Frank Rijkaard

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Lore & Background

Rijkaard played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and AC Milan. With Ajax, he won five Eredivisie titles and the 1994–1995 Champions League. With AC Milan, he won Serie A titles, as well as the 1988–89 and 1989–90 European Cup titles. He earned 73 caps for the Netherlands national team, winning UEFA Euro 1988 and finishing third in UEFA Euro 1992. He also played in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups. As a manager, he is best known for his five-year tenure at Barcelona, winning La Liga in 2004–05 and 2005–06, and the 2005–06 Champions League. He also managed the Netherlands national team, Sparta Rotterdam, Galatasaray, and the Saudi Arabia national team.

In Their Own Story

The climax of Rijkaard's time at Ajax arrived on May 24, 1995, in the Champions League final against AC Milan. By this point, he had returned to Amsterdam in 1993 after five seasons in Italy, bringing veteran experience alongside young talents like Danny Blind and Edgar Davids. The match took place at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna. Rijkaard anchored a defense that remained unbeaten throughout the domestic season. His leadership was instrumental as Ajax secured a 1–0 victory over Milan, the club he had previously won two European Cups with. This triumph marked the first of three consecutive Dutch championships for the team under van Gaal and served as Rijkaard's final professional game before retiring. The win cemented his status as a dual European Cup winner for Ajax, having also lifted the Cup Winners' Cup in 1987 against Lokomotiv Leipzig.

Reader's Guide

Rijkaard debuted for Ajax senior squad on 23 August 1980 at age 17, scoring in a 4–2 win over Go Ahead Eagles. He stayed at Ajax for seven-and-a-half seasons, winning three league titles (1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85) and three Dutch Cups (1982–83, 1985–86, 1986–87), plus the 1986–87 Cup Winners' Cup. In September 1987, after a conflict with Johan Cruyff, he was signed by Sporting CP but loaned to Real Zaragoza, then joined AC Milan. At Milan, he won the European Cup twice (1989, 1990) and Serie A twice. He returned to Ajax in 1993, forming a defensive core with Danny Blind, and won the 1994–95 Champions League in his final game. Internationally, he debuted in 1981, played in Euro 1988 (final win over Soviet Union), Euro 1992 (semi-final loss to Denmark on penalties), and the 1994 World Cup (quarter-final loss to Brazil). His managerial career began as assistant to Guus Hiddink at the 1998 World Cup. He managed the Netherlands at Euro 2000, reaching the semi-finals, then Sparta Rotterdam (relegated), and later Barcelona, Galatasaray, and Saudi Arabia.

Did You Know?

• Rijkaard scored the only goal in the 1990 European Cup Final for AC Milan against Benfica.
• He was sent off alongside Rudi Völler in the 1990 World Cup second round after spitting at Völler.
• Rijkaard won the Champions League with Ajax in 1995, defeating his former club AC Milan 1–0.
• He was named in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living footballers in 2004.