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Van
Basten, Marco
Born:
31st October 1964, Position: Centre Forward
(Ajax
Amsterdam, Milan and Holland) |
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Major
Honours:
European Golden Boot 1986; European Cup Winners' Cup 1987;
European Championship 1988; European Footballer of the Year 1988,
1989 and 1992. World Footballer of the Year in 1988; European Cup
1989 and 1990.
Relevant
Career Statistics:
128
goals for Ajax; Europe's top marksman in 1985-86 with 37 goals; 57
caps and 23 goals for Holland.
Admitted
to the Hall of Fame:
1st March 2000 with 29% of the votes.
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Roy
of the Rovers References:
Roy of the Rovers comic - Marco appears in a black and white photograph in
"Roy Race's Super Strikers Booklet" - 20th January 1990.
Between
23rd June and 17th July 1990, Marco was the
subject of a 3 week profile story called "Story of the
Star" in the Roy of the Rovers comic.
Full page colour photograph
of Marco "The Flying Dutchman" - 28th July Roy of the Rovers
comic.
The Roy of the Rovers comic
- 23rd January 1993 celebrates with a colour page feature of Marco
due to be him being crowned European Footballer of the year for
the 3rd time.
The 2000 Annual cites Marco Van
Basten's goal against the USSR in the European Championships of 1988
as one of the top five goals ever. It was compared to a similar
wonder strike by Melchester Rovers' Mervyn Wallace a few years
earlier. |
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Internet
Links: There are three known web sites dedicated to Marco Van
Basten.
International
Hall of Fame- Marco's write up in the International
Hall of Fame.
Marco
Van Basten - Homepage - A real tribute site with
pictures and information.
Marco
- Another excellent site with detailed statistics and
information.
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Marco Van Basten was the last
player to secure the European Player of the Year award three times.
However, ankle injuries brought his career to a sadly premature halt in
1995. The cumulative effect of the knocks to his right ankle forced his
retirement and this example led to FIFA making the tackle from behind
illegal. Marco however, has said that the person who damaged his ankle
most was a surgeon and not a player.
He first earned international
acclaim at the 1983 World Youth Cup, but by then he had already made his
mark in Holland with Ajax. He was a substitute for his mentor Johan Cruyff
when he made his competitive debut with them aged seventeen. In that first
year he scored 68 goals in 44 games. In all he netted 128 times for Ajax
before joining Milan for a mere £1.5 million in 1987.
Marco won numerous trophies
and awards and while with Ajax he won the European Golden boot, which was
awarded to Europe's top marksman.
With Milan he picked up
winners medals for the World and European Champions Club Cups and numerous
individual honours including the FIFA World Footballer of the year trophy.
Milan turned to a half fit Van Basten in the 1993 Champions Cup Final
against Marseille in Munich but he had only played 15 intermittent League
games and the challenge proved beyond him. He never played again. He
finally retired aged 31 on 17th August 1995, but had not played since he
was 28.
One footballing memory he left
behind was when he scored one of the great International goals against the
Soviet Union in the 1988 European Championship Final. In real Roy of the
Rovers style he volleyed home a long looping cross from Arnold Muhren to
put Holland 2-0 ahead. It really was an impossible goal.
Marco has never courted
attention and moved to Monaco to keep out of the public eye in Holland.
The spell in Italy did not help his public image. The media attention took
its toll on him and now his shyness is sometimes mistaken for arrogance.
Mystique surrounds him , for great players sometimes saying nothing is as
profound as saying anything.
Such mystique, such strength
of character, such undoubted skill - welcome Marco Van Basten to the Roy
of the Rovers Hall of Fame.
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