Marco van Basten Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Joop Van Basten was a footballer who plied his trade at the unsung levels of football, and his wife was Leny Van Basten. The couple gave birth to Marco van Basten in the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands on the 31st day of October 1964. By the time Marco turned six years old, he already showed that he had a flair for soccer and this led him to be registered at EDO. EDO was a local Utrecht club and later moved on to UVV Utrecht at age seven. He was in the club for the next nine years of his life and featured in the youth age-grade teams. By the year 1981, Marco made a move to Dutch perennial premier league winners, Ajax Amsterdam,

Early Acclaim

Marco van Basten moved swiftly at Ajax Amsterdam, where he made it to the senior team after a year's stay at the club. Marco debuted as a substitute in his first game while the reputed Johan Cruyff was still at the helms. Marco already was on the winning team that clinched the Dutch premiership on a consecutive basis with little roles. He was able to record nine goals during the 1982 season. 

European Top Marksman 

In the following four seasons from 1982, Marco Van Basten became the top marksman in the Dutch premier league. Marco ended the 1986 season with a goal haul of 36 for Ajax Amsterdam, which made him the leading scorer in all of Europe. Marco Van Basten was awarded the European Golden Boot for his 1986 feat, and after six years at the team, he moved on. He already amassed a total of 128 goals in a run-up of 133 championship and allied games. Marco Van Basten's titles included a Dutch league haul, a one UEFA diadem. In his features for his national team, Marco netted five goals in the 1998 UEFA championships and cemented it with the winner’s medal. 

When the world cup came up close in Italy in the year 1990, Marco Van Basten was not as successful as he failed to score a goal. By 1994, he led his national team again to the UEFA semi-finals and scored 24 times on the whole of his country. He also featured 58 times in all games for his national team.

His Italian Run

Marco Van Basten became a player in the Italian Serie A in 1987 by pitching his tent with AC Milan. The team won the league top honors for the year. The first season was one that he was sidelined as a result of his injuries. He scored 19 times for AC Milan and won the Serie A title as well as the UEFA Club Champions League at the club. In the following season after his arrival, he also led AC Milan to clinch the UEFA Club Champions League title again. Marco Van Basten's long stretch of records continued way into the 1991/92 season as he scored 25 times and his team won the league in an unbeaten run. The subsequent year was one that he could only manage a few appearances as his knee injuries became recurrent.

He bowed out of the club after 147 league matches in 8 years of Italian Serie A sojourn. His goal tally was 90, and he ended his professional career gracefully. 

His Return To Holland

Marco van Basten made his way back to Holland after retiring from active football to take on a coaching career. He started off as an assistant manager at his erstwhile club, Ajax Amsterdam. By 2004, he made the transition to the Dutch national side as the top gaffer. 

When the world cup was kicked off in Germany in the year 2004, he was in charge and ended the preliminaries without losing any of the fixtures. However, he lost out to the Portuguese in the next round of play-offs. In the next UEFA nations’ championships that followed in 2006, he lost out again to Russia in a paring during the quarterfinals. By the year 2008, he had enough to national team soccer and made his way back to Ajax Amsterdam. Marco resigned his position when he failed to win a UEFA Champions team place. In 2012, Marco took up the helm at Heerenveen and was able to end up at the eight position in his first season. His team was at the fifth position in the following year before he left the club.

Marco Van Basten joined AZ, another Dutch side in 2014 but his foray here was in fits and starts as he often went on leaves to battle stress. He returned to the national team as an assistant coach after his AZ stint. 

Other Notable Mentions

Marco Van Basten clinched the Ballon d'Or honors in the year 1988, with an encore in 1989 also. He was the recipient of the Ballon D’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year Award in 1992. In the year 2004, Marco Van Basten got the nod of the football legend, Pele as one of the 100 greatest living footballers or FIFA 100. Marco Van Basten was the highest goal scorer in the 1988 UEFA nations’ tournament and also led his team to win the championship. Marco was named thrice as the footballer of the year in Europe and is reputed as one of the best forwards the football world has ever known. Marco certainly earns his place as one of the legends of Dutch and world football.

Family

Marco van Basten was married in the year 1993 to Liesbeth van Cappelleveen. They both have three children, named Rebecca, Deborah, and Alexander.