An article on what looks to be the impending move of Ruud Gullit to the LA Galaxy.

Update - the deal is done and has been announced. For those who can't be bothered hitting a link here is the article.

The Dutch Royal Family, through the lineage of the House of Orange, can trace its roots back to the 1500s to a man called William of Orange - aka William the Silent. He was called the Silent as he rarely spoke out on controversial matters.

However that trait didn’t stop him from instigating a rebellion against Spain that lasted eighty years before independence for the United Provinces was achieved nearly a century after his birth.

William the Silent is still known in the Netherlands as the “Father of the Fatherland” although sometime in the last five hundred years the Dutch decided that they liked the independence bit but silence was just not for them. 

Just take a look at the in-fighting and public feuding that has been part of most Dutch national teams for good parts of the last thirty odd years. Some may speculate that a calmer more reasonable demeanor might have brought more success to a country that twice lost to home nations in the World Cup Final while flaming out in numerous European Championships and World Cups.

 After all, a single European Championship win in 1988 seems scant reward for a nation that has not only produced some of the world’s greatest players over the last four decades but also some of the most entertaining teams.

 However, it might also be argued – and what is wrong the Dutch would argue with a good argument – that it may be the Dutch characteristic of single-mindedness and an appetite to discuss and debate controversial issues that has actually allowed the Dutch game to grow and prosper not only nationally but internationally.

 It is easy to forget that less than half a century ago Dutch football was an irrelevance. The country may have made it to the 1934 and 1938 World Cup Finals in Italy and France but the amateur footballers of Holland were there to make up the numbers rather than to compete for the trophy.

The turning point came in the mid-fifties as professional teams were sanctioned followed two years later by the creation of a national league. Even then there was no sudden improvement. In the early sixties the Netherlands lost at home to Luxembourg in the European Championship qualifiers – as it happens the last time the Netherlands lost at home in a European qualifying game.

Success came when the authoritative coaching skills of Rinus Michels crossed paths with the fabulous footballing skills of a young Johan Cruyff. Domestic dominance quickly morphed into European success as Ajax won three successive European Cups between 1971 and 1973. Michels became the first top class Dutch coaching export when he left to coach Barcelona after the first European win. Two years later Cruyff also arrived at the Nou Camp.

Both men joined the Los Angeles Aztecs of the NASL for the 1979 season although the spell was largely without success. After the North American sojourn Michels split his time between the Dutch national team and a couple of Bundesliga teams while Cruyff headed home to Holland after a brief spell with Levante in Spain.

Cruyff’s return was fortuitous as it coincided with the emergence of three players who would go on to become part of one of the late 20th century’s great teams – AC Milan. While Marco Van Basten and Frank Rijkaard came under Cruyff’s influence upon his return to Ajax it was not the same for Ruud Gullit.

Gullit had been approached by Ajax as a youngster but the deal was never done. Instead he joined Haarlem before moving to Feyenoord as a 20-year-old in 1982. A year later Dutch football was shocked when Cruyff turned down a contract extension at Ajax and instead opted to join their great rivals Feyenoord. At Feyenoord Gullit was to learn from the master-craftsman.

Later that decade, Van Basten, Rijkaard and Gullit played under Michels in the 1988 European Championship wining side and were signed by Milan’s ambitious owner Silvio Berlusconi.

Berlusconi saw in the three Dutch players a way by which Milan could again dominate Italy and Europe. It worked like a charm and the Milan side with the Dutch trio remains the last team to win back to back European titles. Before their arrival at the San Siro Milan had not won Serie A for almost a decade and the European Cup for nearly 20 years.

But as a player Gullit was never backward about coming forward and was never on Christmas card terms with Fabio Capello or for that matter #### Advocaat. In 1994 Gullit walked out on Advocaat’s Dutch squad just days before the World Cup finals in the USA in 1994.

Injuries took their toll on Gullit and he bounced from Milan to Sampdoria then back to Milan before finally arriving at Stamford Bridge in July 1995. It was a move that reinvigorated the Dutchman and at 33-years-old he was still good enough to finish as runner-up to Eric Cantona as the Premiership Player of the Year.

Glenn Hoddle, the man who signed Gullit, resigned to take the England job in 1996 and the Dutchman was appointed as player-manager to replace him.

The first season in charge brought Chelsea a FA Cup and Gullit became the first non-British manager to win a major English trophy. The year after with his side sitting second in the league and in the last eight of two cup competitions “cuddly” Ken Bates sensationally fired the man who had brought silverware to Stamford Bridge for the first time in 26 years.

To this day it is still unclear as the reasons behind Bates’ actions.

A brief and largely unhappy stint at Newcastle ended after he benched local legend Alan Shearer. Even so Newcastle still made it to the FA Cup Final during his time there only to lose 2-0 to the treble winning Manchester side of 1999.

A period of five years then lapsed before Gullit again took the managerial reins, this time he returned to Feyenoord for the 2004/05 season but a fourth place finish was much below expectations.

So what can the LA Galaxy and fans of MLS teams expect from Ruud Gullit. First of all they are getting a man with the sort of instant credibility that comes from being one of the great players of his generation. His strength, speed, power, skill and tactical acumen made him the consummate modern player.  As a player he was recognized around the world.

Some may describe his managerial record as poor or mediocre but that would be harsh. He won the FA Cup with Chelsea (in the days when Chelsea never won anything) and they were well positioned when he was fired. When put in the context of the time his spell time at Chelsea was a success.

The Newcastle job chewed him up and spat him out. The halcyon days of Kevin Keegan had given way to a brief spell under Kenny Dalglish that finished acrimoniously. Under Gullit Newcastle still reached the FA Cup Final (the only team to reach two consecutive finals and lose both times to teams that completed domestic doubles) but a poor start the following season combined with issues in his private life brought his time to an end after only a year. Although Newcastle could not be considered a success it might be more accurate to describe it as a work in progress prematurely terminated.

Certainly the return of the prodigal son to Feyenoord failed to achieve instant success. The Galaxy will be getting a coach that has had some short sharp managerial lessons administered but by now they should have sunk in.

They’re getting a man who can relate to the Beckham circus having been regarded as a god by Milan fans during his playing days and one that is media savvy.

Probably most importantly they are getting a manager who will not be distracted by the media focus on the Galaxy’s most important investment and who understands that no matter how much media attention, the Galaxy, like every other professional sports team, is in the results business.

It will also have not escaped Gullit’s notice that he will be following in the footsteps of two giants of the game who have also been two of his greatest influences - Michels and Cruyff. 

Twenty-eight years ago the Dutch duo joined a league that was hemorrhaging money and was destined for extinction. Even though Michels was a pioneer who showed the world what Dutch coaching could offer, nothing registered in North America.

But the rest of the globe took notice and you have only to look at the 2006 World Cup in which Leo Beenhakker, Guus Hiddink and #### Advocaat all coached other countries to understand how highly valued and appreciated Dutch coaching is.

But with the exception of Thomas Rongen, MLS has to date not fallen under Dutch influence. Now Gullit, a Dutch football Crown Prince, has been presented with a chance to resurrect his managerial career and to perhaps leave a mark on the game in North America in a way that his royal footballing forefathers could not.  

The Ruud Gullit File
Born Sept 1, 1962, in Amsterdam.

Club Career
Haarlem 1978-1982
Feyenoord 1982-1985
PSV Eindhoven 1985-1987
Milan 1987-1993
Sampdoria 1993-1994
Milan 1994-1995
Sampdoria 1995
Chelsea 1995-98

471 games, 174 goals.

International Career
Netherlands, 66 caps, 16 goals.

Honours
Dutch Second Division 1981
Eredivisie 1984, 1986, 1987
Dutch Cup 1984
Serie A 1988, 1992, 1993
Coppa Italia 1994
Italian Super Cup 1988, 1992, 1994
Champions League 1989, 1990
European Super Cup 1990
Intercontinental Cup 1990
FA Cup 1997
European Championship 1988

 
Managerial Career
Chelsea 1996-1998
1997 Won FA Cup; 6th in Premiership.
Newcastle United 1998-1999
1999 FA Cup Runners Up; 13th in Premiership
Feyenoord 2004-2005
Finished 4th in Eredivisie