The thread for Ruud Gullit

Returning back to this and Sofascore:

"I said it before but it's typical how lukewarm 'World Soccer' is (compare: the title for the 1988 winners on the frontpage, with the title for the 1990 winners on the frontpage). Their very first article - I think by Radnedge and Kuper - starts with how bad the Dutch league is, and a (strange) reference to West Germany their move to professionalism in the 1960s before mentioning 'Holland' professionalized in the 1950s. The majority of the headlines on the pages mention Germany and/or Beckenbauer, not Netherlands. The winners.

The 1988 winners received an unfavorable comparison next to France 1984, the previous German euro winners, Argentina 1978 (really...) and also Netherlands 1974 (which, at the time, they didn't rate either, with their premier voice putting zero of our players in for 1974; of course we see the same in 2012 with Falcao instead of RvP and then at euro 2024 or World Cup 2014, euro 2000 again with only Davids in and Bergkamp excluded from their wider list of 40 players). Sofascore really shows otherwise: the euro 1988 winners had the highest margin in euro history. Maybe the money forces should buy that one too - then they can do what they like. That tidies up some loose ends for the Coxes, pushing the 1988 class back into the "maybe best team" winners and no match for Germany 1972, France 2000 and France 1984."

As I mentioned before in another thread (I limit myself to this thread now), in terms of the Champions League I have seen some strange things. Their data is from OPTA of course (UK based, founders and owners - aren't they founded with Sky Sports money, wasn't it? with 'official' status bestowed upon them by the league?), and yes, as others said, I know some games are missing. It shows sometimes a 'dash' in the game lists of many players.

You'd think Ronaldinho 2004-05, the world player of the year with 7+ rated games, should be listed in the overall ranking (with 7.94), but he isn't. The one-dimensional stat padder Lampard - to the detriment of Essien and Ballack, to name two - comes out better that way (7.95). Van Nistelrooij (7.95) is missing as well from the overview. The latter is in general at a few seasons really the best rated striker (also in 2007-08 for example; 7.57, something like 7th overall).

I mentioned Van Persie 2008-09 in the other thread (7.94, played semi-final, that would place him 2nd overall) in the other thread. Not listed in the top 50 ranking. Robben 2009-10 played 10 games on the way to the final and was a surefire starter. Although he has many other better rated campaigns (7.72 in 2003-04, 7.57 in 2008-09, 7.67 in 2011-12, 7.76 in 2013-14 where he is listed as 2nd overall, behind C. Ronaldo - and then highly rated in all the subsequent seasons until 2017), with 10 played and rated games it is 'strange' (that would be my kind explanation) he isn't listed. He'd be comfortably within the top 20 at 7.29, even though his team-mate Van Bommel is rated somewhat significantly higher (7.44, and listed).

And so on. No, I don't fully trust this, no - for the Champions League so far. Integrity, sound governance, in football/sports not a given, much less as in general society and business of any given country.

In the case of Gullit this can be mentioned of course - included in the team of the tournament:
https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/b...erformances-ever.2115684/page-4#post-42281249

He is for 1988 the one with the (joint-)most 'big chances created' as well, I saw and see (it has not changed).

 

In general I think he did well in 1994-95 for Milan, also in the Champions League (vs Ajax without much support, but some useful scenes). I'll get to this as well. He had an important assist for them in the Champions League.

Gullit ended up frustrated again with Milan in 1994-95 and went back to Sampdoria/Eriksson again. I'll get to this eventually, too.

That he looked at times disinterested during his final few matches for Milan, I think that is right. But first I'm running down 1993-94 still.

“I want to play like I did at Sampdoria. I enjoyed the game there.” After the match against Juventus at the end of October [1994-95], he said: “When the team plays like that, I don't think I'm the striker they need to line up.”

I think VvD had weaker moments against Poland, Austria (though team-mates didn't listen) but was strong in the knock-out matches and against France too. Of course he has weaker matches, so had every great defender. His injury remains awful and an ACL by violent force is really bad. He's 33 years old now. Nesta and Rio Ferdinand, or Ramos, weren't as good at the age of 32 I dare to say. Like Rijkaard, VvD is someone I tend to really like, to be honest.

Gullit is maybe thinking "I was taken through the mud when I was playing, now it is my turn", but you might also think maybe there needs to be an evolution.

One of Gullit his famous remarks about the Oranje captain is as well: "I wouldn't have criticised him if I didn't think he was a top player" (2023)

In other countries, they often don't get it

Dutch journalism gotta find the balance between being open and honest and being toxic. https://t.co/gxzOt9TmHW

— 2 Cold Scorpio (@Ic3Evaa) March 28, 2023

Or by journalists:
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport...k-netherlands-england-euro-2024-b2576499.html

I think within the Orange squads itself you have seen a positive evolution. The internal criticism and 'negotiation' remains, but that there are big rows and conflicts like in the 1990s is long gone (in 2010 there was an incident where Van Persie said to the sidelines that Sneijder need to be subbed out; it turned out that Sneijder really didn't mind and this was just a tactical suggestion for him). Since 1998 maybe 2012 has come the closest? We have seen just as often the opposite, like in 2008 with the drama around Boulahrouz and his private life.

Maybe some of the pundits also need to evolve a bit - but Gullit, like he said in the Rio Ferdinand video, has the opinion that nowadays it has to be 'thumbs up' all the time and you cannot say anything any more. "Ball flying five metres over your head, thumbs up... please no."

Yeah, I think Gullit is as pundit often not good but sometimes he is. Like when he explained the five men defense. He isn't dumb, for sure. At high school he had the 2nd highest qualifications (then the top ~15% of the population). He can set his mind to it, if he wants.

If he has prepared or informed himself well he can be good.

 

That The Independent article.... yes, a table line-up of Gullit, MvB, Van der Vaart leads to such dynamics I'd think. I actually like Van Basten and Van Hooijdonk is often a good pundit too; Van Hooijdonk has a good mitigating effect when he's there. As the current VI editor said as well: "those three on duty, and only those three, what do you expect?"

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...-useless-performance-Englands-loss-Spain.html



--------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, continuing with Gullit 1993-94 his season

Referees' authority under pressure in million-dollar game

ROTTERDAM, 4 NOV. As if they were the best of friends. As if nothing had happened before and during two matches. Porto's coach Tomislav Ivic came up the stairs to the press conference arm in arm with colleague Geert Meijer from Feyenoord. A peaceful scene after a small war. That's how it usually goes. Afterwards, everything is forgotten and forgiven. They had been two very nice, attractive matches, Ivic - the greatest comedian of the whole bunch - even claimed casually.

But there had indeed been a time bomb under Feyenoord-Porto. And if it had exploded, it could have caused enormous damage. In the first match a fortnight earlier in hot Porto, enormous feelings of hatred had arisen among the players of both teams. These feelings were only reinforced in the days before the battle in De Kuip. The Feyenoord players were nasty to the Portuguese, the Porto players were unkind to the Dutch. That did not bode well for what happened at eight o'clock last night.
[...]
This was partly due to the referee, the immaculate Dane Kim Milton Nielsen. His way of whistling took away the players' desire to derail. Footballers can have an infallible sense of who they can do something with and who they can't. Nielsen belongs to the latter category. He was helped by the score. It remained 0-0 and with that score anything was possible for ninety minutes and the players must have realised that they would be doing their team a disservice if they derailed. But what if Feyenoord had quickly taken a 1-0 lead? Or Porto? Wouldn't the loser have gone berserk then? In the end, little to nothing untoward happened. Nevertheless, the threatening atmosphere at Porto-Feyenoord and Feyenoord-Porto should be a warning for the future.
[...]
The stakes are so immense that it is not even that surprising when players sometimes cannot control themselves with money signs in their eyes. They must also realize that they will be punished for every offense. It is UEFA's job to rub that in. That is why it is incomprehensible that the European Football Union does not suspend players based on TV images. The blow that Zé Carlos of Porto gave John de Wolf a fortnight ago [the first leg] was shown all over the world. No one can doubt the Brazilian's guilt, but he did play along last night.

Referee Harrel did not see the cowardly knockout. He can hardly be blamed. Even a referee has no eyes in the back of his head. Nielsen whistled better than his French colleague in Porto. Yet the Dane also missed a few things.
[...]
Sometimes the referees must be dizzy. They have an enormous responsibility. It has become so great that it justifies the question whether UEFA can still expect a referee to make a decision in a split second that involves millions of guilders. It seems time to support the referees in this task.

Some football experts are in favor of having a match led by two referees. Sven-Göran Eriksson, the coach Sampdoria, and star player Ruud Gullit as well, advocated it last Sunday after the sometimes contentious victory over AC Milan. However, it seems better to have a referee at top matches have access to images of the match in question. In case of doubt, he can stop the game and watch the action again on a monitor on the sidelines. The captain can ask for a review. If he is wrong, he loses his right.

Nielsen said last night that he didn't think that was such a good idea. He thinks that the interruptions will slow down the game and that the public will not accept that. The Dutch number one on the UEFA list, Mario van der Ende, does see something in it and is in favor. He expects that the number of moments of doubt per duel will not be more than three or four. That will not cause too much delay, he says.
[...]
After all, nothing had happened. There was laughter about the fact that Willem van Hanegem of all people led the FC Porto players inside like a dove of peace after the match. [FC Porto won 1-0 over two legs]

-------------------------------




In Italy, Inter is going through bad times. Bergkamp and Jonk's club lost 1-0 to low-ranking Genoa. Van 't Schip played and did quite well. AC Milan and Parma remain in the lead. Parma, Ajax's opponent in the UEFA Cup tournament, won 2-0 at Atalanta. Milan defeated Napoli 2-1 in San Siro. Albertini saved his defensive club just before the end. Sampdoria won 2-1 at Foggia. Roy and Gullit each scored once and performed according to requirements.

-----------------------------------

Milan no longer shines and smells like it used to

BRUSSELS, 25 NOV. AC Milan still has a lot of allure. Before the match, the players warm up in their red and black striped shirts in a neat row with streamlined exercises and afterwards they emerge from the dressing room in fashionable winter coats with matching scarves, smelling of the most expensive after-shaves and their hair carefully blow-dried and full of gel. It is a fascinating spectacle in itself.

But the football, by far the most important, has undergone a change in quality. Milan no longer sparkles, shines and smells like it used to. Against Anderlecht, the team achieved a colorless 0-0 in the first match of the Champions League last night and the Italians were not even remotely unhappy with it. Last season, Milan did not lose a single point in the six matches of this competition.

Is it too chauvinistic to say that AC Milan misses the Dutch contribution? Perhaps, because even with Van Basten, Gullit and Rijkaard, the team was playing less attacking and less attractive lately. But still, more happened then than now. Milan lost their unbeaten streak in the league (Parma) and across all competitions (AS Roma in the Cup) last season when none of the three contributed. “Marco can force something,” Anderlecht striker John Bosman said afterwards about his former teammate Van Basten. He noticed in the match that the attackers at AC Milan are often sought. And Van Basten would have known what to do with those balls, you can see Bosman thinking.

Unfortunately for AC Milan, according to the latest reports, Van Basten will definitely be out until March. His right ankle just won't work. He's completely out of the game for the time being. Van Basten wasn't even in the stands in Brussels. He traveled to Amsterdam before the match. The biggest pessimists in Amsterdam even claim that he will never play football again, and this will also cause parents to think twice before bringing their kid to football. That's a nasty blow to coach Fabio Capello. Maybe that's why he reacted so grumpily afterwards to a question about the striker's state of health. "I know just as much as the newspapers say. Is that it?" And he was gone. "Is he angry?" Bosman asked with interest.

Capello is of course also not satisfied with the way his team is playing. In the national competition, AC Milan scored only sixteen times in twelve matches. They drew 0-0 twice, 1-0 twice and 1-1 twice. Not once did Milan win by more than two goals. The fans apparently had foresight, because the club sold 20,000 fewer season tickets for this season than in the previous competition. Many lament the departure of the incredibly popular Gullit. Milan is in first place together with Parma, but Mr. President Silvio Berlusconi always says that he wants both results and attractive football. That is why he has already openly criticized the level of play.

Capello then tried to explain to his chairman what was wrong. Milan no longer has the players to play the attractive pressing game from Sacchi's time. The opponents now know how to arm themselves against it and Milan itself is getting tired. Captain Baresi is already 33 years old. He can still play football very well, but needs more support from his colleagues. That is why Milan now plays with a closed and deep defense, two defensive midfielders and only two strikers. Clever disruptions are increasingly needed.

And then of course there are those annoying injuries: Van Basten, but also Lentini, the most expensive purchase of all time, who crashed into the crash barrier with his Porsche in early August and is now very carefully making his comeback. Bobin, Eranio, Tassoti and the suspended Romanian Raducioiu were also missing against Anderlecht. It is quite a list, but it is precisely to absorb such setbacks that Berlusconi has provided such a large selection. In Brussels there were still eight A-internationals on the field. Two weeks ago, Milan took over Marcel Desailly from Olympique Marseille for twelve million guilders. The plagued French club that has been forced to sell players. Desailly was not yet available against Anderlecht. Desailly is the seventh foreigner at Milan. And only three are allowed to play nationally and internationally. That causes resentment and unrest within the selection. A footballer always complains about the heavy schedule, but if he is allowed to rest for a match now and then, that is not good either. For Gullit, that was the deciding factor last season to leave. Many season ticket holders left with him.

Now there are problems again with the Montenegrin Savicecic. He refused to travel to Brussels on Tuesday because he had heard that he would have to start on the bench. He is facing a disciplinary punishment. And there is always something. Even with the long list of absentees, Capello has to tell players every week that they are not allowed to play. It is not the most enjoyable job. Moreover, in this way you cannot build a close-knit team like in the time of Van Basten, Gullit and Rijkaard, said Johan Cruijff on his mountain in Barcelona.

Anderlecht also missed very important players at the start of the Champions League. International Emmers is not yet fit enough, but worse is the absence of the two stars, both creative and skilled attackers, Marc Degryse and Luc Nilis. That is why Anderlecht has no illusions and signed for a point in advance. The team also achieved that and the grateful audience rewarded the players with an ovation. "We have lost a point", coach Jan Boskamp stated cheekily afterwards.

He wasn't entirely wrong. The pitch was covered in snow and Anderlecht was better able to adapt to that than Milan, especially in the first half, despite the fact that the home team had a number of tall, stiff men with captain Albert, master Rutjes and Versavel. Boskamp's brave eleven played much better before half-time. Bosman got a free chance, but squandered it. Walem shot against the crossbar after the restart. Milan did show its class occasionally in the second half. Simone got a few chances, Papin shot against the post and Laudrup, who was hired from Fiorentina, failed to fire in the rebound. Papin had the best chance fifteen minutes before the end. He unfortunately mowed over the ball in front of goalkeeper De Wilde. How would Van Basten have done that?

Capello said afterwards that his team should have scored at least once. He walked around with a face like an earworm, was curt to everyone, but when he was addressed by a beautiful and charming Belgian woman in the corridor of the stadium while waiting for the bus, he was suddenly all ears and eyes and put on his most charming face.

------------------------------

Attendance figures - you can see a development there, yes (whether that is only Gullit is something else):
https://www.transfermarkt.com/ac-mailand/besucherzahlenentwicklung/verein/5

For 1987-1989 indeed these sort of things were reported in the same paper:

"In recent months, he has also used his three commercial TV networks for a large-scale publicity campaign. AC Milan must be sold, just like any other product, is his philosophy. And although other clubs quickly followed his example, AC Milan sold the most: 65,114 season tickets for 1987-88, just one more than AS Napoli. The tickets cost between 140 and 2,800 guilders in Milan, which means the club starts the season with 21 billion lire, more than 32 million guilders, in cash. Wanted by other clubs: a Gullit. The same quality, the same magnetic presence. The expectations for AC Milan are so high mainly because of the footballing qualities, in which the three Dutchmen play a leading role. The three together are statistically unbeatable.
[...]
And Rijkaard has shown in the pre-season that he can also be a decisive player in AC Milan. The three internationals largely determine the face of Milan, which may have prompted Berlusconi to warn that too many foreigners should not come to Italy. "I do not believe that it is logical and sensible to open the borders to foreign players without limits," this entrepreneur recently said in an interview. "Too many non-Italians and non-Southerners would cancel out the kinship with 'our' players and take away the idea that a team belongs to a certain city." Berlusconi is naturally extremely satisfied with the purchase of Rijkaard, who was signed before his market value rose sharply due to the European Championship. Berlusconi no longer speaks about his strong preference, last spring, for the Argentinian Borghi. Coach Sacchi turned out to be right: the versatile Rijkaard fits almost seamlessly into the concept of AC Milan. Rijkaard was even chosen by both the footballers, captains and manager of the Serie A as the best new foreigner."

For the 1987-88 season Napoli sold 60000 season tickets, it was said (august 1987). AC Milan only 52000 early august 1987 but it would increase further, as stated above.

Apparently, losing Gullit cost them 20000+ season tickets. Again, I am merely transcribing what this Rotterdam (quasi-)financial newspaper stated here.

 

Together the Three Tulips lost these games for national team, when playing together, either as starter or as substitute:

17/10/1984 - Netherlands vs Hungary 1-2 (Van Basten played as right-winger, out 60th minute)
16/10/1985 - Belgium vs Netherlands 1-0 (red card 5th minute for Kieft; Gullit out 80th min)
10/09/1986 - Czechoslovakia vs Netherlands 1-0 (West-German referee team)
12/06/1988 - USSR vs Netherlands 1-0 (Van Basten in 60th minute; West-German referee team)
30/05/1990 - Austria vs Netherlands 3-2 (3-0 down after 50 minutes; West-German referee team)
24/06/1990 - West Germany vs Netherlands 2-1 (red card Rijkaard 21th minute)
26/08/1990 - Italy vs Netherlands 1-0 (Van Basten out '55; first game Michels after return)
09/09/1992 - Netherlands vs Italy 2-3 (first game Dick Advocaat as manager; 2-0 lead after '21; West-German referee team, once again)

The most consequential ones in this list are of course three matches:

- The 1985 play-offs against the neighbors. That would reach the semi-finals, after an 'iffy' and controversial USSR game; there in the semis beaten by peak-Maradona, the absence of Vd Elst and a couple absurd offside decisions. The 2nd leg at home in 1985 was not a loss, but not enough to make it. One late Georges Grün goal (the 2-1, 85 minute) was for Belgium enough. Also there, in the 2nd leg, was the German football elite in charge; but Belgium has with them a very bad record as well.

- The euro 1988 group stage game against the USSR. The only game lost in the tournament they won.

- The 1990 World Cup match against West Germany, where Rijkaard did what he did and was sent off. The 'Super Grosse Kaiser' said after the game Oranje missed Rijkaard a lot more than Germany missed Völler (who was also sent off), so it was a good trade.

------------------

Some people really need to open their eyes (some people just do not want). It was tried again in 1993 for the World Cup qualifiers (is my suspicion; with e.g. writing on the form Koeman is suspended - an 'error'), the money forces and The Establishment had their preference, but this time it failed (unlike euro 2024, and three times Zwayer in a row).

Meanwhile, Argentina and England have not done each other since (at least) 1966 at senior level, and only very rarely at underage levels. The 1983 YWC Argentina vs Netherlands, with Van Basten scoring, was such game; Argentina won 2-1. For Argentina this was an important tournament, yes, held in Mexico.

Marco van Basten at 17 | FIFA World Youth Championship Mexico 1983
https://www.plus.fifa.com/en/player...atalogId=3dfb15b9-40f1-4065-9f4d-5f4d5225aa01

............ Will now look for club.... AC Milan... when all three actually played

 

07/01/1989 - Cesena vs Milan 1-0
21/04/1990 - Hellas Verona vs Milan 2-1 (three reds for Milan players, Sacchi red card, Gullit in '59)
27/10/1990 - Milan vs Sampdoria 0-1 (Gullit out '26)
19/01/1991 - Parma vs Milan 2-0 (Van Basten out '68)
09/03/1991 - Sampdoria vs Milan 2-0

02/04/1991 - AS Roma vs Milan 1-0 (cup semi-final 2nd leg; Gullit out '27, own goal Van Basten)

-------------------

The first five all league matches, the sixth for the Coppa Italia.

These are the only official games they lost together (1988 - 1993), I didn't have a look at pre-season or (Pelé-like) friendlies. Rijkaard came in 1988 but was already signed the year before.

The Hellas Verona loss in 1990, next to a table result in favor of Napoli (a coin incident with Alemao of Napoli; 0-0 after 90 minutes in the 31th round became a win for Napoli after a green table intervention). League of 34 rounds. Milan lost the title on the last day this way, Napoli champion.

 

With 'like' I don't mean he is a top 10 player of his country (imho he isn't) but the way he plays and his personality. His game as a younger player (before 2018) has a bit of Gullit around him I'd say. I don't think he is as good as Gullit or Rijkaard.

I am sure FourFouTwo, "the historians" etc. will push him below your Terrys, Ramos and Ferdinands but I really think he is as good as anyone (excluding Beckenbauer, who stands apart; typically, when Beckenbauer died World Soccer dedicated 6+ pages with text to him, Cruijff had only one-and-a-half or two, Di Stefano four). His three years peak is as good as anyone, probably even better, and his 2015-2024 spell as a whole too.

That he consoles referees in tears, has an eye for his surroundings, put his jacket around a ballboy/ballgirl catching a cold, signals to a 'friendly' ballboy he has to hurry up and not time-waste. That is to be liked.

Typically, 'Waldorf and Statler' have at one occasion criticized this too, that Van Dijk should be concerned about his game and not be distracted too much. As if Gullit himself was a 'win at all costs' player. Van Dijk usually keeps his rebuttals short, if he makes them, and one was "I have been like 50 or 70 successive games unbeaten at home, my concentration is alright."

Ruud Krol that you name in the other thread actually likes Van Dijk too; he mentioned it's also easier for a defender when you have a Cruijff or Gullit up front. It is easier to make a drive into midfield that looks good on camera, it is easier to win your aerial or ground game because one way or the other, Gullit further ahead has that effect on the opponent. Krol doesn't appear so often in public, really, but one time (two years ago) he named the Gullit-Marco pairing 'Waldorf and Statler'.

Gullit himself said in 2010: don't show your cards immediately (use google translate, for the first link).
https://www.vi.nl/nieuws/gullit-niet-meteen-alle-troeven-op-tafel-gooien
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...uud-gullit-Forget-sexy-football-time-win.html

That's arguably what they/he did in 2022 and 2024 right? Play on 50%, 70% when chasing a game. There is even a suspicion Oranje had a computer running a model during the Austria game, and what outcome would be best (other groups still had to play, yes - but also 'Gracenote/Nielsen' had a model running, in public - for the last 25 minutes Gracenote and others showed a loss would be the best possible outcome). That then the last 15-20 minutes or so it became increasingly clear a draw or loss wouldn't be so bad and you relax the effort.

-----------------------------------

Gullit believes in his piece for De Telegraaf that all the criticism apparently had a positive effect. Otherwise he cannot explain that the game against Romania, in the eighth finals (3-0), did swing again and led to many chances.
Despite many players claiming that comments in newspapers, talk shows and at press conferences don't bother them, Gullit believes they do listen to them. "Players who say that criticism doesn't affect them are not telling the truth to themselves," Gullit said. "Why else would Memphis Depay react with the words 'Who Cares' on the back of his headband? Then you are dealing with it."
He argues that criticism is ultimately beneficial. It is nothing more than well-intentioned advice, because the critic wants things to be better. "It also keeps you awake during the tournament. Too many feathers in your behind don't make you any better," says the Black Tulip.
The player Gullit wants to highlight is Jerdy Schouten. The PSV midfielder often only needs one touch to play the ball forward. "Schouten fills that position fantastically, in a more dynamic Busquets-like manner, offering his teammates extra space and time when he passes the ball to them," Gullit said.
We should not underestimate Turkey, and we have heard this ad nauseam in recent days. Gullit warns: "That could easily become the Greece of 2004, the European Championship in Portugal. At the European Championships these teams can actually win." At that time, the Greeks won that final round and that was perhaps the biggest surprise in the history of all European and World Championships together.

---------------------------------------------------

8 june 2024:

Gullit has brain damage

Gullit tells openly: "I was a good header. But there are still some things left. I had a scan done and then you go to a doctor. Then he says: "Football, huh?" All white spots. I also get a bit slower. Your brain is constantly hitting your skull and that's why you have that. You notice it. Every footballer will have it." Gullit realizes that it is a bit better these days than with the old-fashioned balls that he got hit in the head. Gullit: "These days the balls are a bit lighter, water-resistant too. But you can see from the scan that you have damage there. It doesn't scare me when I have to think about that. I hope I will never have any problems with it," he concludes.

I don't think that honestly. He was before his knee-injury the fastest player in the Champions League, faster than the speed devils. He could keep pace with Adama Traore. If you go by UEFA data, then he had more than once 34.5 km/h at his peak (the fastest of the Champions League), while at the last european championships he clocked 32.2 km/h (per same UEFA). After a very long season.

I think he is quite strong there, despite often double-marked/triple-marked at corners and set pieces, or with the strongest opponent placed on him.

18 - Since the start of 2018-19, Virgil van Dijk has scored 18 Premier League goals, at least four more than any other defender. 12 of those have come at Anfield, now the most of any Liverpool defender at home in the competition, suprassing Sami Hyypiä's 11. Target. pic.twitter.com/zhY2DJqFI8

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 21, 2024

16 - Liverpool have won all 16 Premier League games in which Virgil van Dijk has scored for them, the most matches a player has scored in for a single club in the competition while maintaining a 100% win rate. Sweet. pic.twitter.com/LRnnCLQx5E

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 22, 2024

For the national team only R. Koeman (14) and F. de Boer (13) are ahead of him now, and Van Dijk (9 goals) has only one penalty (the injury time against Greece for the qualifiers). That's the only penalty goal in his entire career so far (1 attempt, 1 goal).

For the Premier League you have Terry (41), Cahill (28) ahead. Then comes him with 22 goals (0 penalties). Which doesn't include the goals he scored before mid-2015 of course. Source is the Premier League website itself.

Woodwork: hit the woodwork 15 times in the Premier League. Seven more than any other central-defender (data since 2006)

I think his younger self was a bit like Gullit yes... Gullit never said this himself I suppose, but Rijkaard did (Rijkaard has almost disappeared from the media). Cruijff when he was still alive and saw Celtic in the Champions League, also made the Gullit comparison... in style, of course. He had almost a Gullit-like volley goal against Poland and Romania at euro 2024.

 

Nice and fascinating find! Yes, a quick search shows me some of the newspapers saw this too (the change in positions/role that you mention).

 

Correction: that Italy 1990 game has to be deleted from this list. Rijkaard did not play and was officially retired for a while. Probably I confused Rijkaard and Winter here.

So it becomes this

Losses when the 'Big Three' played together

National team (1983 - 1992)

17/10/1984 - Netherlands vs Hungary 1-2 (Van Basten played as right-winger, out 60th minute)
16/10/1985 - Belgium vs Netherlands 1-0 (red card 5th minute for Kieft; Gullit out 80th min)
10/09/1986 - Czechoslovakia vs Netherlands 1-0 (West-German referee team)
12/06/1988 - USSR vs Netherlands 1-0 (Van Basten in 60th minute; West-German referee team)
30/05/1990 - Austria vs Netherlands 3-2 (3-0 down after 50 minutes; West-German referee team)
24/06/1990 - West Germany vs Netherlands 2-1 (red card Rijkaard 21th minute)
09/09/1992 - Netherlands vs Italy 2-3 (first game Dick Advocaat as manager; 2-0 lead after '21; West-German referee team, once again)

--‐-----------------------------

Club (1987 - 1993)

07/01/1989 - Cesena vs Milan 1-0
21/04/1990 - Hellas Verona vs Milan 2-1 (three reds for Milan players, Sacchi red card, Gullit in '59)
27/10/1990 - Milan vs Sampdoria 0-1 (Gullit out '26)
19/01/1991 - Parma vs Milan 2-0 (Van Basten out '68)
09/03/1991 - Sampdoria vs Milan 2-0

02/04/1991 - AS Roma vs Milan 1-0 (cup semi-final 2nd leg; Gullit out '27, own goal Van Basten)