Michael Reiziger
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox football biography Michael John Reiziger (Template:IPA; born 3 May 1973) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played mainly as a right back. Reiziger currently manages the Netherlands U21 team.
After making a name for himself at Ajax, with whom he won one Champions League, he went on to represent four teams in as many countries, notably Barcelona, for which he played 249 official games in seven years, as well as spells at A.C. Milan, Middlesbrough and PSV Eindhoven.
Reiziger represented the Netherlands national team for a full decade, competing at three European Championships and the 1998 World Cup and finishing fourth in the latter tournament.
Playing career
Club
Born in Amstelveen, North Holland, to Surinamese parents,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Reiziger started his career with hometown club Ajax, making his first-team debut at the age of 17 then serving two consecutive loan spells, with Volendam and Groningen; with the latter, in the 1993–94 season, he scored a career-best six goals while operating also as a midfielder.
Upon his return to Ajax, Reiziger established himself as a renowned defensive element, helping the side to, among other conquests, the 1994–95 edition of the UEFA Champions League. In 1996, he signed for A.C. Milan, but after a season marred by injury, he departed for Barcelona where he spent the following seven years, arriving at the same time as compatriot and former Ajax boss Louis van Gaal; though not an undisputed starter, he nonetheless featured heavily for the Catalans, making more than 200 overall appearances and helping to back-to-back La Liga titles.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2004, Reiziger moved to Middlesbrough on a Bosman transfer. He scored once in the league for Boro, against Aston Villa in December 2004.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After another campaign plagued by physical problems, he left and returned to the Netherlands to see out his career at PSV Eindhoven (in his second year he won the Eredivisie, and was also reunited with Ajax, Barça and national teammate Patrick Kluivert, although the two rarely ever played).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
International
Reiziger made his debut for the Netherlands national team on 12 October 1994, against Norway. He played for his country at the UEFA Euro 1996, 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000 and Euro 2004, retiring from international play after the latter.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Shortly after signing for PSV, Reiziger said he would consider playing for the Netherlands again if the opportunity arose, but he was never recalled again, totalling 72 appearances in ten years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Coaching career
After retiring, Reiziger settled in Barcelona. He later went on to coach Sparta Rotterdam at youth level and, subsequently and successively, acted as assistant to Gert Kruys and Alex Pastoor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On 20 June 2017, Reiziger returned to Ajax as manager of the reserves who competed in the Eerste Divisie, replacing Marcel Keizer.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In his first season in charge he led the squad to the league title, but they were ineligible for promotion.<ref name=ED>Template:Cite news</ref> He also acted as interim for the first team during one match after the dismissal of Keizer,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> defeating Willem II 3–1 at home.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was the assistant coach of Ajax’ first team, from 2019 until 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Since 2023 he is the manager of Netherlands under 21 team.
Personal life
Reiziger's son, Gabriël (born 2005), also came through the Ajax youth system.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He plays in 2025 for PEC Zwolle.
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ajax | 1990–91 | Eredivisie | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| 1991–92 | Eredivisie | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 1992–93 | Eredivisie | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 1994–95 | Eredivisie | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11Template:Efn | 0 | 1Template:Efn | 0 | 49 | 0 | |
| 1995–96 | Eredivisie | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9Template:Efn | 0 | 4Template:Efn | 0 | 39 | 1 | |
| Total | 63 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 91 | 1 | ||
| Volendam (loan) | 1992–93 | Eredivisie | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 11 | 3 | ||
| Groningen (loan) | 1993–94 | Eredivisie | 34 | 6 | 0 | – | – | 34 | 6 | |||
| A.C. Milan | 1996–97 | Serie A | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3Template:Efn | 0 | 1Template:Efn | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| Barcelona | 1997–98 | La Liga | 29 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6Template:Efn | 0 | 3Template:Efn | 0 | 42 | 0 |
| 1998–99 | La Liga | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5Template:Efn | 0 | 2Template:Efn | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
| 1999–2000 | La Liga | 29 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 11Template:Efn | 0 | 2Template:Efn | 0 | 46 | 0 | |
| 2000–01 | La Liga | 25 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8Template:Efn | 0 | – | 40 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | La Liga | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8Template:Efn | 0 | – | 21 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | La Liga | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9Template:Efn | 0 | – | 31 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | La Liga | 30 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6Template:Efn | 0 | – | 40 | 0 | ||
| Total | 173 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 53 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 253 | 0 | ||
| Middlesbrough | 2004–05 | Premier League | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6Template:Efn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 1 |
| 2005–06 | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 1 | ||
| PSV | 2005–06 | Eredivisie | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7Template:Efn | 0 | – | 20 | 0 | |
| 2006–07 | Eredivisie | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3Template:Efn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | |
| Total | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 337 | 11 | 31 | 1 | 92 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 473 | 12 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 1994 | 1 | 0 |
| 1995 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 9 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 11 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 72 | 1 | |
- Score and result list the Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after Reiziger's goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 November 1998 | Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen, Germany | Template:Fb | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly<ref name=EU/> |
Honours
Player
Ajax
- Eredivisie: 1994–95, 1995–96
- KNVB Cup: 1992–93
- Dutch Supercup: 1994, 1995
- UEFA Champions League: 1994–95
- UEFA Cup: 1991–92
- UEFA Super Cup: 1995
- Intercontinental Cup: 1995
Barcelona
PSV
Manager
Jong Ajax
- Eerste Divisie: 2017–18<ref name=ED/>
References
External links
- Beijen profile Template:In lang
- Template:BDFutbol
- Template:Soccerbase
- Template:Wvo
- Template:NFT player
- Template:FIFA player
Template:Navboxes Template:Navboxes Template:Eredivisie Coach of the Year Template:Portal bar Template:Authority control
- 1973 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Amstelveen
- Dutch people of Surinamese descent
- Sportspeople of Surinamese descent
- Dutch men's footballers
- Men's association football defenders
- Eredivisie players
- AFC Ajax players
- FC Volendam players
- FC Groningen players
- PSV Eindhoven players
- Serie A players
- AC Milan players
- La Liga players
- FC Barcelona players
- Premier League players
- Middlesbrough F.C. players
- UEFA Champions League–winning players
- Netherlands men's international footballers
- UEFA Euro 1996 players
- 1998 FIFA World Cup players
- UEFA Euro 2000 players
- UEFA Euro 2004 players
- Dutch expatriate men's footballers
- Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
- Expatriate men's footballers in Spain
- Expatriate men's footballers in England
- Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Italy
- Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Spain
- Dutch expatriate sportspeople in England
- Dutch football managers
- Eredivisie managers
- Jong Ajax managers
- AFC Ajax managers
- AFC Ajax non-playing staff
- Dutch football coaches
- 20th-century Dutch sportsmen