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Ruud Gullit 1987
Ruud GULLIT GU LLIT
Unique…1987 was the first cover where was the cover where the award winner wasn’t pictured
Ruud Gullit speaks to World Soccer after winning after winning our World Player of the Year award for 1987…
How did you prepare for your Italian adventure?
For three months I took an Italian language course, one lesson each we week. I had no great knowledge of ek. I had no great knowledge of football in Italy. Dutch television shows in Italy. Dutch television sho goals from the Italian championship goals from the Italian championship from time to time but that hardly teaches you a you anything. I knew,ing. I knew, of course, of course, that it it wo would be very different and Iuld be very different and I was warned to be careful, particularlys warned to be careful, particularly about the power of the press in Italyabout the power of the press in Italy to influence offi influence officials and fans. But you cials and fans. But you cannot let yourself become frightened cannot let yourself become frightened of going out of the front door. Someof going out of the front door. Some Italian playeItalian players cut themselves right off rs cut themselves right off from anybody because iffrom anybody because if th they ey go out go out th the least gesture or word is criticised.e least gesture or word is criticised. Yo You never see an Italian player at au never see an Italian player at a concert or a disco. But you’ll see me! concert or a disco. But you’ll see me! An And if the papers make big headlines d if the papers make big headlines and big pictures the next day, so what?
How do you cope with all the attention everywhere you go?
I accept that this is part of my life now. People wouldn’t understand if I did not spare them a little of my time. Anyway, the supporters in the north of Italy are comparatively restrained. The further south you go the more they
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want of you. I can’t imagine what it must be like for Diego Maradona at Napoli.
Do you think your unique hairstyle means you attract more attention?
Everyone needs an image which reflects their personality. I like total freedom in all things. That includes my hair!
Milan are in transition so how do you rate your form so far in Italy?
nt of you. I can’t imagine what it must We We are a team with a long way are a team with a long way to go yet, to go yet, that’s true. But we are learning to play in a much more attacking style than is usual in Italy. That much I’ve learned already! We still need more time to get it right. Our coach, Arrigo Sacchi, wants us to play with three forwards. That’s hard, particularly on the Italians, because such tactics demand a great deal of flexibility from players who are brought up to play everything cautiously from the back.
Italian adventure… Milan new boy
Have you forgotten the time you spent in the Netherlands as a sweeper?
Certainly not. How could I? I spent a long time as a sweeper. First when I was a junior at DWS Amsterdam. It wasn’t until I went to Haarlem that I was stuck out on the right wing. And even then they switched me back to sweeper in the middle of my first season...until Excelsior beat us 6-0! That got me dropped and when I got back into the team it was in midfield. But I’ve always thought of myself more as an attacker than a defender. The closer I get to the opponents’ goal, the happier I get. Once we got down to serious talks with the Milan president, Signor Berlusconi, I made it clear how and where I am happiest playing.
Which was the most important period of your “apprenticeship”?
The time I spent at Feyenoord, I think. I remember Wim van Hanegem saying to me, all the time: “Think ahead, think ahead.” Really, I was ignorant about the game when I went to Feyenoord. But I was lucky to spend three years working alongside people like Van Hanegem and Cruyff. I learned from watching them play, how they dealt with all the problems that arise out on the pitch.
At that time the great young hope of Dutch football was Gerald Vanenburg. Was there any rivalry between you?
Not at all. Vanenburg got a lot of fuss. But that happens to a player every few years. Before him there was Ton Blanker. He was going to be the new Cruyff. But where is be now? Recently there has
Was that one of the reasons you felt it was time to move on?
Let ’s be clear: you can see some very good Dutch football. But PSV were too strong. We only got a handful of testing matches each season: when we played in Europe or against Ajax and Feyenoord. When Milan first approached me last season I knew at once that I had to move on to progress. Now that I’ve become accustomed to the pressure here I think I am much better able to cope with the responsibility of playing for my country. Before, I would get very uptight but, having felt what pressure is in Italy, I now approach games with total confidence.
Do you consider yourself as the focal point of the team with Milan or with the Dutch national side?
No. I would even go as far as to say that this sort of player is extinct, like the dinosaur or the dodo. Platini was the last. Football is becoming faster all the time and now depends on groups of players. Even at Napoli. You watch them. Diego Maradona doesn’t run the whole show. He is brought into play, or intervenes
been great talk about the boy Bryan Roy, at Ajax. I suppose my good fortune was that I never found myself facing that sort of problem. I wasn’t a teenage superstar.
What has Italian football taught you?
Patience. Above all when we play at home against opponents who rely on catenaccio. No one would dare play like it in the Netherlands. I remember teams would come to Eindhoven accepting quite calmly that it was going to be a massacre. No one plays like that in Italy. If you can’t win, then you shut up the defence. I suppose anyone who did that back home would cause a huge outcry.
At ease… Gullit is now relaxed with the press
himself, only at the vital moments. That is how Argentina won the World Cup.
Of course, the Netherlands weren’t there in Mexico. But they will be in West Germany for the European Championship finals. Can you win?
We are ready for the finals. Whether we will win I cannot say. But I will promise this: people will really enjoy watching us try. We have an excellent squad. If someone is injured or suspended then we have other players of such quality that nobody is missed. The one regret I have is that Rinus Michels is retiring as manager after the finals. I wish he could stay a few more years. Dutch football needs him in that job.
Top 10 Players of 1987
Player Club
Country % of vote 1) Ruud Gullit PSV/Milan Netherlands 38.5 2) Diego Maradona Napoli Argentina 13.1 3) Marco van Basten Ajax/Milan Netherlands 8.8 4) Emilio Butragueno Real Madrid Spain 6 5) Paulo Futre Por to/Atletico Madrid Por tugal 5 6=) Ian Rush Liverpool/Juventus Wales 3 6=) Gary Lineker Barcelona England 3 8) Hugo Sanchez Real Madrid Mexico 2 9=) Michel Platini Juventus France 1 9=) Rabah Madjer Por to Algeria 1
Top two…Gullit and Maradona
Other World Soccer Award winners 1987
European champions… Porto beat Bayern Munich 2-1 in Vienna
TEAM OF THE YEAR: Por to
