Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a defensive midfielder.
28 Facts About Frank Rijkaard
2.
Frank Rijkaard's father Herman was a Surinamese footballer who arrived in the Netherlands along with the father of Ruud Gullit and his mother Neel is Dutch; the two sons grew up playing together in the city.
3.
Frank Rijkaard was just 17 when Ajax coach Leo Beenhakker gave him his senior squad debut on 23 August 1980.
4.
Frank Rijkaard was signed by Sporting CP, but he signed too late to be eligible to play in any competition.
5.
Frank Rijkaard was immediately loaned out to Real Zaragoza, but upon completing his first season at Zaragoza was signed by AC Milan.
6.
Frank Rijkaard was named in the FIFA 100, Pele's list of the 125 World's Greatest Footballers.
7.
Frank Rijkaard won a total of 73 caps and scored 10 goals.
8.
Frank Rijkaard played for the Netherlands during the 1990 and 1994 FIFA World Cups and at Euro 1992.
9.
Frank Rijkaard was the cause of an incident with Rudi Voller when West Germany played the Netherlands in the 1990 World Cup.
10.
Frank Rijkaard was booked for a tackle on Voller and, as Frank Rijkaard took up position for the free kick, he spat in Voller's hair.
11.
Frank Rijkaard's coaching career began when he was appointed manager of the Netherlands national team in 1998.
12.
Frank Rijkaard had previously served as an assistant coach, along with Johan Neeskens and Ronald Koeman under the managerial tenure of Guus Hiddink.
13.
Frank Rijkaard enjoyed the down-to-earth atmosphere, although the club was not financially strong.
14.
Frank Rijkaard arrived at the club as it entered a new phase, having elected a new president in Joan Laporta and a new managerial board, but with fans unhappy that Laporta had let English midfielder David Beckham snub the chance to join the club.
15.
Frank Rijkaard had a disappointing start at Barcelona that saw some sections of the club's fans call for his resignation, and he drew flak from the media when the team lost to Real Madrid in December 2003.
16.
Frank Rijkaard's resilience won through and from 2004 onwards, he achieved a massive turnaround, as the team went from strength to strength.
17.
Frank Rijkaard then took Barcelona to the next level as he phased out the old guard and rebuilt a new-look side around Ronaldinho, with new players like Deco, Samuel Eto'o, Rafael Marquez and Ludovic Giuly, along with the latest promotion of some young players from the previous era trained in the club's youth teams, including Victor Valdes, Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta.
18.
Frank Rijkaard became the first Barcelona coach to have won twice at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, an achievement which even successful managers like Johan Cruyff, Louis van Gaal and Luis Aragones were unable to accomplish.
19.
Laporta made the announcement after a board meeting, and Frank Rijkaard was succeeded by Pep Guardiola.
20.
Laporta made it clear that Frank Rijkaard's achievements "made history" and praised him for his time at the club.
21.
On 5 June 2009, Frank Rijkaard signed a two-year contract to manage the Turkish Super Lig team Galatasaray, following the resignation of Bulent Korkmaz two days earlier.
22.
Frank Rijkaard was sacked on 19 October 2010 and was replaced with Gheorghe Hagi.
23.
On 28 June 2011, it was announced that Frank Rijkaard would be head coach of the Saudi Arabia national team after a deal was reached with the Saudi Arabia Football Federation.
24.
On 16 January 2013, Frank Rijkaard was dismissed under a confidential contractual termination penalty clause following Saudi Arabia's exit at the tournament.
25.
In December 2016, Frank Rijkaard announced he would no longer pursue a position as manager.
26.
Nonetheless, Frank Rijkaard believes in working within a contemporary football context and is not out to imitate the styles and tactics of past masters.
27.
Frank Rijkaard has evidently learned to curb the quick temper of his playing days and is often a portrait of calm and stability in training and along the touchline.
28.
Frank Rijkaard is the son of Herman Rijkaard, a former footballer who played for SV Robinhood in the Surinamese Hoofdklasse, before emigrating to the Netherlands, where he played in the Dutch Eredivisie for FC Blauw-Wit.