Ruud Gullit

Ruud Gullit (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈryt ˈxʏlɪt] ⓘ;[note 1] born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a Dutch former footballer and subsequent manager who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s as a defender, midfielder or forward. In 2004, he was named one of the Top 125 greatest living footballers as part of FIFA's 100th anniversary celebration. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time

He captained the Netherlands national team that was victorious at the UEFA Euro 1988 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 FIFA World Cup and Euro 1992.

At club level, he moved from PSV to AC Milan in 1987 for a world record transfer fee.[6] Nicknamed "the black Tulip", he was part of a notable Dutch trio at Milan which included Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard. Gullit won three Serie A titles and two European Cups with Milan. In 1995, he signed for Chelsea and a year later was appointed the club's player-manager. In his debut season, he led Chelsea to FA Cup success, the club's first major title for 26 years, and in doing so became the first overseas manager to win the FA Cup.

Gullit won the Ballon d'Or in 1987 and was named the World Soccer Player of the Year in 1987 and 1989. Normally an attacking midfielder,[7] he was a versatile player, playing in numerous positions during his career.

Early life
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Gullit was born as Rudi Dil in Amsterdam to George Gullit, a Surinamese who arrived in the Netherlands with Herman Rijkaard (father of Frank Rijkaard),[8] and Dutch mistress Ria Dil[9] from the Jordaan district of Amsterdam. The Gullit 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. At the age of ten, however, 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 future full international teammates, Erwin Koeman, Ronald Koeman and Wim Kieft.

It was during his time at DWS that Gullit first took to using his father's surname, rather than his registered surname (from his mother), as he thought Gullit sounded more like a football player.

Club career
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HFC Haarlem
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On 22 September 1978, Gullit signed professionally for HFC Haarlem under coach and former West Bromwich Albion player Barry Hughes. Gullit made 91 league appearances for Haarlem, scoring 32 goals. He made his debut for the club at just 16 years and 11 months old, on 19 August 1979 (Haarlem-MVV Maastricht 2-2), becoming at the time the youngest player in the history of the Eredivisie.[11] In his first year at Haarlem, the club 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.[12]

In the 1981–82 season, Gullit was in fine form as Haarlem finished fourth 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."[13] Barry Hughes was so impressed with the young Gullit that he described him as the "Dutch Duncan Edwards.
The young Gullit was considered as a signing by English sides Arsenal and Ipswich Town, but managers Terry Neill and Bobby Robson turned him down. Neill later said that he considered £30,000 too much for "this wild kid".[14] Gullit therefore moved to Feyenoord in 1982, where he made 85 league appearances, scoring 31 goals. At Feyenoord, Gullit found himself playing in his second season, 1983–84, alongside Johan Cruyff, while the assistant manager was Wim van Hanegem, and they were to leave a lasting impression.[citation needed]

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.[15] 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 stating that it was merely a nickname.[16] While playing for Feyenoord at St Mirren in September 1983, he was racially abused and spat on by supporters of the Scottish club.[17] Gullit called it "the saddest night of my life".[citation needed]

PSV
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In 1985, Gullit moved to PSV for 1.2 million Dutch guilders 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 began to establish himself as a world class footballer and his distinctive, dreadlocked appearance caught the eye of Europe's biggest clubs. Gullit was also singled out for criticism by large numbers of Feyenoord supporters, who branded him a "wolf" and accused him of moving to Eindhoven for money.

A.C. Milan
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Gullit signed for A.C. Milan in 1987, paying the then world record transfer fee of 18 million guilders as a replacement for Ray Wilkins. Milan's club president Silvio Berlusconi had an ambition to revive the fortunes of the Italian club which had stagnated after its glory days in the 1960s. Among Gullit's teammates at the club were compatriot Marco van Basten, who came at the same time. Later, they were joined by fellow compatriot, close friend as well as Ajax teammate of van Basten, Frank Rijkaard. The club also had a young Paolo Maldini, along with a more experienced Franco Baresi. Gullit's exploits with first PSV and then Milan helped him win the Ballon d'Or award in 1987 which he dedicated to Nelson Mandela.[19]

When he first arrived at Milan, Gullit initially struggled to fit in as he spoke no Italian and was new to living in a foreign country.[20] Gullit's first season at Milan, however, saw the club win the Scudetto for the first time in nine years, under coach Arrigo Sacchi. Initially used on the right of an attacking trio alongside van Basten and Pietro Virdis, after van Basten received an injury 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. That performance was followed by a 4–0 victory over Steaua București 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 ligaments of his right knee limited Gullit's playing time, only managed just two 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 Marseille at the quarter-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 the scudetto in both 1991–92 (a season in which they went undefeated) and 1992–93, Gullit's position became an increasingly peripheral one under new coach Fabio Capello. This was demonstrated by his omission from the 1993 Champions League final in which Milan lost to Marseille, as under the UEFA rules clubs were only allowed to field three foreigners, which was later abolished after the decision of the Bosman ruling.

Torino was interested in signing him, with the chairman claiming that an agreement with Milan was likely.[21] Bayern Munich was also in talks with Gullit, but fell through.[22] Instead, Gullit was loaned to Sampdoria.

Sampdoria
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In 1993, Gullit moved to Sampdoria and led them to victory in the Coppa Italia in the 1993–94 season. He also scored the winner in a 3–2 victory over Milan. Gullit was briefly re-signed by Milan in 1994, but quickly returned to Sampdoria before the culmination of the 1994–95 season. During his time, he served under future England national team manager Sven-Göran Eriksson and the two had a strong understanding and mutual respect. In his brief time at Sampdoria, he scored 15 goals.

Chelsea
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In July 1995, Gullit signed for Chelsea 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, although they only finished 11th in the FA Premier League.

Gullit had some difficulties adapting to the style of play at Chelsea: "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.'"[23] His adjustment, however, 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: "Every time I played for Chelsea, I thought, 'Nice game, beautiful stadium, great crowd, I'm playing well.' It was the only time I really had fun."[23] In moving to Chelsea, Gullit played an important part in the "foreign revolution" as numerous high-profile international stars, such as Italian Gianfranco Zola and Dutchman Dennis Bergkamp, joined Chelsea and Arsenal respectively, which helped to increase the Premier League's worldwide profile.