After signing to his first professional club in 1978, Ruud made his professional debut for HFC Haarlem at the young age of 16. The youngest player of the league, Gullit managed to contribute to an Eerste Divisie winning performance in only his second season of the game and also scored a goal after passing four defenders which he still refers to as his finest performance. Capturing the attention of some of the world’s most top-flight teams, Gullit went onto play for Feyenoord and PSV before moving to play for Milan.
At the pinnacle of his career, Ruud joined Chelsea FC where he wrote his name into the clubs folklore. In only his first season with the English team, he managed to secure second place in the Footballer of the Year award before kickstarting what would later be known as the ‘foreign revolution’ which saw Gianfranco Zola and Dennis Bergkamp join FA Premier League clubs.
A naturally versatile football player, Ruud helped to define the ethos of Total Football as part of the Netherlands National Team. As a pivotal member of the Euro 1988 winning team, he managed to score the opening goal of the final game which would see them win 2-0 against the Soviet Union.
He began his managerial career as a player-manager for Chelsea FC where he led them to victory at the 1997 FA Cup, before moving to Newcastle United, Feyenoord, Los Angeles Galaxy and Terek Grozny. Throughout this period, he oversaw more than 90 wins and 209 goals before turning to the media career as a commentator. He has since made appearances on ITV during the 2006 World Cup and also often appears on BBC’s Match of the Day.
Awarded the Golden Foot in 2011, it’s evident that Ruud has established himself as a legendary footballer. A passionate and driven character can influence audiences of all types to set and achieve goals, a skill he often demonstrated as a manager. A charismatic, confident and entertaining delivery can captivate even the largest audiences and leave them feeling empowered and inspired by his long list of insightful career anecdotes.
