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Marco Van Basten

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PositionForward
Height / weight1.88 m / -
Born31 Oct 1964 (61 years)
NationalityNetherlands flagNetherlands
NicknameMarco

Marco van Basten is a former professional footballer and team manager. He is a three-time Ballon D’Or awardee and is best known for playing for Ajax and AC Milan where he made a total of 281 appearances and 219 goals. He also coached the Netherlands National Team in the 2015-2016 season. In 1998, he was ranked sixth in the listing of the FIFA Player of the Century.

Player Profile, Personal Life, and Youth Career

Marcel "Marco" van Basten was born on October 31, 1964 in Utrecht, Netherlands. He started playing football at an early age and started his youth career with EDO in 1970. In 1980, he joined Elinkwijk before eventually starting his senior career with Ajax in 1981.

His brother Stanley Van Basten also played football professionally.

Professional Career

Ajax signed a then sixteen-year-old van Basten in 1981. While with the club, he helped them win a number of championships, including winning the KNVB Cup three times. He played with Ajax from 1981 to 1987.

From 1981 to 1983, he also represented the Netherlands in Under-21 international events. After that, he would represent his country as a senior player through to 1992.

In 1987, he was signed by AC Milan alongside Ruud Gullit. As a Milan player, he helped the club with three Serie A championships. He also led them to win the European Cup, European SuperCup, and the International Cup in the 1988-1989 and 1989-1990 seasons.

Van Basten also helped the team win Supercoppa Italiana in 1988 and again in 1992. In 1988, he won his first Ballon d’Or award. He would later win it again in 1989 and 1992.

Some of the individual honors he received as a player include being named the 1992 FIFA World Player of the Year. He was also thrice named the UEFA Best Player of the Year, the first time in 1989 and again in 1990 and 1992.

Since his retirement in 1995, he has been consistently named to lists of the best football players in the world and the history of football.

Career Highlights:

Ajax

  • 1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85 -
Eredivisie
  • 1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85 - KNVB Cup
  • 1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85 - European
Cup Winners' Cup

A.C. Milan

  • 1987–88, 1991–92, 1992–93 - Serie A
  • 1988, 1992 - Supercoppa Italiana
  • 1988–89, 1989–90 - European Cup
  • 1988–89, 1989–90 - European Supercup
  • 1988–89, 1989–90 - Intercontinental
Cup

Netherlands

  • 1988 - UEFA European Championship

Individual Honors

  • 1988, 1989, 1992 - Ballon d'Or
  • 1992 - FIFA World Player of the Year
  • 1989, 1990, 1992 - UEFA Best Player
of the Year
  • 1988–89 - European Cup Top Scorer
  • 1989–90, 1991–92 - Serie A Golden
Boot
  • 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87 -
Eredivisie Top Scorer
  • 1983–84 - European Silver Boot
  • 1985 - Dutch Footballer of the Year
  • 1985–86 - European Golden Boot
  • 1985–86 - World Golden Boot
  • 1987 - Bravo Award
  • 1987, 1992 - Onze d'Argent
  • 1988, 1989 - Onze d'Or
  • 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992 - Onze
de Onze
  • 1988, 1989 - IFFHS World's Best
Player
  • 1987 (3rd), 1988, 1989 (2nd), 1992 -
World Soccer Player of the Year
  • 1992 - RSSSF Player of the Year
  • 1992 - El País King of European
Soccer
  • UEFA Euro 1988: Top Scorer and Best
Player with 5 goals
  • 1988, 1992 - UEFA European
Championship Team of the Tournament
  • 1996 - Planète Foot World All-Time
Team
  • 1996 - Planète Foot's 50 of the
World's Best Players
  • 1997 - Venerdì's 100 Magnificent
  • 1999 - IFFHS Football Player of the
Century 12th
  • 1999 - Placar's 100 Best Players of
the Century 26th
  • 1999 - France Football's Football
Player of the Century 8th
  • 1999 - World Soccer Greatest Players
of the 20th Century 9th
  • 1999 - Guerin' Sportivo's 50
Greatest Players of the Century by
Adalberto Bortolotti 11th
  • 2004 - FIFA 100 (List of the
greatest living footballers picked
by Pelé)
  • 2007 - AFS Top-100 Players of
All-Time 12th

  • UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll #4
  • 2012 - Italian Football Hall of Fame
  • 2012 - World Hall of Fame of Soccer
  • 2016 - UEFA Euro All-time XI
  • AC Milan Hall of Fame
  • IFFHS Legends
  • Voetbal International's World Stars
by Raf Willems
  • 2020 - Ballon d'Or Dream Team
(Bronze)

Team History

National Team

  • 1981–1983 - Netherlands U21
  • 1983–1992 - Netherlands

Teams Managed

  • 2003–2004 - Jong Ajax
  • 2004–2008 - Netherlands
  • 2008–2009 - Ajax
  • 2012–2014 - Heerenveen
  • 2014 - AZ Alkmaar
  • 2014–2015 - AZ Alkmaar
  • 2015–2016 - Netherlands (Assistant)