Patrick Kluivert

Early life

Kluivert was born on 1 July 1976 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. His father, a professional football player, was born in Suriname and his mother in Curaçao. Kluivert learned to play football on the street. After a year at football club Schellingwoude, he joined the Ajax Youth Academy at the age of seven.

He played several different positions as a youth, including defender. He was strong in technique, football intelligence, and speed, but was considered too impulsive. Kluivert played for the Dutch national teams under-15, under-16 and under-17.

Ajax

Kluivert was part of Ajax's Golden Generation of the 1990s. He made his debut in the senior team of Ajax on 21 August 1994 at the age of 18 in the Dutch Supercup win against the old arch rival Feyenoord, in which he scored his first goal. He went on to top score for Ajax in the 1994–95 Eredivisie with 18 goals in 25 appearances, as Louis van Gaal's team won the Dutch championship without losing a match.

The 1994–95 season also saw Kluivert make his mark – along with a host of youngsters from the Ajax youth academy, including Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, and Edwin van der Sar – on the European stage with a triumph in the UEFA Champions League. Kluivert came off the bench to score an 85th-minute winner in the 1995 Champions League Final against A.C. Milan in Vienna, Austria. The youngest player to score in a final of the main event of the European continent, when he was only 18 years, 10 months and 23 days.

He again top-scored for Ajax in 1995–96 with 15 goals in 28 appearances as the club won five trophies, including the Eredivisie title. He scored the winning goal in extra time of the season opening Dutch Supercup against Feyenoord and also scored the team's away goal in the 5–1 aggregate win over Real Zaragoza in the 1995 UEFA Super Cup.

On 28 November 1995, Kluivert was the only Ajax player to miss his kick in the 4–3 penalty shootout win over Grêmio in Tokyo that saw de Godenzonen win the Intercontinental Cup. Kluivert was also in excellent form during Ajax's defence of their Champions League trophy, scoring in away wins at Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, but a knee injury prevented him from participating in the team's loss to Juventus in the 1996 UEFA Champions League Final.

At the end of an injury hit 1996–97 season in which he made only 17 league appearances, Kluivert joined A.C. Milan on a Bosman transfer after rejecting Ajax's offer of a new contract. He ended his spell at the Amsterdam club with 39 goals from 70 Eredivisie matches.

Milan

Kluivert's career at Milan started well, with the striker scoring a sensational goal against Juventus in the Trofeo Luigi Berlusconi However, he spent only one season at the San Siro, scoring six times in 27 Serie A matches, as the Rossoneri finished in 10th place.

Barcelona

On 28 August 1998, an hour before the transfer deadline, Kluivert signed a four-year contract with FC Barcelona for a fee of £8.75 million. Kluivert was reunited with Louis van Gaal, a mentor from his days at Ajax. Kluivert scored 16 league goals and formed a successful partnership with Rivaldo, which enabled Barça to defend the Spanish La Liga in 1998–99. The following season was also a successful one for Kluivert. Although Barcelona failed to win a third consecutive league title, Kluivert finished the season as the club's top scorer with 15 league goals. Kluivert went on to top score twice more in his next four seasons at Camp Nou but the team completed a period of five years without a major trophy after their title success in 1999.

In the summer of 2004, Kluivert was one of four Dutch players released by Barcelona. He ended his career at Barça with 124 goals from 249 appearances. In 2016, the Dutchman once again featured for Barca in a legends game against Uganda all stars where he, in lobbing the ball, scored an amazing goal.

Newcastle United

Kluivert joined Newcastle United on a free transfer in July 2004. He stated that his reasons for joining Newcastle was due to the overwhelming reaction he received whilst playing for Barcelona against Newcastle during a pre season friendly as well as teaming up with Newcastle's star players such as Alan Shearer. Kluivert scored some classy and crucial goals at and away from St James's Park namely in winning strikes against both Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup, with both games ending 1–0 to Newcastle. He also scored away against Olympiakos in a 3-1 win in the first leg of the round of 16 of the UEFA Cup. Kluivert eventually scored 5 goals in all in that season's UEFA Cup. He altogether scored 13 goals in his debut season, being Newcastle's overall second highest goal scorer for 2004/05. Despite these feats, Kluivert was then released by Newcastle in the summer of 2005.

Valencia

Kluivert decided to return to Spain to play at the Mestalla for Valencia CF. During that 2005-06 season, Valencia finished third in La Liga thus qualifying, after being out of, for the Champions League. Kluivert in featuring for Valencia, played for a total of 202 minutes, as he spent most of that season injured.

PSV

Despite widespread rumours that Kluivert was to return home to Amsterdam Arena, Kluivert's return to the Eredivisie was to be with PSV, with whom he signed a one-year deal in 2006. Just as with his debut for Ajax, Kluivert made his PSV debut against Feyenoord in a 2–1 win, coming on as a substitute. After that, he had two injuries during the first half of the season, which limited his playing time. In a game against Ajax at the Philips Stadion, Kluivert refused to celebrate after scoring a goal against his former club. He was eventually released in July 2007.

Lille

On 25 July 2007, Kluivert joined French side Lille. Kluivert had mixed experiences with the French club Lille, only starting 10 times, although in these appearances he contributed greatly with four goals and valuable assists. In May 2008, Kluivert told Lille manager Claude Puel that he would be looking for a new challenge for the next season.

International career

Kluivert made his full international debut on 16 November 1994 in a European qualifier against the Czech Republic, replacing Youri Mulder after 13 minutes of a 0–0 draw in Rotterdam. In his second match, on 29 March 1995, he replaced Ronald de Boer after 77 minutes, and seven minutes later scored his first international goal to wrap up a 4–0 home qualifying win over Malta.

In December 1995, Kluivert scored both goals in the Netherlands' 2–0 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying play-off win over Ireland at Anfield, to qualify the Oranje for UEFA Euro 1996. Kluivert missed most of the tournament with a knee injury but he scored against host nation England, to enable the Netherlands to qualify for the knock-out round over Scotland on goal difference. There, they lost in a penalty shootout to France.

At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Kluivert was sent off against Belgium by referee Pierluigi Collina after elbowing Lorenzo Staelens. He made amends when selected to play against Argentina in the quarter-finals of the same tournament where he scored the opening goal. He also impressed in later matches, scoring a late equalising goal from a header to draw his team level with Brazil in the semi-final, although Holland went on to lose the penalty shootout.

The UEFA Euro 2000 would represent Kluivert's finest hour as the spearhead of a star-studded Oranje side. Kluivert scored a hat-trick in the 6–1 quarter-final demolition of Yugoslavia; he was originally credited with four goals, but the third was later re-attributed as an own goal by Yugoslavia's Dejan Govedarica after Kluivert admitted not getting a touch on Paul Bosvelt's cross. Had all four goals stood, Kluivert would have been the first player to score four times in a European Championship finals match. The semi-final against Italy would provide much heartache for Kluivert, as the Dutch yet again crashed out on penalties. Neither Kluivert nor his Dutch side could find the back of the net, despite twice having a chance from the penalty spot – Kluivert himself would miss one of those penalties during the game, but did score in the penalty shoot-out. Despite the Dutch falling short, Kluivert will be remembered for rising to the occasion in front of partisan home crowds, scoring five goals in as many games, jointly claiming the Golden Boot with Savo Milošević.

Kluivert would once again enter UEFA Euro 2004 wearing the famous #9 jersey for his country with the Dutch reaching the semifinals of the tournament.

As well as from being left out of the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad by coach Marco van Basten, Kluivert was not called up to play in any of the qualifying games leading up to the World Cup either. This was due to the fact that he suffered persistent injuries which prevented him from playing for his club during the 2005-06 season. Kluivert was the all-time leading goalscorer for the Dutch national team with 40 goals, until he was surpassed by Robin van Persie in 2013.

Playing style

Although tall in stature, Kluivert possessed a remarkably impressive 'first touch' and quick feet for such a large striker. Similar to Brazilian footballer Ronaldo, he often used several feints, namely the Cruijff Turn, to great effect to go past defenders, due to his pace, strong technical skills and football intelligence. Kluivert also utilised his height, power, and strong physique to dominate aerial balls and was considered to possess one of the best headers in the then-contemporary game. A versatile player, he was capable of playing in several other positions across the pitch. Despite his ability, he drew criticism for his character and attitude throughout his career.

Coaching career

On 29 April 2008, Dutch media reported that Kluivert would take part in the coaching course of the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) to become a professional football coach. The KNVB requires that all coaching badge candidates complete this sort of apprenticeship.

On 18 July 2008, it was reported on the football website Goal.com that Kluivert would be spending the 2008–09 season as a member of the backroom coaching staff of Eredivisie club AZ. Later on, in an interview on Soccer AM, Kluivert revealed his role involved coaching the strikers at AZ.

In January 2010, Kluivert took a position as an assistant coach for Australian A-League side Brisbane Roar FC under head coach Ange Postecoglou.

On 19 May 2010, Kluivert told journalists he ruled out a comeback as a football player. From August 2010 on, he was an assistant-coach for N.E.C., coaching the strikers. In the 2011–12 season, he moved on and took charge of the FC Twente youth and reserve team, coaching Jong FC Twente to a national title in the Beloften Eredivisie.

In August 2012, Kluivert joined the Netherlands national team coaching staff to work under head coach Louis van Gaal. Kluivert's time with the Netherlands culminated with a third-place finish in the 2014 FIFA World Cup campaign.

On 5 March 2015, it was announced that Kluivert would take over as manager of the Curaçao national football team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. Curaçao progressed through the first two qualifying rounds, defeating Montserrat and Cuba. On 8 September 2015 Curaçao were eliminated in the 2018 FIFA World Cup third qualifying round by El Salvador, losing 2–0 on aggregate score. Having helped the country to their best performance yet in World Cup qualifying, Kluivert announced the end of his tenure as head coach of the team on 10 September 2015. While pursuing other ventures, he remains a close advisor to the Curaçao Football Federation.

On 24 February 2016, Kluivert announced his decision to remain head coach of Curaçao ahead of the teams' Caribbean Cup qualifying matches against the Dominican Republic and Barbados. On 2 May 2016, it was announced that Kluivert would take over as head coach of the Ajax A1 (under-19) selection ahead of the 2016–17 season, where he would coach his son Justin Kluivert with the team having secured placement in the UEFA Youth League the previous year.

Following his announcement to join Ajax, Kluivert remained head coach of Curaçao for round two of the Caribbean Cup qualifiers where they faced Guyana and the U.S. Virgin Islands in group 3. Curaçao won both their matches at home, defeating Guyana 5–2 and the U.S. Virgin Islands 7–0 in his final match as head coach of the island nation. On 14 July 2016 it was announced that Kluivert would no longer coach the under-19 team of Ajax, but that he would instead take over the position as director of football for French club Paris Saint-Germain. He expressed that his intention was to stay with Ajax, but that he could not refuse the offer made by PSG.

His efforts for the national team of Curaçao did not go without merit as the team secured qualification for both the 2017 Caribbean Cup and the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where they would compete for the first time in 40 years under the guidance of Remko Bicentini and Kluivert.

Media

Kluivert has appeared in commercials for the American sportswear company Nike. In 1996, he starred in a Nike commercial titled "Good vs Evil" in a gladiatorial game set in a Roman amphitheatre. Appearing alongside football players from around the world, including Ronaldo, Paolo Maldini, Eric Cantona, Luís Figo and Jorge Campos, they defend "the beautiful game" against a team of demonic warriors, before it culminates with Cantona striking the ball and destroying evil.

Legal Issues

On 9 September 1995, Kluivert crashed a borrowed BMW into another car in Amsterdam, killing the driver and seriously injuring a female passenger. Kluivert admitted to speeding before the crash, and was convicted of death by dangerous driving. As a consequence, he was ordered to perform 240 hours of community service.

Personal life

Kluivert is the second son of former football player Kenneth Kluivert, who played for SV Robinhood in the SVB Hoofdklasse and for the Suriname national team. His mother Lidwina Kluivert, was born in Willemstad, Curaçao, in the former Netherlands Antilles, to a Surinamese father and Curaçaoan mother. His parents were married in Paramaribo, and both his elder siblings were born in Suriname, before the family emigrated to the Netherlands in 1970.

On 24 September 2007, Kluivert's wife Rossana Lima gave birth to a baby boy, named Shane Patrick. He has three sons, Quincy, Justin and Ruben from his first marriage. Justin Kluivert plays for the Ajax Youth Academy having won the B-juniors Eredivisie, the under-17 competition in the Netherlands, and having played in the 2015 edition of the Copa Amsterdam as well.

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