RUUD GULLIT

TEAMS PLAYED FOR

Chelsea (England): 1995 – 1998
Sampdoria (Italy): 1993 – 1994
AC Milan (Italy): 1987 – 1993
PSV Eindhoven (Holland): 1985 – 1987
Feyenoord (Holland): 1982 – 1985
HFC Haarlem (Holland): 1979 - 1982 

BIO

Ruud Gullit was born September 1, 1962 in Amsterdam, Holland.  His father George was from Suriname and his mother from Holland.  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 cleaner.
The history of Dutch soccer has two “golden” generations.  The first one, shining in 70’s, is associated with the name of Johan Cruyff.  The second, from mid 80’s, is synonymous with the names of Ruud Gullis, Franc Rijkaard and Marco Van Basten.
Beginning with early childhood, soccer became more than just a game for little Ruud.  It became his life.  Gullit and Rijkaard were neightbors, both of Surinamese background, they became friends.  The boys would spend hours chasing a soccer ball around Amsterdam. 
Gullit always tried to play against older boys.  Fortunately, his natural skills allowed him to do that.  Being tall and fast, he was a lot better than many players older than him.  There were times when he would get the ball in his own penalty box, dribble past the entire team and score a goal. 
Interesting story happened to Ruud when he was 16.  Both, him and Rijkaard tried out for Ajax youth soccer team… Rijkaard was accepted and Gullit wasn’t. It’s amazing how Ajax scouts missed such a great talent.  According to Ruud, Ajax representatives told him that it would be better if he started playing at some small team first.

CLUB CAREER

That small team was DVS from Amsterdam where Gullit debuted at 16 and a year later he signed his first professional contract with Haarlem.  When Gullit turned 20, he signed a contract with one of the biggest teams in Holland, Feyenoord.  That same year, Johan Cruyff also came to Feyenoord to finish his career.  This fact was very important in Ruud’s career because he was able to learn a lot from the legend of the Dutch soccer.
After playing for PSV for two years, his amazing skills caught the eye of Sylvio Berlusconi, Italian television magnate who had just bought AC Milan and wanted to return the team to the previous glory.  He paid PSV 10 million dollars, which was at that time the highest transfer price.  Ruud’s salary was also the highest in the world – 2.2 million dollars a year after tax.  Berlusconi also bought Gullit’s best friend, Frank Rijkaard, reuniting the two. 
Gullit became one of the best players in AC Milan history winning numerous trophies including the Champions League.
After Milan, Ruud played for Sampdoria and Chelsea, but was not able to reach much success with these teams.   

NATIONAL TEAM CAREER

       

Gullit made his debut for the National team on his 19^th birthday in 1981.  Dullit’s early international career was full of disappointments.  The team failed to qualify for 1982 and 1986 World Cup and Euro 1984.  However, the Dutch team reached it’s glory of the 80’s during Euro 1988 when they went on to win the tournament.  After losing it’s opening game to the USSR, Holland won every game after that.  That was the first time Holland won a major international tournament and Gullit was the first Dutch captain to hold a trophy over his head. 

PERSONAL INFO

Ruud Gullit has been marrier three times and has six children.  He is currently married to Estelle Cruyff, the neice of Johan Cruyff.  Gullit is an accomplished guitar player and played in a band in his youth.  An interesting story happened to him in 1988.  While resting after Euro 88, Gullit and his friend Rijkaard were in Germany.  They decided to visit a friend of Ruud’s with whom he used to play in a band.  During the visit, the friends wound up playing and singing a few songs just for fun, using guitars and other instruments.  At that time, Gullit didn’t realize that the “performance” was being recorded.  Imagine his surprise when his friend released a vinyl record with the songs him, Gullit and Rijkaard sang.  Needless to say that the record became very popular in Europe. 

       

TITLES AND AWARDS

HFC Haarlem

Eerste Divisie: 1981

Feyenoord

Dutch League: 1984

Dutch Cup: 1984

PSV Eindhoven

Dutch League: 1986, 1987

AC Milan

Serie A: 1988, 1992, 1993

Supercoppa Italiana: 1988, 1992, 1994

UEFA Champions League: 1989, 1990

UEFA Super Cup: 1989, 1990

Intercontinental Cup: 1989, 1990

Sampdoria

Coppa Italia: 1994

Lotto Cup: 1993

Chelsea FC

FA Cup: 1997

International

UEFA European Championship: 1988

European Soccer Player of the Year: 1988

FIFA World Player of the Year: 1987, 1989

FIFA 100