 De Boer as manager ofAjax in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Franciscus de Boer[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1970-05-15)15 May 1970 (age 55)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Hoorn, Netherlands[2] | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back,left-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1984–1988 | Ajax | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988–1999 | Ajax | 328 | (30) |
| 1999–2003 | Barcelona | 144 | (5) |
| 2003–2004 | Galatasaray | 15 | (1) |
| 2004 | Rangers | 15 | (2) |
| 2004–2005 | Al-Rayyan | 16 | (5) |
| 2005–2006 | Al-Shamal | 1 | (0) |
| Total | 519 | (43) | |
| International career | |||
| 1990–2004 | Netherlands | 112 | (13) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2006–2010 | Ajax (youth) | ||
| 2010–2016 | Ajax | ||
| 2016 | Inter Milan | ||
| 2017 | Crystal Palace | ||
| 2018–2020 | Atlanta United | ||
| 2020–2021 | Netherlands | ||
| 2023 | Al Jazira | ||
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Franciscus de Boer (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈfrɑŋɡdəˈbuːr];[a] born 15 May 1970) is a Dutch former professionalfootballer and currentmanager. A formerdefender, De Boer spent most of his playing career withAjax, winning fiveEredivisie titles, twoKNVB Cups, threeSuper Cups, oneUEFA Super Cup, oneUEFA Cup, oneUEFA Champions League, and oneIntercontinental Cup. He later spent five years atBarcelona, where he won the1998–99 La Ligatitle, followed by short spells atGalatasaray,Rangers,Al-Rayyan andAl-Shamal before retiring.
De Boer is the third-mostcapped outfield player in the history of theNetherlands national team, with112 caps.[4] HecaptainedOranje to the semi-finals of both the1998 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 2000. He is the twin brother ofRonald de Boer, with whom he was a teammate at Ajax, Barcelona, Rangers, Al-Rayyan, Al-Shamal and the Netherlands national team.
After retiring from playing, De Boer went into management with theAjax youth team and as assistant toBert van Marwijk with the Netherlands national team. In December 2010, he took over asmanager of Ajax and went on to win theEredivisie title in his first season. In 2013, he received theRinus Michels Award for manager of the year in the Netherlands after leading Ajax to their third successive Eredivisie title.[5] The following year, he became the first manager to win four consecutive Eredivisie titles.[4] He then had brief spells managing inSerie A withInter Milan in 2016,Crystal Palace in thePremier League in 2017, andAtlanta United inMLS from 2018 to 2020. De Boer was appointed head coach of theNetherlands national team in September 2020, but left less than a year later in June 2021 after the team's disappointingEuro 2020 campaign.
De Boer began his career as a left-back atAjax before switching to centre-back, a position he made his own for many years in the national team. He won both the1991–92 UEFA Cup and1994–95 UEFA Champions League while at Ajax, in addition to fiveEredivisie titles and twoKNVB Cups. However, after signing a six-year contract extension with Ajax for the1998–99 season, he and his twin brotherRonald took successful legal action to have it voided. Ajax had a verbal agreement that if a lucrative offer for one brother came by, he would be released provided the other stayed. Ajax, however, apparently backed down on that agreement after floating the club on the stock market and pledging to shareholders that it would hold both of the De Boers and build around them a team to recapture theChampions League.[6]
In January 1999, Frank and Ronald de Boer signed for SpanishLa Liga clubBarcelona for£22 million, joining their former Ajax managerLouis van Gaal at theCamp Nou.[7] After winning the1998–99 La Ligatitle, they were unable to repeat their earlier triumphs. In 2000, Van Gaal was sacked by Barcelona and Frank suffered the ignominy of testing positive for the banned substancenandrolone a year later. He was suspended but he was reinstated after a successful appeal.[8]
De Boer briefly moved toGalatasaray in the summer of 2003 before joining his brother atRangers in January 2004. He made his Rangers debut in a 1–0 win away at Partick Thistle, but in his second appearance for the club he missed the decisive penalty in the shootout as Rangers lost toHibernian in theScottish League Cup semi-final.[9][10] He made a total of 17 appearances for Rangers, scoring two goals againstAberdeen andDundee.[11][12] The De Boer brothers left Rangers afterUEFA Euro 2004 to play the rest of their football careers in Qatar withAl-Rayyan.[13] De Boer announced his retirement from football in April 2006.
Having represented his national team 112 times,[14] he was the mostcapped player in the history of theNetherlands national team, untilEdwin van der Sar surpassed him. De Boer made his debut for the Netherlands in September 1990 againstItaly.
De Boer also played for the Netherlands in the1994 and1998FIFA World Cups, and the1992,2000 and2004UEFA European Championships; he missedUEFA Euro 1996 due to an injury.[15] He is well-remembered for the arching 60-yard pass which allowedDennis Bergkamp to score the last-minute goal that eliminatedArgentina in the quarter-finals of the 1998 World Cup.[16][17][18] During Euro 2000, hosted in his home country and Belgium, De Boer reached another semi-final with the Dutch team. De Boer missed an important penalty kick in the first half of the semi-finals against 10-man Italy and another in the penalty shootout, which led to the Netherlands' elimination from the tournament.[19]
On 29 March 2003, in a home match againstCzech Republic, De Boer became the first Dutch male footballer to gain 100 caps.[20] He ended his international career after an injury forced him to be replaced in a quarter-final match withSweden at Euro 2004.[21] The injury ruled him out from the semi-final match againstPortugal, which the Netherlands lost 2–1.[22][23]
A talented and well-rounded world-class defender, in addition to his defensive skills, De Boer also possessed technical ability, dead ball ability, accurate passing, and leadership, which enabled him to carry the ball out of defence, play it out from the back, or contribute to his team's offensive play by initiating attacks and creating chances for strikers with long balls. His weakness was his slow pace but his anticipation and reading of the game compensated for this. A versatile, intelligent, and elegant left-footed defender, with an ability to read the game and intercept loose balls, he was capable of playing both on theleft and in thecentre, and was even deployed as asweeper. He was also a dangerousset-piece taker, renowned for his accuratebending free kicks from anywhere around the penalty area.[24][25][26][27][28][29][30]
In 2007, De Boer took up a coaching role at his former club Ajax where he was in charge of the club's youth sector. During the2010 World Cup, he was the assistant of the Netherlands national football team to managerBert van Marwijk, together with retired playerPhillip Cocu.[31] The Dutch team reached thefinal of the tournament, losing toSpain.
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On 6 December 2010, after the resignation ofMartin Jol, De Boer was appointedcaretaker manager of Ajax until the winter break. His first game in charge was aChampions League match againstMilan at theSan Siro, a match Ajax won 2–0 through goals fromDemy de Zeeuw andToby Alderweireld.[32] De Boer then went on to help Ajax become champions of the Eredivisie for the2010–11 season in a 3–1 home victory overTwente, the champions of theprevious year, on the final matchday, making the first year of his professional coaching career a golden one. "I couldn't have wished for a more beautiful birthday present", said De Boer, as the club's 30th championship was won on his 41st birthday.[33]
In two-and-a-half years at the helm of Ajax, De Boer won three championships, making eight in total (when including the five that he won as a player). According to reports, De Boer was offered the chance to interview for theLiverpool job but turned it down to remain with Ajax. "I am honoured by the request [from Liverpool] but I have only just started with Ajax", he said.[34] In 2013, De Boer received theRinus Michels Award for manager of the year in the Netherlands after leading Ajax to their third successive Eredivisie title.[5]
On 27 April 2014, De Boer won his fourth successive Eredivisie title with Ajax, the first manager ever to achieve this in the Dutch league. Moreover, it marked the first time Ajax has ever won four successive Eredivisie titles. De Boer has now won a total of nine Eredivisie championships with Ajax as a player and manager, another record;Johan Cruyff,Sjaak Swart andJack Reynolds all won eight Eredivisie championships with Ajax. Ajax finished the2014–15 Eredivisie in second position, a massive 17 points behind championsPSV.
On 11 May 2016, De Boer announced his resignation as manager of Ajax following a disappointing season when Ajax again lost out on theEredivisie title to PSV on the final matchday of the season.[35]
On 9 August 2016, after the departure ofRoberto Mancini, De Boer signed a three-year contract withInternazionale for the start of the2016–17 season.[36] De Boer's first match in charge was Inter's final pre-season friendly, a 2–0 win againstCeltic on 13 August, played on neutral ground atThomond Park, Republic of Ireland.[37]
The club management board also approved expensive signingsJoão Mário andGabriel Barbosa for the team and De Boer (they were in fact linked to Mancini and Inter in July),[38] and the return to Turkey of recent acquisitionCaner Erkin in the last days of transfer window. Barbosa, however, was rarely used inSerie A matches and could not be registered in European competitions due to a penalty imposed on Inter for breachingUEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations in previous seasons.
De Boer's first competitive match was a 2–0 away loss toChievo on 21 August.[39] After the match, De Boer was criticized for using a three-man defence, a style that he had never used while at Ajax.[39] Milan-based newspaperCorriere della Sera went as far as calling Inter's performance a "disaster".[40] Fortunes soon turned, however, as Inter drew 1–1 againstPalermo on 28 August, before winning three games in a row, againstPescara,title-holdersJuventus andEmpoli.[41] The win against Juventus was highly praised, with De Boer being lauded for substitutingÉder forIvan Perišić, who provided the winning goal.[42] Inter's form would not last long, as the club would go on to lose againstRoma,Cagliari andAtalanta.
Inter also struggled in theUEFA Europa League under De Boer, as they lost the opening match 0–2 at home against Israeli teamHapoel Be'er Sheva on 15 September,[43] and 3–1 againstSparta Prague on 29 September.[44] Inter would then go on to finish last in their group with a total of six points, with three points under De Boer and another three under his successor.
Following a run of four defeats in the last five Serie A matches, which left Inter in 12th place in Serie A, De Boer was sacked on 1 November, having been in charge for only 85 days.[45] His last match was a 1–0 loss toSampdoria on 30 October.[46] Ironically, during a press interview in the annual general meeting of the shareholders of Internazionale on 28 October, CEO Michael Bolingbroke had confirmed that the club was 100% backing De Boer.[47] (Bolingbroke himself resigned a few days later. Liu Jun, vice-president of sister companySuning Sports, replaced Bolingbroke.)
De Boer argued that he "needed more time" in order to make a mark as manager at Inter, and thanked his fans on hisTwitter profile for the support.[48][49] He was replaced by formerLazio managerStefano Pioli on 8 November, the ninth manager Inter had appointedsince winning the Treble in 2010 underJosé Mourinho. Following Pioli's initial struggles at Inter, De Boer hit back at the lack of leadership following Suning's takeover of Inter, which he credits for the lack of trust he was given while there.[50]
On 26 June 2017, De Boer was announced as the new manager ofPremier League sideCrystal Palace, replacingSam Allardyce. He signed a three-year deal with the South London club,[51][52] but was sacked ten weeks later when Palace lost their first four league matches of the season without scoring a single goal – the first team in 93 years to have begun a top-flight season in such a fashion.[53] He left having managed the team for only 450 minutes of game time, making it the shortest reign of the Premier League era (in terms of number of matches, rather than number of days).[54] De Boer's only win came in anEFL Cup second-round game, in which Crystal Palace won 2–1 againstIpswich Town.[53][55] He was replaced byRoy Hodgson.[56]
Whilst at the club, De Boer attempted to implement a possession-based style of play; after his sacking, he criticised the club's players for their resistance to his approach, arguing that the club had signed only two players to fit his philosophy.[57] Palace wingerWilfried Zaha commented on De Boer's brief time at the club, stating "There wasn't really the right mixture [of players] for the way we wanted to play."[58]
Referencing De Boer's stint at Crystal Palace,José Mourinho described De Boer as "the worst manager in the history of the Premier League".[59]
On 23 December 2018, De Boer was announced as the head coach ofMajor League Soccer sideAtlanta United, succeedingGerardo "Tata" Martino to become the second head coach in the club's history.[60] In his first season, the team won both theU.S. Open Cup andCampeones Cup, while in MLS action finishing second in theEastern Conference and reaching the Eastern Conference final.
On 24 July 2020, following Atlanta's elimination from theMLS is Back Tournament after losing all three of their matches, Atlanta and De Boer mutually agreed to part ways.[61]
On 23 September 2020, theKNVB announced that De Boer would be the new manager of the country's national football team, signing a contract until the end of 2022.[62] On 11 November 2020, after a 1–1 draw withSpain, De Boer became the first ever Netherlands manager to fail to win any of his first four fixtures.[63]
He managed the Netherlands at theUEFA Euro 2020, where despite topping their group, they ultimately lost 2–0 toCzech Republic in the round of 16 and were eliminated.[64] As a result of the team's poor Euros performance, on 29 June 2021, the KNVB announced that it had parted ways with De Boer.[65]
On 5 June 2023, De Boer was appointed head coach ofUAE Pro League clubAl Jazira, signing a two-year contract to succeed his compatriotMarcel Keizer.[66] On 11 December 2023, with the club sitting in 7th place in the league table and following a 4–2 defeat toAl Wahda in the quarter-finals of theUAE League Cup, De Boer was sacked.[67]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ajax | 1988–89 | Eredivisie | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 29 | 0 | ||||
| 1989–90 | Eredivisie | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 29 | 0 | |||
| 1990–91 | Eredivisie | 34 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 36 | 1 | |||||
| 1991–92 | Eredivisie | 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | 12 | 0 | – | 45 | 1 | |||
| 1992–93 | Eredivisie | 34 | 3 | 5 | 1 | – | 8 | 1 | – | 47 | 3 | |||
| 1993–94 | Eredivisie | 34 | 1 | 4 | 2 | – | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 45 | 5 | ||
| 1994–95 | Eredivisie | 34 | 9 | 3 | 0 | – | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 11 | ||
| 1995–96 | Eredivisie | 32 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 44 | 5 | ||
| 1996–97 | Eredivisie | 32 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 4 | ||
| 1997–98 | Eredivisie | 31 | 5 | 5 | 2 | – | 8 | 2 | – | 44 | 9 | |||
| 1998–99 | Eredivisie | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | – | 22 | 3 | |||
| Total | 328 | 30 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 431 | 44 | ||
| Barcelona | 1998–99 | La Liga | 19 | 2 | 4 | 2 | – | – | 23 | 4 | ||||
| 1999–2000 | La Liga | 22 | 0 | 7 | 0 | – | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 2 | ||
| 2000–01 | La Liga | 34 | 3 | 7 | 1 | – | 11 | 1 | – | 52 | 5 | |||
| 2001–02 | La Liga | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 13 | 0 | – | 47 | 0 | |||
| 2002–03 | La Liga | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 14 | 3 | – | 50 | 3 | |||
| Total | 144 | 5 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 215 | 14 | ||
| Galatasaray | 2003–04 | Süper Lig | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | – | 21 | 1 | |
| Rangers | 2003–04 | Scottish Premier League | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 17 | 2 | |||
| Al-Rayyan | 2004–05 | Qatar Stars League | 16 | 5 | – | 16 | 5 | |||||||
| Al-Shamal | 2005–06 | Qatar Stars League | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |||||||
| Career total | 519 | 43 | 50 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 125 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 701 | 66 | ||
Appearances by national team and year
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 1990 | 3 | 0 |
| 1991 | 2 | 1 | |
| 1992 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1993 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1994 | 14 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 5 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 6 | 3 | |
| 1998 | 15 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 13 | 4 | |
| 2001 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 112 | 13 | |
International goals
(Source)[69]
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 5 June 1991 | Helsingin olympiastadion,Helsinki, Finland |  Finland | 1–0 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying |
| 2. | 9 November 1996 | Philips Stadion,Eindhoven, Netherlands |  Wales | 4–1 | 7–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3. | 29 March 1997 | Amsterdam Arena,Amsterdam, Netherlands |  San Marino | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4. | 4–0 | |||||
| 5. | 30 April 1997 | Stadio Olimpico,Serravalle, San Marino | San Marino | 4–0 | 6–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6. | 1 June 1998 | Philips Stadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands |  Paraguay | 4–1 | 5–1 | Friendly |
| 7. | 4 June 2000 | Stade Olympique de la Pontaise,Lausanne, Switzerland |  Poland | 1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 8. | 11 June 2000 | Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands |  Czech Republic | 1–0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 2000 |
| 9. | 21 June 2000 | Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands |  France | 2–2 | 3–2 | UEFA Euro 2000 |
| 10. | 15 November 2000 | Estadio Olímpico,Seville, Spain |  Spain | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 11. | 2 June 2001 | Lilleküla staadion,Tallinn, Estonia |  Estonia | 1–0 | 4–2 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 12. | 27 March 2002 | Stadion Feijenoord,Rotterdam, Netherlands | Spain | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 13. | 19 November 2003 | Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands |  Scotland | 5–0 | 6–0 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Ajax |  | 6 December 2010 | 11 May 2016 | 263 | 158 | 58 | 47 | 557 | 263 | +294 | 060.08 |
| Inter Milan |  | 9 August 2016 | 1 November 2016 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 15 | 19 | −4 | 035.71 |
| Crystal Palace |  | 26 June 2017 | 11 September 2017 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 020.00 |
| Atlanta United |  | 23 December 2018 | 24 July 2020 | 55 | 31 | 5 | 19 | 91 | 66 | +25 | 056.36 |
| Netherlands | | 23 September 2020 | 29 June 2021 | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 31 | 15 | +16 | 053.33 |
| Al Jazira |  | 5 June 2023 | 11 December 2023 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 29 | 28 | +1 | 035.71 |
| Total | 366 | 208 | 73 | 85 | 725 | 399 | +326 | 056.83 | |||
Ajax[71]
Barcelona[71]
Al Rayyan
Netherlands
Individual
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Ajax
Atlanta United
Individual
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| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
