Marco van BastenThe Swan of Utrecht
Marco van Basten was born in the Dutch city of Utrecht in 1964. Three times European Footballer of the Year (1988/89/92) and FIFA World Footballer of the Year (1992), he is widely regarded as one of the most talented footballers the world has ever seen. His natural grace and elegance as a player earned him the title ‘The Swan of Utrecht’. He was powerful, two-footed, had tremendous close control, a quick turn of pace, and was supreme in the air.
He is also commonly recognised as one of the greatest goal scorers ever - his spectacular, and now iconic volley against Russia in the final of Euro 88 being the most memorable for many.
Ultimately, and unfortunately, all this ability came at a cost. The punishment he received from defenders brought his gifted and highly distinguished career to a premature end after just 10 seasons. Finally conceding defeat in his battle to recover on 17 August 1995, he announced his retirement as a player after two frustrating years on sidelines.
'Marco always played football like a ballerina, but his ankle eventually couldn't take the strain,'
Rene Marti MD