LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

felt it would be poorer for the loss of the Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year. But the following season, Gullit and many more foreign stars arrived to play in the Premier League.

      When the news of Gullit’s free transfer move from Sampdoria broke in the summer of 1995, there was the usual media speculation about the salary he would be earning in England. It was believed his original two-year deal with Chelsea amounted to around £1.6 million, a sum which would prove to be a bargain for the club, as the wages were spread over the duration of his two-year commitment without any transfer fee, at a time when prices were soaring. And now they have a successful manager as well as a player for virtually the same amount of money.

      When Gullit first arrived at the Bridge, Ken Bates recalls how money was the last thing on the Dutchman’s mind. ‘I’ll tell you a little secret about Ruud which sums up the man perfectly. Ruud had been at the club a couple of months and he still hadn’t bothered to open an English bank account. Colin Hutchinson called him over and said to him: “I’ve got your wage cheques here.” Ruud told him, “Don’t worry, Colin, you’re my banker. Keep the cheques in the drawer until I need them!”

      â€˜He’s got a lovely dry sense of humour. He is also very polite and respectful. One match day he spotted me before the game at my table and came over. I looked up at his dreadlocks and got out a comb. He just burst out laughing.

      â€˜Ruud is really the perfect diplomat. He never puts a foot wrong. The only trouble he’s experienced occurs when he’s been misquoted. His influence goes much deeper than the superficial. There was annoyance within the club when he first joined that Gullit was the superstar and the rest didn’t matter and that they were not good enough. It was patently untrue, but it hurt. Then, when Gullit was injured, the team won as many games without him as they did when he was in the team. That’s not belittling his contribution in any way. In fact it’s a compliment to him because it reflects his overall influence on the team whether he is playing or not. The truth is that Gullit was largely responsible for helping Glenn to get the younger players around to the manager’s way of thinking.’

      But there is not a hint of indulgence at the Bridge. Ruud works as hard as anyone in training and on the pitch. His influence has been immense, his sincerity unquestioned. A testimony to his sheer genius came from England and former Chelsea manager Glenn Hoddle. ‘He is enjoying his football. In this game you learn by example. The players are becoming better because of him. When I was at Chelsea we signed Ruud as a sweeper, but later in the season we moved him into midfield and a lot of that credit has to go to David Lee. He took over as sweeper and did well. Then we started getting the ball to Ruud as quickly as possible. In some games in England, midfield can be like a tennis match. But we tried to build from the back and get it to Ruud and that allows him to go and influence the play. I knew he had another three years in him when he came to Chelsea. He is fit, got the talent and is still in love with the game. While he’s got that, he is going to be a big influence at any club.’

      His influence on players like Newton, Myers, Duberry, Sinclair and Furlong grew more important as the months went by and they got to know him better. Bates pointed out: ‘His total indiscrimination towards colour has made a great impression on our black players, particularly the young ones.’ Ruud has always been outspoken on issues of racism in soccer, and attended the FA backed ‘Kick Racism Out of Soccer’ campaign just a couple of months after arriving in England.

      Although it is widely assumed that Ruud is more effective in midfield, his first awards came as a result of his superb displays as a sweeper. Mirror Sport readers voted him the FA Premier League’s Most Valuable Player of the Month for September 1995. He was also the first McDonald’s/Shoot Player of the Month, averaging 8.25 ratings for his performances, including five man-of-the-match nominations in his first eight games. Shoot said: ‘He was awarded a mark of nine out of ten in four of those great games and was head and shoulders above the rest of the Premiership stars.’

      But you will never meet a more modest chap. When he was awarded the Evening Standard’s Player of the Month award for January 1996 – as an outstanding midfield player – the newspaper’s chief football correspondent Michael Hart, hardened by years in the cynical world of this particular tainted sport, was almost shocked by Gullit’s reaction. He wrote: ‘You would think that someone who has touched the heights of the world game might not rank winning the Evening Standard Footballer of the Month award too highly among the golden moments of an epic career. Yet Ruud Gullit turned out to be one of the most gracious recipients of the last quarter of a century. Not just gracious, but genuinely grateful. “I couldn’t have won this without the rest of the team,” he said. “They make a lot of jokes about me in the dressing room but I’m very happy with the guys.” To prove the point, he insisted on including the rest of the Chelsea team in the photograph and publicly thanked his colleagues who have come to appreciate the enduring influence of one of the world’s great players. “The first thing you want is that the team plays well,” said Gullit. “A team is like a clock. If you take one piece out, it doesn’t work”.’

      Gullit became a born-again player in his first year at Chelsea. ‘I seem to have gone back in time. I’m playing like it’s the beginning of my career again and that I’m an 18-year-old again. The child in me can play on because I am still enjoying it, and if I enjoy it I can express myself better.’ He also much prefers the attacking style of play over here compared to the often negative attitude back in Italy. ‘In England you don’t just stay back and defend,’ he says. ‘You are not a slave to tactics and results.’

      To watch Gullit’s long-range passing is a delight. It used to be the hallmark of Hoddle himself, but somehow Gullit has a far greater degree of consistency in his passing. That is what should be meant by the long ball, instead of the kick and rush, or kick and hope. Gullit plays the short passes with carefree simplicity and the long-range missiles with uncanny accuracy. As Michael Hart wrote: ‘Gullit’s job, wherever he plays, is quite simple. His presence, his ability on the ball, his vast stride, his vision, his range of passing … all were essential to Hoddle’s doctrine. With Gullit in the side the Chelsea players had the conviction they needed to successfully interpret Hoddle’s tactics.’

      A huge debate erupted during the course of the 1994/95 season over the value of imported stars, their quality and the influx as a result of the Bosman case. Gordon Taylor, of the Professional Footballers Association, was at the sharp end of the controversy with work permit problems involving Romanian World Cup star Ilie Dumitrescu. While Taylor is a concerned Euro-sceptic, he welcomed Klinsmann and laid down the red carpet for players like Gullit, Ginola, and Bergkamp. Their arrival, he believed, far from diminishing opportunities for home players that might be the case with the also-rans that join the influx, can stimulate young players’ development. Taylor, nevertheless, insisted that while transfer turnover had reached £130 million a year, the proportion of it going to clubs in the lower divisions was falling.

      The desirability of a large number of foreign players was in question. But players of the highest quality can only enhance the English game and they don’t come any higher than Ruud. As Stan Hey wrote in the Independent on Sunday: ‘Gullit, whose magnificent physique and twirling dreadlocks are dramatic enough prologues even before he touches a ball, is probably the most prestigious import to the English game since Osvaldo Ardiles arrived at Tottenham with his World Cup winners’ medal.’

      The acquisition of Gullit was so natural for Hoddle after his decision to finally end his own illustrious playing career. Hoddle began his three-year stint as a player-manager at the Bridge in the sweeper role. He believed he had found the perfect player to fill the void. Hoddle, explaining the original concept for signing Gullit, said: ‘I earmarked him three months before the end of the 1994/95 season when I was looking for a sweeper. The big question was whether we could get him. I thought at first it would be a struggle to afford him. Then, when I discovered he was on a free transfer, I couldn’t believe it. It proved to be a long, hard struggle to sign him, but I was convinced it was going to be a

Скачать книгу