Marco Van Basten made his debut for Ajax
in the 1982 Dutch League Championship by coming in as a sub for Johan Cruyff and
scoring a goal. Two years later he was a starter for the Amsterdam club and
scored 28 goals in 26 games. In that same season he made his debut for the Dutch
National team. The following season crowned him as the greatest European
attacker, scoring 37 goals in 26 games and winning the "Golden Boot".
After an entire winter of negotiations, Berlusconi managed to wrest Van Basten
from the clutches of Real Madrid and Barcelona. Van Basten left Holland having
scored 127 goals in 129 games, and won 3 league titles and 1 Cup Winners Cup. He
makes his debut at San Siro in 1987, but in his first year he only makes a few
appearances for the red-and-black due to an injury that keeps him from playing
most of the season.
In the following season Van Basten
imposes himself as the leader of the team because of his numerous goals, assists
and wonderful play. His contributions to the third and fourth Champions Cups won
by Milan are fundamental. He wins France Football's "Golden Ball"
award three times and becomes champion of Europe with the Dutch National team in
1988. In the triumphant 1991/92 season with Milan he wins the goal-scoring title
with 25 goals.
Dribbling, ball skill, power, and precision are the qualities which have made
him enter by force into the history of soccer, not only at the club level but at
the international level. At the end of the 1992/93 season a prolonged injury
keeps him away from the fields of play. Because of this injury, he leaves soccer
for good two years later.
Today Van Basten and his family live in Badhoevedorp, a small village outside of
Amsterdam.
Year by
year
1
982:
Dutch Championship (Ajax)
1983: Dutch Cup (Ajax)
1984: Dutch Championship, Dutch Topscorer, SilverShoe (Ajax)
1985: Dutch Championship, Dutch Topscorer (Ajax)
1986: Dutch Cup (Ajax)
1987: Dutch Cup, Cup Winners Cup (ECII), Dutch Topscorer (Ajax)
1988: Italian Championship, European Super Cup, European
footballer of
the year (AC Milan), European Championship (Holland)
1989: European Footballer of the Year, European Cup (ECI), World
Club
Championship (AC Milan)
1990: European Cup (ECI), European Super Cup, World Club
Championship
Italian Topscorer (AC Milan)
1991: European Super Cup, World Club Championship (AC Milan)
1992: Italian Championship, World Club Championship, Italian
Topscorer,
European Footballer of the Year, World Player of the Year (AC
Milan)
1993: Italian Championship (AC Milan)
