 Gullit worked there for less than six months and was fired for unsatisfactory results.

Personal life of Ruud Gullit

Whom Gullit cannot be called is an exemplary family man - he was married three times. With his first wife, Yvonne de Vries, he broke up after almost ten years of living together, when the couple raised two daughters.

Gullit's second wife was the Italian model Christina Penza, who gave birth to Ruud's son and daughter. The dissolution of this marriage was accompanied by a long judicial procedure related to the division of property.

Gullit's third wife was Estelle Cruyff. Yes, yes, not a namesake at all, but the niece of Johan himself. From this marriage, Gullit also has two children - daughter Joelle and son Maxim.

At the same time as Gullit, his future long-term partner Frank Reikaard came to the Ajax football school, who, unlike Ruud himself, was accepted into the famous school.
Gullit made his debut in the Dutch national team on his birthday - September 1, 1981.
Ruud Gullit dedicated his "Golden Ball" to the fighter against apartheid Nelson Mandela, who at that time was serving a prison sentence.
Gullit's versatility is known to everyone - he could play in any position in midfield and attack. But few people know that in Haarlem, Feyenoord and later in Chelsea, he played a sufficient number of matches in the position of libero - free and played very successfully.
Gullit has serious musical experience: in his youth he played bass guitar in a reggae group, and after the victory of the Dutch team at Euro 1988, he participated in the recording of a song dedicated to this event

Recently, Gullit has acted as a consultant on various football channels, and since August 2016 he has joined the coaching staff of the Dutch national team, which was headed by his former partner in the national team Danny Blind.

RUUD GULLIT

(Born in 1962)

However, in his first season for Milan, almost one Gullit was leading the whole game, and Marco van Basten healed the injury. Nevertheless, "Milan" really changed. The Italian champion then was Napoli, where Maradona shone, but Milan beat the Neapolitans on their field with a score of 3:2. The 1987-1988 season was not over yet, and Gullit had already received the France Football weekly prize as the best European footballer in 1987. In the spring of next year, Milan became the champion of the country - for the first time in ten years.

After the European Championships, Frank Rijkaard joined Gullit and van Basten. They formed the same main axis in the club as in the national team. In "Milan" the "Dutch era" began.