van Basten, Marco

van Basten, Marco,

1964–, Dutch soccer player. A powerful striker/forward, he began his professional playing career at Ajax Amsterdam (1982–87), where he was a key factor in the team's capturing three Dutch championships (1982–83, 1985) and Dutch Cups (1983, 1986–87) and the Cup Winners' Cup (1987). He later (1987–93) played at AC Milan, where he led his club to three Italian championships (1988, 1992–93) and numerous other honors including the European Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup (both: 1989–90). A three-time European footballer of the year (1988–89, 1992) and two-time world footballer of the year (1988, 1992), he played for the Dutch national team (1988–92) and spearheaded its victory in the 1988 World Cup. After suffering numerous injuries, he retired in 1993. Van Basten has coached the Dutch national team since 2004.