Ruud Gullit

Ruud Gullit (born September 1, 1962) was a
Netherlands|Dutch star football (soccer)|football
player of the 1980s|80s and 1990s|90s. He was
European Footballer of the Year in 1987, and World
Soccer Player of the Year in 1987 and 1989.

He was born in Amsterdam and his career started
with Haarlem before moving to Feyenoord and then
PSV Eindhoven. He was taken to Italy by Silvio
Berlusconi, who paid the then record fee of £6
million for him. Playing for the great A.C. Milan
team of the late 1980s, which starred, among
others, fellow countrymen Marco Van Basten and
Frank Rijkaard, Italian world class players Paolo
Maldini and Franco Baresi, he helped Milan capture
three Serie A titles and two European Cup|European
Cups (1989, 1990) during Milan's amazing five year
reign from 1988-1992. He was well known for his
heading and jumping ability, among his other
creative talents as an outstanding offensive
midfielder. Widely agreed to be one of the best
and most creative players from the Netherlands
national football team|Netherlands, he was also
one of the core group of players that led the
Netherlands to the 1988 European Football
Championship|1988 European Championship title, to
date, the only international title the Netherlands
has achieved.

He failed to convert his on-field magic to
off-field management with any lasting success. As
player-manager, Gullit took Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea
to the FA Cup|F.A. Cup Final in his first post,
but was released soon after.

He was appointed manager of Newcastle United
F.C.|Newcastle United in 1998 where success was
initially promised, with an FA Cup Final
appearance in his first season. The following
season, however, results and fans began to turn
against him, and a well-publicised contretemps
with star striker and local hero Alan Shearer did
his survival prospects no favours. He also fell
out with Newcastle captain Rob Lee|Robert Lee.
Ruud Gullit resigned as manager of Newcastle
United only 5 games into the 1999-2000 season,
following a home defeat to local rivals
Sunderland. Popular opinion had it that he
resigned as manager before he was pushed out. He
spent several years limited to occasional football
punditry. Gullit became manager of Feyenoord
before the start of the 2004/2005 season. However
he resigned at the end of the same season without
winning any trophies.

start box
succession box|title=European Footballer of the
Year|before=Igor Belanov |after=Marco van
Basten|years=1987

succession box|
before=Glenn Hoddle|
title=Chelsea F.C. Manager|
years=1996-1998|
after=Gianluca Vialli


succession box|
before=Kenny Dalglish|
title=Newcastle United Manager|
years=1998-1999|
after=Steve Clarke (caretaker)