Rijkaard was born inAmsterdam. His fatherHerman (1935–2010)[4] was aSurinamese footballer who arrived in the Netherlands along with the father ofRuud Gullit and his mother Neel isDutch; the two boys grew up playing football together in the city.[5] Rijkaard was just 17 whenAjax coachLeo Beenhakker gave him his senior squad debut on 23 August 1980. He made an immediate impact, scoring the third goal in a 4–2 away victory overGo Ahead Eagles, the first league match in the1980–81 season. He would play another 23 games for Ajax in his first season, netting four goals. In1981–82, he won his first league championship with Ajax and went on to successfully defend the title the following season.
In September 1987, what would have been Rijkaard's third season (1987–88) under DutchmanJohan Cruyff as head coach, Rijkaard stormed off the training field and vowed never to play under him again. He was subsequently signed bySporting CP, but he signed too late to be eligible to play in any competition. He was immediately loaned out toReal Zaragoza, but upon completing his first season at Zaragoza was signed byAC Milan.
Rijkaard played for five seasons at Milan. Playing alongside fellow country-menMarco van Basten andRuud Gullit, Rijkaard won theEuropean Cup twice (in1989 againstSteaua București and1990, againstBenfica) and the domesticSerie A championship twice. In the 1990 European Cup Final, he scored the only goal to win the cup for Milan.[6]
After five seasons in Italy, Rijkaard returned to Ajax in 1993. WithLouis van Gaal at the helm, Rijkaard andDanny Blind formed the experienced defensive core of the Ajax team that won the first two of three consecutive Dutch championships. Ajax were the unbeaten champions of the Netherlands in the1994–95 season, and carried that success into Europe. In his final game, Rijkaard won the Champions League with a 1–0 victory over his former club Milan in the1995 final at theErnst-Happel-Stadion inVienna.[7]
AtUEFA Euro 1992, Rijkaard set upDennis Bergkamp's only goal of the match in the Netherlands' opening victory against Scotland,[10] and scored the opening goal in a 3–1 victory overGermany in their final first round match, which allowed them to top their group.[11] At the semi-final stage against eventual championsDenmark, after setting up Bergkamp's opening goal, Rijkaard scored a late equalizer for the Netherlands in a 2–2 draw, but the Dutch went out on penalties, despite Rijkaard successfully netting his spot-kick.[12] In the quarter-finals of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, he made his final appearance for the Netherlands in the 3–2 defeat against eventual winnersBrazil.[13]
Rijkaard was the cause of an incident withRudi Völler when West Germany played the Netherlands in the second round of the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Rijkaard was booked for a tackle on Völler and, as Rijkaard took up position for the free kick, he spat in Völler's hair. Völler complained to the referee and was booked as well. From the resulting free kick, Völler then handled the ball and then went to the ground (according to his own account) to avoid a collision with Dutch keeperHans van Breukelen, while others, notably Rijkaard and van Breukelen, saw Voller's handball and his resulting action as a dive in hopes for a penalty. Van Breukelen was angry at this but Rijkaard, already annoyed by Völler's previous antics, again confronted the West German by twisting his ear and stamping on his foot. Argentine refereeJuan Carlos Loustau sent off both Rijkaard and Völler. As he jogged back to the entrance tunnel, Rijkaard again spat in Völler's hair as they left the pitch. Germany won the match 2–1 and eventually went on to win the tournament.[14] The German press nicknamed him "Llama" for his spitting. Rijkaard would later apologise for his behaviour to Völler, who accepted.[15]
Regarded as one of the greatest players ever in his position,[2][3] Rijkaard was a quick, strong, complete and tenacious defensive midfielder, who was praised by pundits throughout his career for his physical and athletic attributes, his work rate, positioning, his acute tactical intelligence and decision-making, as well as his outstanding consistency and ability to read the game. Due to his aggression and versatility, he was also capable of playing as acentral orbox-to-box midfielder, and even in adefensive role, usually in the centre.[16] Although Rijkaard was known as a strong tackler, he was surprisingly elegant for a player of his size, and also possessed good technique, passing ability, link-up play, and vision, which made him adept at starting attacking plays as adeep-lying playmaker once he won back possession.[16][17] He was also capable of playing in more advanced roles as anattacking midfielder orsecond striker. Due to his height and physical strength, he excelled in the air; possessed a powerful shot; and was capable of getting forward and contributing to his team's attacking plays by making late runs into the penalty area.[2][3][18][19] Rijkaard was described by British broadsheetThe Daily Telegraph as having been "a stylish player of faultless pedigree".[20] In 2004, Rijkaard was named in theFIFA 100,Pelé's list of the 125 World's Greatest Living Footballers.[21]
Rijkaard worked as assistant toGuus Hiddink with theNetherlands national team during the1998 World Cup; this was his first experience of coaching, as he had taken a break from football after retiring as a player. At the World Cup, the Netherlands lost the semi-final toBrazil on penalties.[22][23] When Hiddink resigned as manager, Rijkaard was chosen as his replacement, although he was not first choice.[24][25]
As the Netherlands were joint hosts ofUEFA Euro 2000, they did not take part in the qualifiers, playing only friendlies for two years. In Rijkaard's first game, the Netherlands beat Peru 2–0. Between October 1998 and November 1999, they did not win a single game, drawing nine and losing toMorocco and Brazil.[23][26]
At Euro 2000, the Dutch team topped the group with three wins; 1–0 against theCzech Republic, 3–0 against Denmark and 3–2 againstFrance. In the quarter-final, beatYugoslavia 6–1, breaking the record for the biggest win at a European Championship.[27] The Netherlands played some of the best football of the tournament, but lost their semi-final match to ten-manItaly on penalties, having also missed two penalties in regular time; Rijkaard resigned immediately afterwards.[28][29] It was rumoured that he would move to Italy to coach his former club Milan, but this did not happen.[30]
During the2001–02 season, he became manager ofSparta Rotterdam in theEredivisie, the oldest professional team in the country. Rijkaard said that he enjoyed the down-to-earth atmosphere, although the club was not financially strong.[31] Under his leadership, Sparta played in the relegation playoff and finished bottom,relegating the club to the second division for the first time in its history.[32]
Rijkaard resigned after their relegation, having received a death threat.[33]
Rijkaard was not out of a coaching role for long, and less than a year after leaving Sparta, he was appointed manager ofBarcelona for the2003–04 season, withAlbert Roca as the assistant coach. The season would prove to be a watershed for the club, but not without initial instability. Rijkaard arrived at the club as it entered a new phase, having elected a new president inJoan Laporta and a new managerial board, but with fans unhappy that Laporta had let English midfielderDavid Beckham snub the chance to join the club. For Rijkaard, the team he inherited, with the exception of new superstar signingRonaldinho (who was the club's second choice after Beckham), also consisted of many underachieving players from the old guard and era that failed to meet the club and its fans' demands to match archrivalReal Madrid's success in the early 2000s, having not won a trophy since 1999.
Rijkaard had a disappointing start at Barcelona that saw some sections of the club's fans call for his resignation, and he drew flak from the media when the team lost to Real Madrid in December 2003.[31] Rijkaard's resilience won through and from 2004 onwards, he achieved a massive turnaround, as the team went from strength to strength. Barcelona finished runners-up inLa Liga in2003–04, having been close to the relegation zone at one point in the earlier stages of the season. Rijkaard then took Barcelona to the next level as he phased out the old guard and rebuilt a new-look side around Ronaldinho, with new players likeDeco,Samuel Eto'o,Rafael Márquez andLudovic Giuly, along with the latest promotion of some young players from the previous era trained in the club's youth teams, includingVíctor Valdés,Lionel Messi andAndrés Iniesta. He eventually succeeded in turning around the fortunes of the club, with the strong support of Laporta, and within the next couple of years finally managed to win La Liga both in2004–05 and in2005–06.
Rijkaard became the first Barcelona coach to have won twice at Real Madrid'sSantiago Bernabéu Stadium, an achievement which even successful managers like Johan Cruyff, Louis van Gaal andLuis Aragonés were unable to accomplish. His no-nonsense policy on and off the field, and the sparkling football played by his team, won him many plaudits and Rijkaard was among the five nominated coaches forUEFA's Team of the Year 2005. On 8 March 2006, he was also honoured by UEFA for his contributions to the European Cup competition throughout his career as player and manager.[34]
Rijkaard also achieved success on the European stage, winning the2005–06 Champions League with a2–1 win againstArsenal in the final. Barcelona had been losing 1–0 for most of the match before his late tactical substitutions proved the decisive factor, as the introduction ofHenrik Larsson andJuliano Belletti contributed directly to Barcelona's two goals. The win made him the fifth individual to have won the European Cup both as a player and as a manager, alongsideMiguel Muñoz,Giovanni Trapattoni, Johan Cruyff andCarlo Ancelotti, a feat later achieved also by his eventual successor,Pep Guardiola and thenZinedine Zidane.
After losing toManchester United in the semi-final of the2007–08 Champions League, Rijkaard was asked whether he would quit at the end of the season, since he had not won anything for two successive seasons. He replied, "I have no intention of leaving. It would be different if the players were saying it is time for me to go but that is not the case." On 1 May 2008, it was reported that Rijkaard allegedly confided to a colleague that he would be stepping down as Barcelona manager at the end of the season, but 24 hours later, he stated in a press conference that he had no intention of leaving the club.[35]
On 8 May 2008, the day after Barcelona's dismal 4–1 defeat to archrivals Real Madrid, Barcelona president Joan Laporta announced that at the end of the2007–08 season, Rijkaard would no longer be head coach of the first team. Laporta made the announcement after a board meeting, and Rijkaard was succeeded by Pep Guardiola.[36] Laporta made it clear that Rijkaard's achievements "made history" and praised him for his time at the club.
On 5 June 2009, Rijkaard signed a two-year contract to manage the TurkishSüper Lig teamGalatasaray, following the resignation ofBülent Korkmaz two days earlier. He was sacked on 19 October 2010 and was replaced withGheorghe Hagi.
The21st Arabian Gulf Cup was the second competition for Rijkaard with Saudi Arabia. The Saudis left the competition at the group stage after losing 2–0 againstIraq, a 2–0 win againstYemen and 1–0 defeat againstKuwait. On 16 January 2013, Rijkaard was dismissed under a confidential contractual termination penalty clause following Saudi Arabia's exit at the tournament.[38]
Rijkaard with Cruyff and Van Basten with Ajax in 1986.
As a coach, Rijkaard's essential philosophy is to guide his team towards playing attack-minded football as a cohesive unit. In doing this, he believes a team can achieve the dual objectives of winning games and ensuring the audience's enjoyment of the spectacle. This follows in the best coaching traditions of Rijkaard's countrymen and forebearsRinus Michels andJohan Cruyff. In this light, it is notable that Michels coached both Cruyff and Rijkaard during their respective participations with the Dutch national team, and that Cruyff himself went on to coach Rijkaard. Nonetheless, Rijkaard believes in working within a contemporary football context and is not out to imitate the styles and tactics of past masters. In his own words:
you gain many impressions from the past. You still have it in your mind when you become a coach, and if something happens you can recall how it was dealt with. But I strongly believe that you cannot copy anyone. The decisions that a great coach made years ago will not necessarily work today.[41]
Rijkaard has evidently learned to curb the quick temper of his playing days and is often a portrait of calm and stability in training and along the touchline. He rarely courts controversy in the media and is more apt now to promote a positive environment and let his team's play speak for itself when faced with intense rivalry or criticism.[42] The tactics used during his tenure as manager of Barcelona best exemplify Rijkaard's commitment to playing stylish attacking football. During the team's 2004–05 and 2005–06 campaigns, the coach frequently fielded a4–3–3 formation, a system which encouraged the flair and creativity of the players in the front third of the field and created optimal interplay between the midfielders and forwards during attacks, withRonaldinho being the focal point of the team's offence.[43] Within this system, the four defenders also tended to play in a relatively high position on the pitch to support the midfield, which frequently advanced to participate in the attack. The team generally focuses on maintaining possession in the opponents' half of the field, applying pressure in order to force the opposition to make errors in defense and offensive counter-attacking.
Rijkaard comes from a football-playing family. He is the son ofHerman Rijkaard, a former footballer who played forRobinhood in the SurinameseHoofdklasse, before immigrating to the Netherlands, where he played in the Dutch Eredivisie forBlauw-Wit.[5] His older brother, Herman Rijkaard Jr., is aFIFA certified players' agent who represents various players internationally.[44] Twice divorced, he is currently married to Stephanie and has four children.[45][46][47]
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