Marco Van Basten

Marco Van Basten Biography   Marco Van Basten grew up when his and every Dutch soccer fan's idol, Johan Cruiff was on top form. Little did he know that in a few years, he would play side by side with his idol and even follow his footsteps to fame. But let's take this Van Basten biography bit by bit and see how the Flying Dutchman advanced in his career to a point where he would almost rival Cruyff's title as all time best Dutch player. Marco Van Basten Biography Van Basten started playing soccer for the first time when he was just 7 years old, for local team EDO Utrecht's youth club. He moved to UW shortly, playing there for 10 years, before spending another youth season at another Utrecht team, Elinkwijk, before he was spotted by Ajax Amsterdam. He did not go straight to Ajax's first team though, since he was just 17 when he joined the club, so he played for another season at the last youth level in Ajax's U-18 team, before being taken to the first squad in 1982. Marco Van Basten Biography – Ajax Amsterdam When van Basten was finally taken in Ajax's first squad, one of his childhood dreams would come true: playing alongside his greatest idol, Johan Cruiff. Actually, van Basten's debut for Ajax was in a 5-0 win against NEC Nijmegen, where the young Dutchman would replace Johan Cruiff on the pitch. He scored his first professional goal in that match but his substitution for Cruiff was a symbol in itself, as one young brilliant soccer player would replace an aging one. Van Basten did not get a first team spot immediately though, as he had to wait for the 1983-84 season, when Ajax's top goal scorer, Wim Kieft, was sold to Pisa. That opened up a spot for the young striker and he took the chance with both hands. In the following 4 seasons played at Ajax, he would become one of the most productive strikers in its history, scoring 117 goals in 112 matches, a truly outstanding performance, especially considering the high level of the Dutch league. His 1985-86 season was his best at Ajax, as he scored no less than 37 goals in 26 matches that year and was given the European Golden Boot award. But Ajax wasn't exactly the same team that won the European Cup three consecutive times during Johan Cruiff's reign and Marco Van Basten was hungry for glory, so he decided to move to a stronger team, AC Milan.