Michael Reiziger

Michael Reiziger
Reiziger in 2013
Personal information
Full name Michael John Reiziger
Date of birth (1973-05-03) 3 May 1973
Place of birth Amstelveen, Netherlands
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current team
 Jong Ajax (manager)
Youth career
Sint Martinus
1985–1990 Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1996 Ajax 83 (1)
1992–1993 → Volendam (loan) 10 (2)
1993–1994 → Groningen (loan) 34 (6)
1996–1997 Milan 10 (0)
1997–2004 Barcelona 173 (0)
2004–2005 Middlesbrough 22 (1)
2005–2007 PSV 24 (1)
Total 356 (11)
National team
1994–2004 Netherlands 72 (1)
Teams managed
2013–2014 Sparta Rotterdam (youth)
2014–2017 Sparta Rotterdam (assistant)
2017– Jong Ajax
2017 Ajax (interim)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Michael John Reiziger (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɑikəl ˈɟɔn ˈrɛizəɣər], born 3 May 1973) is a retired Dutch footballer who played mainly as a right back, and is the current manager of Jong Ajax.

After making a name for himself at Ajax, with whom he won the Champions League once, Reiziger went on to represent four teams in as many countries, most notably Spanish side Barcelona, where he appeared in 249 official games over seven years.

Reiziger represented the Dutch national team for a full decade, competing at three European Championships and the 1998 World Cup, finishing fourth in the latter tournament.

Club career

Born in Amstelveen, North Holland to Surinamese parents,[1] Reiziger started his career with hometown's AFC Ajax, making his first-team debuts at the age of 17 then serving two consecutive loan spells, with FC Volendam and FC Groningen: with the latter, in the 1993–94 season, he scored a career-best six goals while operating also as a midfielder.

Upon his return to Ajax, Reiziger established himself as a renowned defensive element, helping the club to, among other conquests, the 1994–95 edition of the UEFA Champions League. In 1996 he signed for A.C. Milan, but after a season marred by injury, he departed for FC Barcelona where he spent the following seven years, arriving at the same time as countrymen and former Ajax boss Louis van Gaal. Though not an undisputed starter, Reiziger nonetheless featured heavily for the Catalans, amassing more than 200 overall appearances and helping the club to back-to-back La Liga titles.[2]

In 2004, Reiziger moved to Middlesbrough on a Bosman transfer. He scored once in the league for Boro, against Aston Villa in December 2004.[3] However, after another campaign plagued by injuries, Reiziger returned to the Netherlands to spend the final two years of his career at PSV Eindhoven (in his second he won the Eredivisie, and was also reunited with Ajax, Barça and national team mate Patrick Kluivert, although the two rarely ever played).[4]

After retiring, Reiziger settled in Barcelona. He later went on to coach Sparta Rotterdam at youth level and, on 20 June 2017, returned to Ajax as manager of the reserves who competed in the Eerste Divisie, replacing Marcel Keizer.[5][6]

International career

Reiziger (wearing No.2) in the Dutch wall, facing a free kick against Sweden at Euro 2004.

Reiziger made his debut for the Dutch national team on 12 October 1994, against Norway. He played for his country at the UEFA Euro 1996, 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000 and Euro 2004, retiring from international play after the latter.[7]

Shortly after signing for PSV, Reiziger said he would consider playing for the Netherlands again if the opportunity arose, but was never recalled again, amassing 72 international appearances in ten years.[8]

Career statistics

Club

[9]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Netherlands League KNVB Cup League Cup Europe Total
1990–91AjaxEredivisie10
1991–9210
1992–9310
1992–93Volendam102
1993–94Groningen346
1994–95Ajax340
1995–96261
Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total
1996–97MilanSerie A100
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa de España Europe Total
1997–98BarcelonaLa Liga290
1998–99260
1999–2000290
2000–01250
2001–02130
2002–03210
2003–04300
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2004–05MiddlesbroughPremier League181
2005–0640
Netherlands League KNVB Cup League Cup Europe Total
2005–06PSVEredivisie130
2006–07121
Total Netherlands 13210
Italy 100
Spain 1730
England 221
Career total 33711

International

[10]

Netherlands
YearAppsGoals
199410
199550
199690
199770
1998111
199950
200080
200150
200260
200380
200470
Total721

International goals

Scores and results list Reiziger's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.18 November 1998Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen, Germany Germany1–01–1Friendly[10]

Honours

Player

Ajax
Barcelona
PSV

Manager

Jong Ajax

References

  1. ↑ "Why Suriname would have won the 1998 World Cup". Making Plans for Nigel. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "El primer Barça de van Gaal (parte I): 1997, llegada y planificación" [The first Barça of van Gaal (part I): 1997, arrival and planning] (in Spanish). Sphera Sports. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  3. ↑ "Middlesbrough 3–0 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 18 December 2004. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  4. ↑ PSV release Kluivert and Reiziger; UEFA, 11 May 2007
  5. ↑ "Michael Reiziger opvolger van Marcel Keizer bij Jong Ajax" [Michael Reiziger succeeds Marcel Keizer at Young Ajax]. Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 20 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  6. ↑ "Reiziger volgt Keizer op bij Jong Ajax" [Reiziger follows Keizer at Young Ajax] (in Dutch). Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  7. ↑ Reiziger retires from Dutch cause; UEFA, 2 August 2004
  8. ↑ "Michael Reiziger – International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  9. ↑ "Michael Reiziger". Footballdatabase. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Michael Reiziger". European Football. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
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