Marcel "Marco" van Basten (
Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɑr.koˑ vɑn.ˈbɑs.tə(n)], 31 October 1964) is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played for Ajax and Milan, as well as the Dutch national team, in the 1980s and early 1990s. He is regarded as one of the greatest forwards of all time and has scored 277 goals
in a high-profile career, but played his last game in 1993 at the age
of 28 due to an injury which caused his retirement two years later. He
was later the head coach of Ajax and the Dutch national team.
Known for his strength on the ball, his tactical awareness and spectacular strikes and volleys, Van Basten was named European Footballer of the Year three times (1988, '89 and '92) and FIFA World Player of the Year in 1992. Van Basten was voted eighth in a poll organised by the French weekly magazine France Football consulting their former Ballon d'Or winners to elect the Football Player of the Century.
In 1999, Van Basten was ranked tenth in the European player of the Century election held by the IFFHS, and he was voted twelth in the IFFHS' "World Player of the Century" election.
In 2004,
Pelé named Van Basten one of the 125 best living footballers in his FIFA 100 list. In 2004, a nationwide poll was held for the 100 greatest Dutch people (De Grootste Nederlander) and Van Basten was number 25, the second highest for a football player, behind Johan Cruyff. In March 2007,
Sky Sports ranked Van Basten first on its list of great athletes who had their careers cut short.
In 1987, Silvio Berlusconi signed Van Basten for Milan, with fellow countrymen Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard joining in 1988. In his first season, Milan won their first
Scudetto in eight years, but Van Basten played only 11 games and was constantly troubled by an ankle injury.
In 1988–89, Van Basten won the Ballon d'Or as Europe's top footballer. He scored 19 goals in Serie A and scored two goals in the final of the European Cup as Milan triumphed against Steaua Bucureşti.
In 1989–90, he became
Capocannoniere, Serie A's leading goal scorer, and Milan successfully defended the European Cup after beating Benfica in the final match.
Milan struggled in the 1990–91 season, as Sampdoria won the
Scudetto. After Van Basten fell out with Arrigo Sacchi, Berlusconi sacked the manager. Fabio Capello took over the following season, and Milan went undefeated in the league to win another
Scudetto. Van Basten scored 25 league goals, and became
Capocannoniere again.
In November 1992, he became the first player to score four goals in a Champions League match, against IFK Göteborg,
including a picture perfect bicycle kick. The record was later equalled
by other players, but was bettered only 20 years later, when Lionel Messi scored five goals against Bayer Leverkusen during the 2011-12 Champions League season.
Milan stretched their unbeaten run into the 1992–93 season, going 58
matches over two seasons before they lost a game. Van Basten played
exceptionally well in the early part of the season. He was again voted
the European player of the year, becoming the third player after Johan Cruyff and Michel Platini to win the award three times.
His troublesome ankle injury
recurred in a game against A.C. Ancona, forcing him to undergo another series of surgery. He returned for the last few games in the season, before Milan lost to Marseille in the Champions League final. The match was Van Basten's final game for the Italian club.
He had been hopeful of playing for his country at the 1994 World Cup as well as for his club in the 1994–95 season after spending the whole 1993–94 season out of action (missing Milan's victory in the European Cup as well as their Serie A title glory),
but his club ordered him not to take part in the World Cup amid fear of ruining his rehabilitation.
He finally conceded defeat in his battle to recover on 17 August 1995,
when he announced his retirement as a player after two whole years on
sidelines.
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