Patrick Kluivert

Dutch Players

Patrick Kluivert

gbs

June 5, 2025

Kluivert was born on 1 July 1976 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He is a Dutch football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Indonesia national team. As a player, he played as a striker for Ajax, Barcelona and the Netherlands national team. He was part of Ajax’s Golden Generation of the 1990s, scoring the winner in the 1995 UEFA Champions League Final at the age of 18. He spent six years with Spanish club Barcelona, where he scored 124 goals from 249 appearances. he is the fourth highest goalscorer for the Oranje. He played in three European Championships and the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and was joint top scorer at Euro 2000, where he scored five goals. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers chosen by Pelé as part of FIFA’s centenary observances. Kluivert played for the Netherlands national team from 1994 to 2004. With 40 goals in 79 appearances, Kluivert began his coaching career as an assistant at AZ and NEC, as well as in Australia with the Brisbane Roar, before managing Jong Twente to a national title in the Dutch reserves league. he is the fourth highest goalscorer for the Oranje.

Ajax

Kluivert was part of Ajax’s Golden Generation of the 1990s. He made his debut in the senior team of Ajax on 21 August 1994 at the age of 18 in the Dutch Supercup win against the old arch rival Feyenoord, in which he scored his first goal. He went on to top score for Ajax in the 1994-95 Eredivisie with 18 goals in 25 appearances

worldwide career

Kluivert made his full international debut on 16 November 1994 in a European qualifier against the Czech Republic, replacing Youri Mulder after 13 minutes of a 0-0 draw in Rotterdam. In his second match, on 29 March 1995, he replaced Ronald de Boer after 77 minutes, and seven minutes later scored his first international goal to wrap up a 4-0 home qualifying win over Malta. In December 1995, Kluivert scored both goals in the Netherlands’ 2-0 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying play-off win over the Republic of Ireland at Anfield, to qualify the Oranje for UEFA Euro 1996. At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Kluivert was sent off against Belgium by referee Pierluigi Collina, after elbowing Lorenzo Staelens. He made amends when selected to play against Argentina in the quarter-finals of the same tournament, where he scored the opening goal. As well as from being left out of the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad by coach Marco van Basten, Kluivert was not called up to play in any of the qualifying games leading up to the World Cup either. This was due to the fact that he suffered persistent injuries, which prevented him from playing for his club during the 2005-06 season. Kluivert was the all-time leading goalscorer for the Dutch national team with 40 goals, until he was surpassed by Robin van Persie in 2013.

Coaching career

In August 2012, Kluivert joined the Netherlands national team coaching staff to work under head coach Louis van Gaal. Kluivert’s time with the Netherlands culminated with a third-place finish in the 2014 FIFA World Cup campaign.