He is arguably one of the most versatile players of all time. He was a forward who can play in midfield as well as in a defensive role. Dutch legend Ruud Gullit is one of the best Dutch players of all time.
Gullit began his career at HFC Haarlem but he soon made his step up to Feyenoord. He made 85 apps for the Dutch side before moving to their rivals PSV. Gullit flourished at PSV. He was bit of a wild child but he compensated all that madness with his antics on pitch.
After spending two years at PSV, he finally made his big move to Arrigo Sacchi’s AC Milan. This is considered to be the Dutchman’s best phase of his professional career. He won back to back European Cups with Milan, a feat which hasn’t been repeated since then. He along with fellow Dutchmen Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard formed a lethal trio which made Milan the best team of that generation.
Such was his influence in that illustrious Milan side that he won European Player of the Year in 1987 while he won two World Player of the Year awards in three years. The first one came in 1987 whereas the other one came in 1989. He was simply the best player in Europe at that moment, despite Argentine legend Diego Maradona plied his trade at Napoli.
He along with his Milan teammates guided the Oranje to their only major trophy till date as they won European Cup in 1987.
After seven glorious years in Milan, he left the club for Sampodria but only to return back to Milan. He later on, joined Chelsea as a player-manager in 1995. He had a glorious career as a player but his managerial career was anything but a success. He had disastrous spells in England with Chelsea and Newcastle United. The latter one was very torrid as he had literally lost his hold over the dressing room. Although he was a failure as a manger in Premier League, he managed to win a FA Cup with Chelsea before moving to Tyneside in 1997. This is his only success as a manager till date.
He had similarly disastrous spells with Feyenoord, LA Galaxy and Terek Grozny. He was one of those players who were great players but very bad managers.
Gullit in a nutshell –
Honors
Club
HFC Haarlem[44]
Eerste Divisie (1): 1980-81
Feyenoord[44]
Eredivisie (1): 1983-84
KNVB Cup (1): 1983-84
PSV Eindhoven[44]
Eredivisie (2): 1986, 1986-87
AC Milan[44]
Serie A (3): 1987-88, 1991-92, 1992-93
Supercoppa Italiana (3): 1988, 1992, 1994
European Cup (2): 1988-89, 1989-90
UEFA Super Cup (2): 1989, 1990
Intercontinental Cup (2): 1989, 1990
Sampdoria[44]
Coppa Italia (1): 1993-94
Chelsea[44]
FA Cup (1): 1996-97
Country
Netherlands
European Championship (1): 1988
Individual
Netherlands Player of the Year (2° level) (1): 1981
Dutch Footballer of the Year (2): 1984 1986
Dutch Golden Shoe (1): 1986
Netherlands League Top Scorer: 1986 (2nd, 24 goals)
Dutch Sportsman of the Year (1): 1987
Ballon d'Or (1): 1987
World Soccer Magazine World Footballer of the Year (2): 1987, 1989
Onze d' Silver (2): 1988, 1989
Ballon d'Or (Runners-up) (1): 1988
IFFHS Best World Player of the Year: 1988 (bronze), 1989 (bronze)
UEFA European Football Championship Teams of the Tournament (2): 1988, 1992
Chelsea Player of the Year (1): 1996
FIFA 100[45]
Manager
Club
Chelsea[44]
FA Cup (1): 1997
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