Patrick Kluivert, born in 1976 in Amsterdam, is a former Dutch football player and current coach who made his name as a player in the 1990s and 2000s.
He is regarded as one of the best Dutch strikers of all time and one of the key figures in the great Ajax generation of the 1990s. Only Robin Van Persie and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar have scored more goals for the Netherlands than him (40 in 79 appearances), and he ranks 12th all-time in goals scored for FC Barcelona.
He was a playmaker and center forward with excellent technical ability and a powerful frame (1.88 meters tall).
Killer
He was a highly skilled team striker whose play was distinguished by his propensity to pass the ball to his teammates for the goal.
Even though he lacked a more accurate goal shot to be regarded as a true “Killer” in the penalty area, he was still regarded in his day as the best striker in the world while playing with his great skills. Nevertheless, he scored more than 250 goals in his career.
One of the top strikers of his generation, he began his career with Ajax, where he won two championships, two national Super Cups, the Champions League, the European Super Cup, and the Intercontinental Cup. He later moved to AC Milan and, after just one season, to Barcelona, where he won La Liga.
Following a stint at Newcastle United, he moved to the Netherlands to play for PSV, where he won a second league championship, before returning to Spain to play for Valencia. He retired from football with Lille.
Growing up
Kluivert was born in Amsterdam. His father was originally from Suriname and his mother from Curaçao. He learned to play football in the streets. He spent most of his free time at the red square on the Naardermeerstraat in Amsterdam-Noord, where he played with Edgar Davids and others.
He also spent two years playing for the neighborhood football team Schellingwoude.
Additionally, he spent two years playing for the Schellingwoude neighborhood football team.
He also spent two years participating in football for the Schellingwoude neighborhood team.
Additionally, he participated in football for the Schellingwoude neighborhood team for two years.
He also spent two years playing for the Schellingwoude neighborhood football team.
Because of his many objectives, he attracted attention there right away. Tonny Bruins Slot extended an invitation for him to enroll in the Ajax youth academy when he was seven years old.
He moved along quite easily there. He served in every conceivable position over the years, including central defense.
Coach Louis van Gaal made the decision to promote Kluivert to the first team after Ajax was unable to sign the talented Brazilian player Ronaldo (who left Cruzeiro EC for rival PSV for 10.8 million guilders).
The striker eventually joined a squad that included young stars like Clarence Seedorf, Marc Overmars, Edgar Davids, Edwin van der Sar, Jari Litmanen, and the De Boer brothers as well as seasoned players like captain Danny Blind and the recently returned Frank Rijkaard. As a replacement for Stefan Pettersson, who had left for Sweden, Kluivert was supposed to join this young team.
The young player, who is of Surinamese descent, quickly earned the coach Louis van Gaal’s favor and served as his true mentor. On August 21, 1994, in the Dutch Super Cup against rivals Feyenoord, Kluivert scored his first goal in his first game for Ajax’s professional team.
On May 24, 1995, Patrick Kluivert played in his first European match when he replaced Ajax Amsterdam against AC Milan in the Champions League final. Kluivert scored the game’s lone goal to help Ajax win the championship.
Kluivert had a challenging time adjusting to his new role over the following two years.
Despite scoring twice against Ireland in the play-off match against them to help the Netherlands qualify for Euro 96, he was once more a substitute in the 1996 Champions League final loss to Juventus.
A somber history of unintentional murder also hurt his performances, which were already hampered by repeated injuries. He was facing a lengthy prison sentence because he was the car’s driver and was responsible for the death of a woman.
He missed the Champions League semifinal, where Juventus humiliated Zinedine Zidane’s Ajax, because he was injured and morally weakened.
Kluivert left his youth team after the 1996–1997 campaign because he wanted to take a stand against the Italian clubs, who were being criticized by a segment of Dutch fans.