Van Basten didnt even play as the main striker in his breakout season, if he started he was positioned on the right wing. Wim Kieft was their main striker and van Basten only got to play centrally if he was subbed out. He still managed to score 10 in 25, rarely playing a full game.
He was absolutely class though, even at his age it was clear how good he was, so Ajax sold Kieft and made van Basten their main goalscorer. A lot of people criticised Ajax for taking such a risk with a young player, but van Basten went on to score 31 in 31 in the following season. Not that all the criticism died down after that. Just like with Haaland now he got called one dimensiomal and his lack of participation in build up was ‘not of an ajax standard’. Van Basten took that personally and scored 25 next season, while assisting 25 as well, sometimes playing in a AM or even CM role with their new tactics.
I wish I’d seen more of Van Basten. I’m old enough to have watched Euro 88, but his club career was played in leagues that weren’t on TV where I grew up. Even by the time Serie A was getting shown regularly in the UK (1992/93 onwards) it was just as the injuries were starting to bite. It’s sad really because as I understand it there wasn’t really a decline with Marco, he was on top of the world then it was just over. In some ways it means his legacy was secure because people didn’t have to watch him hobble around the pitch trying and failing to recapture former glories, but the sad truth is he was finished as a footballer at 27. If only he’d been 20 years younger as who knows how great he could have been with modern sports science and rules which protected forwards from being kicked as much as they were in the 80s.
There wasn’t a real decline, but by the time he moved to Milan his ankle was a time bomb. He already had one botched surgery and two more would follow. After his second surgery they extracted 3 bone splinters out of his ankle joint. He was in constant pain while playing (which showed in his playstyle) and after games he would sit in the lockerroom with his foot in a bucket of ice trying to keep the swelling down. There were some pictures in a football magazine of the team sitting in the bus on away days, waiting for van Basten.
Before his second surgery he played a bit reminiscent of Messi, getting involved in build up play, making runs and dribbling the ball forward to create chances himslef. He was incredibly graceful ad atlethic, that period and style gave him the nickname the Swan. After his last surgery van Basten knew he was on borrowed time, the doctor had warned him that one hard knock could basically cripple him. He visited Cruijff, his friend and mentor and together they thought up a way of playing that would minimise risk.
He would often receive the ball with his back on goal, making runs to open himself up. But that put incredible stress on his ankle and he couldn’t avoid tackles from behind because he didn’t see his opponents coming. So instead he started just jogging out of the box, make a “J” or “?” run and get the pass in front of him instead of in his feet. It worked remarkably well. He still had his pace and he could easily avoid tackles that he saw coming. It took some time to adjust, he covered much less ground, but he started scoring more from short runs in the box and headers.
There is an anecdote of him from those days Gullit liked to tell. When van Basten returned to training the defenders got together and agreed to go easy on him so not to injure him again. That apperently pissed van Basten off, he wanted to test his skill. It ended up with a training match with van Basten running around hammering balls on goal while shouting ‘kick me you bastards, kick me’! With half the defenders running after him trying to catch up.
But it wouldn’t take long before the pain got too much. There is a heartbreaking story of him breaking down in a car park after visiting some quack witch doctor because he was so desperate, finally forced to face the end. He got a surgically implanted brace to fix his ankle in place after retirement.
Who was the “star” in that Euro 88 team? It was probably the first tournament I watched with any interest, I remember the 86 World Cup but was more interested in riding my bike and trying to climb trees at that age but by the time 88 came around I was fully on board. I’m not sure if I was aware at the time or it’s just a lifetime of memories being cloudy now but from England it always seemed like the Dutch produced incredible players (this continued throughout the 90s and 00s) but to my eyes in 1988 Ruud Gullit was the man. I was so excited when he came to play in the Premier League and he rocked up at Villa Park, even if it was when he was trying to be a sweeper but spending most of his time as a No. 6.
Gullit was the main man, mostly because of his charisma and natural leadership qualities, with his drive probably making Koeman a close second. Van Basten had just returned and noone really knew how sharp, capable or good he was. But he was always a bit of an enigma, he could sometims isolate himslef a bit from his teammates. Everyone knew he was leading up to something special in training though, Gullit claims he said ‘remember lads, let’s all just give van Basten some space to figure it out for us’ in the tunnel to lighten the mood before the Germany game.
People sometimes forget how mad talented Gullit was and how good he could still be after signing for Chelsea. He was played as a sweeper at first, which was a mistake. He hadn’t played there in some time and the game (not to mention his legs) had changed. But after moving him into midfield he was on fire. One of the first huge superstars to come to England to prove himself, he became second in the player of the season vote, behind Cantona who was on top of his game.
Gullit is an amazing story teller by the way, he used to have a podcast and visit various talkshows where he would dish out the most insane anecdotes. If only half of them are half factual he has had one of the most colourful private lives of any footballer ever.
Van Basten didnt even play as the main striker in his breakout season, if he started he was positioned on the right wing. Wim Kieft was their main striker and van Basten only got to play centrally if he was subbed out. He still managed to score 10 in 25, rarely playing a full game.
He was absolutely class though, even at his age it was clear how good he was, so Ajax sold Kieft and made van Basten their main goalscorer. A lot of people criticised Ajax for taking such a risk with a young player, but van Basten went on to score 31 in 31 in the following season. Not that all the criticism died down after that. Just like with Haaland now he got called one dimensiomal and his lack of participation in build up was ‘not of an ajax standard’. Van Basten took that personally and scored 25 next season, while assisting 25 as well, sometimes playing in a AM or even CM role with their new tactics.
I wish I’d seen more of Van Basten. I’m old enough to have watched Euro 88, but his club career was played in leagues that weren’t on TV where I grew up. Even by the time Serie A was getting shown regularly in the UK (1992/93 onwards) it was just as the injuries were starting to bite. It’s sad really because as I understand it there wasn’t really a decline with Marco, he was on top of the world then it was just over. In some ways it means his legacy was secure because people didn’t have to watch him hobble around the pitch trying and failing to recapture former glories, but the sad truth is he was finished as a footballer at 27. If only he’d been 20 years younger as who knows how great he could have been with modern sports science and rules which protected forwards from being kicked as much as they were in the 80s.
There wasn’t a real decline, but by the time he moved to Milan his ankle was a time bomb. He already had one botched surgery and two more would follow. After his second surgery they extracted 3 bone splinters out of his ankle joint. He was in constant pain while playing (which showed in his playstyle) and after games he would sit in the lockerroom with his foot in a bucket of ice trying to keep the swelling down. There were some pictures in a football magazine of the team sitting in the bus on away days, waiting for van Basten.
Before his second surgery he played a bit reminiscent of Messi, getting involved in build up play, making runs and dribbling the ball forward to create chances himslef. He was incredibly graceful ad atlethic, that period and style gave him the nickname the Swan. After his last surgery van Basten knew he was on borrowed time, the doctor had warned him that one hard knock could basically cripple him. He visited Cruijff, his friend and mentor and together they thought up a way of playing that would minimise risk.
He would often receive the ball with his back on goal, making runs to open himself up. But that put incredible stress on his ankle and he couldn’t avoid tackles from behind because he didn’t see his opponents coming. So instead he started just jogging out of the box, make a “J” or “?” run and get the pass in front of him instead of in his feet. It worked remarkably well. He still had his pace and he could easily avoid tackles that he saw coming. It took some time to adjust, he covered much less ground, but he started scoring more from short runs in the box and headers.
There is an anecdote of him from those days Gullit liked to tell. When van Basten returned to training the defenders got together and agreed to go easy on him so not to injure him again. That apperently pissed van Basten off, he wanted to test his skill. It ended up with a training match with van Basten running around hammering balls on goal while shouting ‘kick me you bastards, kick me’! With half the defenders running after him trying to catch up.
But it wouldn’t take long before the pain got too much. There is a heartbreaking story of him breaking down in a car park after visiting some quack witch doctor because he was so desperate, finally forced to face the end. He got a surgically implanted brace to fix his ankle in place after retirement.
Who was the “star” in that Euro 88 team? It was probably the first tournament I watched with any interest, I remember the 86 World Cup but was more interested in riding my bike and trying to climb trees at that age but by the time 88 came around I was fully on board. I’m not sure if I was aware at the time or it’s just a lifetime of memories being cloudy now but from England it always seemed like the Dutch produced incredible players (this continued throughout the 90s and 00s) but to my eyes in 1988 Ruud Gullit was the man. I was so excited when he came to play in the Premier League and he rocked up at Villa Park, even if it was when he was trying to be a sweeper but spending most of his time as a No. 6.
Gullit was the main man, mostly because of his charisma and natural leadership qualities, with his drive probably making Koeman a close second. Van Basten had just returned and noone really knew how sharp, capable or good he was. But he was always a bit of an enigma, he could sometims isolate himslef a bit from his teammates. Everyone knew he was leading up to something special in training though, Gullit claims he said ‘remember lads, let’s all just give van Basten some space to figure it out for us’ in the tunnel to lighten the mood before the Germany game.
People sometimes forget how mad talented Gullit was and how good he could still be after signing for Chelsea. He was played as a sweeper at first, which was a mistake. He hadn’t played there in some time and the game (not to mention his legs) had changed. But after moving him into midfield he was on fire. One of the first huge superstars to come to England to prove himself, he became second in the player of the season vote, behind Cantona who was on top of his game.
Gullit is an amazing story teller by the way, he used to have a podcast and visit various talkshows where he would dish out the most insane anecdotes. If only half of them are half factual he has had one of the most colourful private lives of any footballer ever.
Yeah, he pops up on TV duties over here more often than you might think. Seems like an interesting guy, he’s definitely charismatic.
Thanks for that write up, love MvB stories