How old is ruud gullit

The following season, with Chelsea in second place in the Premiership and proceeding to the quarter-finals in two cup competitions, he was sacked, allegedly for a disagreement with the club's board over compensation, though Gullit himself disputed this. Gullit's last appearance as a player came in the first leg of that season's League Cup semi-final against Arsenal, but Gullit was sacked before the second leg. After Gullit's controversial sacking by Chelsea, chairman Ken Bates said of Gullit, "I didn't like his arrogance — in fact I never liked him.

On 18 January , Russian Premier League side Terek Grozny announced that Gullit has agreed to sign a year-and-a-half contract and become the head coach for the Chechen side. Upon signing, Gullit told Sovetsky Sport, "I'd like to believe that I can bring joy into the lives of the Chechen people through football Of course, I won't deny that I'm getting lots of money from Terek. The club also said Gullit had a "party lifestyle".

From the start, Gullit's time with Galaxy was troublesome. Not well-versed in the intricacies and specifics of the MLS such as salary cap and draft rules, the Dutchman never adapted well to the North American league. The ill-fated acquisition in January of left back Celestine Babayaro , who was signed on Gullit's personal wishes before being dismissed without playing a competitive match, set the tone for the league campaign.

Afterlosing 0—4 in the season opener, Gullit clashed with midfielder Peter Vagenas , who criticized him for completely neglecting set play practice during training. On 11 August , Gullit resigned as coach of the Galaxy, citing personal reasons. This came following a seven-game winless streak.

General manager Lalas was fired at the same time. Gullit arrived as replacement for Frank Yallop who was let go after Galaxy failed to make the MLS playoffs despite having record signing David Beckham on the roster. That's what apartheid did to them, it made them believe injustice was a normal part of life.

When Gullit was named winner of the Ballon d'Or in , he dedicated the award to the then imprisoned Nelson Mandela. Gullit has since said in interviews that he met Mandela after he was released, and that Mandela had said to him, "Ruud, I have lots of friends now. When I was on the inside, you were one of the few. Before the start of the —05 season, Gullit took charge of Feyenoord, quitting at the end of that season without winning any trophies, being replaced by Erwin Koeman.

Fans remained supportive despite a poor run of results, although a well-publicised contretemps with the team's top scorer Alan Shearer and captain Robert Lee did not put him in a favourable light. Gullit even refused to assign Lee a squad number, giving Lee's number 7 to new signing Kieron Dyer. In a match between Newcastle and local rivals Sunderland following the latter's return to the Premiership, Gullit left the usual starting strikers Shearer and Duncan Ferguson on the bench.

Newcastle lost 2—1, and Gullit resigned three days later, five games into the — season. In the summer of , when Glenn Hoddle left Chelsea to become manager of the England national team, Gullit was appointed as a player-manager, becoming the first Dutchman to manage in the Premier League.

Gullit made a promising start to his managerial career when in the first season as a player-manager he guided Chelsea to an FA Cup triumph in , the club's first major trophy in 26 years. The club also finished at a creditable sixth place in the Premiership. After his spell at Newcastle, Gullit spent several years working as a football commentator, having previously coined the term "sexy football" during his spell as a BBC pundit for Euro while still playing professionally for Chelsea.

Gullit used the term to describe teams, such as Portugal at that tournament, who played attractive football with an emphasis on the defense-penetrating pass-and-move game. In July , Gullit signed for Chelsea on a free transfer. Initially played as sweeper by manager Glenn Hoddle with limited success, Gullit was moved to his more familiar role in midfield, where he scored six goals.

Football was a widely popular sport, but nowhere near the level, it is today with regard to the money spent. It was simpler and much more enjoyable back then in a lot of ways. Money has ruined the sport largely, and we're thankful that this legend played when things were still acceptable. His career began in '79 and ended in ' With very few endorsements to back him up, his net worth is estimated to be not more than 30 million Euros.

He does a few gigs for the television now and then. He's a well-respected pundit. Image: imgur. The big man tried his hand at managing teams as well. That didn't take off sadly, and he's upset about it. Heartbreak Kid She was the one who hit him the hardest when she told him she wanted a divorce. Easily recognizable with his distinctive dreadlocks, he was part of the famed Dutch trio at Milan which included Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard.

In he signed for Chelsea, and a year later was appointed the club's player-manager. In his debut season he led Chelsea to FA Cup success, the club's first major title for 26 years. In doing so he became the first overseas manager to win the FA Cup. Normally an attacking midifielder, he was a versatile player, playing in numerous positions during his career.

In he was named one of the Top greatest living footballers as part of FIFA's th anniversary celebration. The family lived in one split level room on the top floor of a small apartment building. Gullit's father worked as an economics teacher at a local school, his mother as a custodian at the Rijksmuseum. Gullit developed his football skills in the confines of the Rozendwarsstraat, and street football was instrumental in his formative years.

Gullit's first team were the Meerboys, where he joined as a junior in However, at the age of 10 Gullit moved from the Jordaan to Amsterdam Old West where he played street football alongside Frank Rijkaard.

It was during his time at DWS that Gullit first took to using his father's surname, rather than his registered surname, as he thought it sounded more like a football player. He retained his mother's surname, officially, and continues to sign all contracts as Ruud Dil. Gullit made 91 league appearances for Haarlem, scoring 32 goals. Gullit made his debut for the club at just 16 years old, becoming at the time the youngest player in the history of the Eredivisie.

In his first year at Haarlem they finished bottom of the Eredivisie, but bounced back the following season winning the Eerste Divisie. Gullit was named as the best player in the Eerste Divisie that season. In the —82 season Gullit was in fine form as Haarlem finished fourth and qualified for Europe for the only time in their history.

In that same season Gullit scored the goal he would later consider his finest, "Playing against Utrecht I went past four defenders and then the goalkeeper, and scored. It was an unforgettable goal for me. The young Gullit was considered as a signing by English sides Arsenal F. Gullit therefore moved to Feyenoord in , where he made 85 league appearances, scoring 31 goals. At Feyenoord Gullit found himself playing alongside Dutch legend Johan Cruyff, while the assistant manager was Wim van Hanegem, and they were to leave a lasting impression.

Gullit's first season saw Feyenoord miss out on major honours, but the following year they completed the league and cup double.

Gullit was named Dutch Footballer of the Year in recognition of his contribution to Feyenoord's success. At Feyenoord Gullit occupied an increasingly advanced role in midfield, having played predominantly as a sweeper at Haarlem. While at Feyenoord Gullit became the focus of a race row as manager Thijs Libregts was alleged to have referred to Gullit as "blackie" and criticised him for being lazy, though Libregts defended himself by claiming that it was merely a nickname.

While playing for Feyenoord at St Mirren in September he was racially abused and spat on by Scottish supporters. Gullit called it "the saddest night of my life".

Gullit was again named Footballer of the Year in as he helped PSV capture the Eredivisie crown, a feat they repeated the following year. It was at PSV that Gullit really began to establish himself as a world class footballer and his distinctive, dreadlocked appearance made certain that he would catch the eye of Europe's biggest clubs. Gullit was also singled out for criticism by large numbers of Feyernoord supporters, who branded him a "wolf" and accused him of moving to Eindhoven for money.

Silvio Berlusconi signed Gullit for A. When he arrived at Milan, Gullit initially struggled to settle as he spoke no Italian and was unused to living in a foreign country. By , it was clear that Gullit had outgrown the Dutch league. In his first season with the club, Gullit helped Milan win their first Scudetto in 9 years.

This ended the streak of disappointing results for the Dutch, who had failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups. In the final match, Gullit put the Netherlands in the lead with a header goal, with Van Basten scoring an exquisite volley to put the game away for good.